CONSERVATIVE councillor George Barton (Letters, January 4) rightly criticises Labour’s “pompous cabinet”, yet indicates his party’s preference for even fewer “backbench councilors” to cover a larger and growing number of York electors.

All other parties on the council preferred to minimise the disruption to ward arrangements by retaining the current total of 47 councillors, a view supported by the Boundaries Commission.

Coun Barton should, however, be congratulated on being the first to remind readers that our local elections fall in May 2015, when electors get to choose their local representatives.

This could be the opportunity to elect more local councillors with York and its people at their heart, or alternatively simply to yo-yo between domination by one party political dogma and another.

Electing more Green councillors would temper the excesses of an aloof cabinet, perhaps removing their party’s overall control.

This could create conditions for cross party working in the face of the horrendous budget cuts being forced on local government.

Whichever party runs the Government after the next election, massively reduced council funding will be a reality for all councillors to address, as creatively and sensitively as possible.

Coun Andy D’Agorne, Green Party, Broadway West, York.