There is a whiff of Stalinism in the air. Councillors who oppose the plan are threatened with de-selection. The accountants who have costed it believe that it is not financially viable: a single unitary authority would serve the county better. The chief executive of the County Council describes it as "perverse and deeply flawed". The children are especially at risk, since a single education authority which is a model of its kind would be replaced by two of unknowable quality. The people of Cheshire are up in arms yet feel powerless to resist.
Martin Bell on the split into two unitary authorities, The Guardian (18 February 2008)