When the Government cancelled elections in nine areas, preventing the electorate from exercising their vote, I recalled Tony Benn's five essential questions for the powerful.

‘What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? And, how can we get rid of you?' are the late Labour parliamentarian's tests to uphold democracy. When applied to the rushed local government reorganisation (LGR) it's questionable whether the tests are fulfilled.