Cutting Councillors

Apparently, the Local Government Commission for England is considering cutting the number of councillors in various northern cities.  This isn't actually new.  The last review in Brent (implemented in 2002) cut the number of Brent councillors from 66 to 63.  However, the writer may well be right in suggesting that Whitehall is pushing an agenda around promoting directly elected mayors, despite their obvious unpopularity with the public.