ON the subject of libraries, can I say to councillor Mike Gotch (Oxford Mail letters, January 12) that I welcome his plea to “give us a fair chance to run local libraries” and my answer is “Yes – most certainly”.

I want the libraries we can no longer afford to run to continue as community libraries and I welcome his initiative. Turning to Miss Sarah Lasenby (January 12) who wants to tax the “super rich” by an extra 20 per cent, she is correct that I do not support this. We depend on clever and entrepreneurial businessmen and women to drive our economy and we have to ensure they have an environment in which they can operate to the mutual benefit of our economy and their own wealth.

They are a very mobile group, Miss Lasenby. Tax them too much and they will be gone and the UK will be the loser.

You are right that I want the size of the state reduced. I want people left with more money in their pockets and purses to spend as they choose.

I believe the spending choices of many individuals will be infinitely better than decisions made by a centralised and bloated government bureaucracy.

The latter was the Blair/Brown mistake for the last 13 unlucky years.

Keith R Mitchell, Leader of the Council, County Hall, Oxford