SOUTH Somerset MP Marcus Fysh has entered the debate over a 'referendum' on the future of local government in the county.

The county's four district councils - South Somerset, Mendip, Somerset West and Taunton and Sedgemoor - plan to run a vote on plans to cut the number of councils.

There are currently two proposals for how local government in the county could look.

A Somerset County Council plan - One Somerset - would a see the four districts and the county council replaced with a single authority.

A rival proposal from the four districts would see two councils created to replace the current five.

Now, Yeovil MP Mr Fysh has hit out at the district's plan to ask voters which option they would prefer, by way of a referendum.

He says a government consultation on the two plans, which ran for eight weeks until April 19, was enough.

“The consultation carried out by the government has allowed everyone in Somerset to have their say on the new proposals for local government in our area," he said.

"I have encouraged all to get involved in this repeatedly over the last few months and thousands of submissions have been received.

"In my view it is a waste of money and just a political stunt for the districts to conduct a further "poll" after the fact, and they aren't even planning to describe their overly complex and money wasting proposal properly in the question they intend to put.

"SSDC has told me the Cattle Market and Glovers Walk regeneration projects will need more public money on top of the £9.5 million central government funding I got for Yeovil's regeneration to go ahead, and any visitor to our town centre knows this is desperately needed, so it beggars belief that they would instead vote to waste public money like this."

The plan for a referendum is backed by another Somerset MP, Ian Liddell-Grainger, who represents Bridgwater and West Somerset.