Consistency is, they say, a mark of mediocrity. If that's the case, then Labour councillor John Tanner can rest assured he doesn't reach the giddy heights of being mediocre.

Mr Tanner, when he was last in power, approved and budgeted for inserting microchips in wheelie bins. Now the same Mr Tanner tells us he opposes smart bins. The big beast of New Labour talks of 'Big Brother' - and sounds more like George Galloway than George Orwell. With his new-found concern for civil liberties, perhaps he will join with us Liberal Democrats in fighting the real affronts to our freedom, like his Government's illiberal and expensive fiasco of ID cards.

Surely Mrr Tanner actually knows that smart bins are not about snooping, but about helping provide a better service. The chips will mean our hard-working refuse collectors can return lost or stolen bins to their rightful owners. No personal information would be stored in the chip, and no data would be connected to any other council databases.

Liberal Democrats want Oxford to be a leading recycling authority and to use the latest technology to improve the service to the public. I realise this might be galling to Mr Tanner who presided over our city's abysmal record on recycling. But it's time for him, like our city, to move on - it would be much better for him to have a chip in his bin than on his shoulder.

David Rundle (Councillor), Deputy Leader, Liberal Democrat, Oxford City Council