A SUFFOLK council leader said other councillors should resign if they felt they should no longer serve after delayed elections during the latest Suffolk County Council shake-up spat.

Cllr Matthew Hicks, the county's leader, took time to push the authority's view on how local government reorganisation should shape up in his speech during yesterday's annual meeting.

Since being chosen by the Government as one of several local authorities to fast-track the council shake-up process, Suffolk's county council has backed the creation of a single unitary authority to cover the whole county.

But it has received criticism after asking the Government to delay local elections, which took place earlier this month, in order to focus on the shake-up process.

Hitting back at the criticisms, Cllr Hicks said maintaining stability was critical until a new authority could be elected and prompted councillors to resign if they felt they no longer had the mandate to serve residents.

He said: "I believe the Government had no choice but to postpone our elections, the precedent was clear and unambiguous.

"No one is forcing you to remain here; step aside and let others lead where you will not."

Addressing his comments, Cllr Andrew Stringer, the Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent Group's leader, said although the election delays were still regrettable, it did not mean councillors should resign.

He said existing councillors were aware they were serving on 'democratically-borrowed time' and suggested the county council had deliberately excluded members from conversations about local government reorganisation.

In setting out the authority's official case for a single unitary, Cllr Hicks said it was the only way to deliver savings, efficiencies and avoid a postcode lottery in public services.

He said: "Now is not the time to look to create unnecessary borders within our county, dividing east from west or north from south.

"Now is not the time to create postcode lotteries for essential services with authorities squabbling over finite pools of financial and human resources.

"Now is the time for visionary leadership; this council has a responsibility to get this right for the people of Suffolk."

The county council believes as much as £104 million could be saved over five years if a single unitary authority model is adopted, money which could be reinvested into public services.

But proposals for a single authority have been criticised by opposition councillors, who said it would be too remote.

Cllr Sandy Martin, the Labour group leader, said it was not just about delivery, but also representation.

He said: "If it was just about money, why have local councils at all, why not just sweep them all away and run everything from Whitehall.

"The biggest is not necessarily the best — the latest council to go bankrupt is the biggest council in the country.

"We all want good local public services, we all want unitary councils, but we don't all want a unitary continuation of the current administration."

Despite not making his case today, Cllr Stringer has previously shared his support for a multiple-unitary model as a way to bring decision-making closer to local communities.

Suffolk's county, district and borough councillors are now working on their final business cases to be submitted to the Government in September, with more detail on how their preferred option would work best.