Sir, As an observer, I attended the Oxfordshire County Council meeting on Tuesday, September 11, to see democracy in action. What I did see for the short time I was there, was rudeness and arrogance on the part of one contingent of members who sat on the left hand side of the chairman and who were called upon on several occasions to answer questions because they were the "cabinet".

One councillor asked a question which arose from the previous meeting saying she had not received further information which had been promised and when would the information be forthcoming. Keith Mitchell rose to his feet to answer and cursorily dismissed her request for further information saying it would be "available when it becomes available".

There was no explanation as to a time span or any other information which a normal individual might expect to receive as a courtesy.

When a petitioner spoke on the subject of Radley Lakes, there was much disagreeable muttering from the same contingent, which I felt was extremely impolite of them not to allow a petitioner to address the meeting without interruption. In addition, the councillor from Didcot, Terry Joslin, shouted "rubbish" whilst the petitioner was in the middle of addressing the council. This is unacceptable behaviour on the part of our elected representatives.

The chairman of the meeting did call for the meeting to allow the next petitioner to address the meeting without interruption and to sit in silence whilst the petition was being made. The Government of the day wants local government to be more democratic - in Oxfordshire, democracy is like the Dodo - extinct.

Lynda Pasquire, Radley