Where is the evidence for Ian Birrell's grandiose claims for elected mayors (This local shakeup will transform the political scene, 13 February)? Turnout in referendums has ranged from 10% to 38%. Cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle have led the way in promoting regeneration, social policy and efficiency without elected mayors. Seventeen years after I stood down as leader in Newcastle I'm still recognised in the city's streets. Elected mayors, whose decisions can only be challenged by two-thirds of the council, represent potentially a shift to local autocracy. And the risk of conflict between them and the government's other obsessional creation, elected police commissioners, is all too real.
Jeremy Beecham
Labour, House of Lords
• When he says "Liverpool voted" for an elected mayor, what Ian Birrell really means is that Liverpool city council voted not to hold the referendum for choosing an elected mayor system, presumably because they didn't think they could persuade the voters that it was a good idea.
John Hall
Bristol