The proposal to abolish parking charges in Oxford city centre in the evenings and on Sundays will no doubt be widely welcomed.

When they were introduced, there was strong criticism that they would hit church congregations and the number of people going to the theatre, cinema and restaurants.

But if the allegedly cash-strapped county council can now afford to drop these charges, why were they introduced in the first place?

County Labour leader Liz Brighouse condemns the move as a Tory election bribe, and it is difficult to disagree.

It is odd that the Tories are promising to abolish some city centre charges, yet propose to clobber Oxford people with residents' parking charges in the suburbs.

The suspicion will be that the Tories are trying to butter up their supporters in the rural areas, with the promise of cut-price visits to Oxford, at the expense of city residents.

After all, the Tories have nothing to lose in Oxford -- they have no city councillors and have had only one in 10 years.

The policy is also at odds with the Oxford Transport Strategy, which aims to keep cars out of the city and encourage motorists to use park-and-ride.

Have the Tories finally done a U-turn on the OTS? Or is it a case of election jitters?