BURNLEY MP Kitty Ussher has called for Lancashire County Council to be axed and replaced by unitary authorities.

She made the comments in a debate in Westminster which followed the government's rejection of the bid by Burnley and Pendle to merge and go it alone on the grounds that it would have implications for service delivery across Lancashire.

Mrs Ussher said: "The benefits of a unitary structure would be broad for my constituency.

"Most people look to Burnley Borough Council to solve local issues whereas in fact most of their taxes go to Preston to be administered by Lancashire County Council. This is confusing and the system also leads to damaging disputes between the two authorities."

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "Although I think that Hyndburn and Lancashire are well run authorities, they are let down by their size and people would be better served by unitary authorities."

Unitary authorities run all services in their area, unlike the current two-system system of district and county councils.