Parking charges for residents in Oxford continue to be the subject of some baffling political games.

The Conservative-controlled county council made much at the last election of being the motorist's friend and has made it easier for visitors to park in the city for free.

Yet it is now determined to charge householders to park outside their homes in a number of city streets to cover the cost of administering the zones.

The Greens might be expected to back such a move but have justified their opposition this time on the grounds that the proposed charges are apparently too high.

In the middle of the political to-ing and fro-ing, facts are lost.

If the residents' parking zones have been running at a loss, someone has to pay and it is at least arguable that it should be the residents.

Yet others claim it has not lost money, so any scheme is unfair.

Only one fact is certain: Oxford is again at loggerheads with an authority controlled by councillors from outside its borders and from a party not represented within them.

Supporters of a unitary authority will find comfort in that but should remember that a change in how the city is governed would not make its parking problems disappear.