Last week, the Oxford Mail carried two highly misleading contributions by the Liberal Democrats, who are getting excited about elections next year.

In an article on toilet closure, a Liberal Democrat activist from Wolvercote, Steve Goddard, mentioned he had started a petition.

What he does not mention was that this proposal was included in the Lib Dems’ City Council budget proposals.

It seems a bit strange to support a cut – an unwelcome one, but sadly justified by the financial situation we faced – and then campaign against it.

Then Councillor Patrick Murray blamed the Oxford Labour Party for delays in getting homes built south of Grenoble Road. As Patrick well knows, the reason for the delay is a legal challenge by opponents of the development, and has nothing to do with the Labour Party either in Oxford or Westminster.

What I find especially bizarre, though, is that his Lib Dem colleagues in Henley spent their unsuccessful by-election campaign putting out literature proclaiming their undying opposition to this development.

This sort of double-dealing – saying different things to different audiences at different times, hoping nobody will notice – is exactly the sort of thing that gives local government a bad name.

Ed Turner Labour councillor Oxford City Council