I AM grateful to Keith Mitchell (Oxford Mail, October 17) for throwing a glimmer of light onto the matter of councillors’ remuneration.

I am also glad to learn that allowances have been frozen for the third year running, a fact which must be comforting to us mortals who have lost out on pensions, whose savings are earning nothing and whose cost of living seems to increase almost daily.

At the risk of being “easy and cheap” again, I am not suggesting councillors should be out of pocket in carrying out their duties but for those who have lost their job or who are struggling to make ends meet, Mr Mitchell’s £2,858.21 which he received for September must seem like a small fortune.

To achieve full transparency, I am sure many readers would find it of great interest if the councillors’ remuneration and allowances were publish monthly in the Oxford Mail.

Lastly, I fail to see why someone who is relatively wealthy, a union appointee or a pensioner should be less likely to make a good councillor than a party hack who is told how to vote. Is that good for democracy?

GORDON CLACK Witney Road Ducklington