THIS newspaper has never shied away from the fact that the Government must make painful cuts, but the revelation yesterday that Oxfordshire has missed out on promised funding to tackle major transport projects is a disgrace.

No matter how the Tories try to spin it — and Henley MP John Howell tried to balance it with the good news of local enterprise funding — this county has been badly let down.

In 2007 Oxfordshire County Council was allocated £62m, with huge improvements planned for Oxford’s railway station, the A34 and the rest of the city ring-road.

Now it is gone at the stroke of a mandarin’s pen, while other areas have managed to hang on to their allocations.

Oxford Station is a significant hub – yet now there are major doubts if the upgrade will go ahead.

And improving the A34 is not just of local benefit. It is a major transport artery north from the South Coast.

Our Conservative MPs (and that includes Prime Minister David Cameron) must not let this money disappear without a fight.