IT WAS with some amusement that I read your article entitled £85,000 Uproar (Oxford Mail, March 31), in which Oxfordshire County Council’s appointment of a new “spin doctor” was given an airing.

However, what is most astonishing to me was the Leader of the Council’s apparent amnesia to his own budget proposals.

In February, at full Council, Liberal Democrats made it clear in their alternative budget that we would not be appointing such a post.

Indeed, we emphasised that we would be cutting the amount spent on glossy publications and leaflets, choosing to spend more money on frontline services.

If Mr Mitchell claims that he ‘had not been properly briefed on the matter’ then what confidence can the public have in him overseeing an administration that put forward a budget on which he doesn’t appear to have any part in?

How many other spending proposals have been voted through by the Conservatives that he doesn’t fully understand?

Also, does he not remember chairing the interview panel for the job?

Council taxpayers all over the county need to be reassured that they are getting value for money, especially during these difficult times of the recession. Indeed, some people have already lost their jobs, so creating new ones at the taxpayer’s expense needs some careful thought.

How can they have confidence in the Tory ruling group at County Hall if they don’t appear to have a grasp on where their money is being spent?

I would hope that residents make their views clear when they have an opportunity to send their message through the ballot boxes in the county council elections in June.

If elected, Liberal Democrats will ensure that money will be spent on caring for the elderly, providing excellent youth services and ensuring our roads and pavements are adequately maintained, not wasting it on spin.

Zoé Patrick, Leader of the Opposition, County Hall