THE cynics will be lining up to shoot down the Government’s infrastructure spending spree as just a desperate pre-election splurge designed to hoover up wavering voters.

In Oxfordshire that amounts to multi-millions of pounds towards improving the A34, a big chunk of the change required for a flood channel skirting around Oxford and £100m towards making Bicester a ‘garden city’.

And they would almost certainly be right.

The more perceptible amongst you will note that the money for the flood channel is not actually ‘new’. It was already in the pot, so to speak.

The Coalition Government would be churlish if it tried to claim, hand on heart, that six months out from a General Election the goodies springing forth from George Osborne’s Autumn Statement are completely unrelated to eyeing up another five-year term.

But that doesn’t mean we should spurn it.

What is being unveiled will change this county in the medium-term future.

Anything to improve the A34 has to be welcomed. It may not be the complete overhaul the road needs but then there is an argument that politically no-one would seriously sign off decimating Botley to achieve this.

The money for the flood channel – or Western Conveyance as some like to call it – is not new, but David Cameron’s stronger backing for it is and, putting the cynicism aside given it was made in front of the assembled cameras in Osney, that is significant.

Likewise the 13,000 homes for Bicester is again not unknown but the designation of it to become a garden city is. That will lead to £100m for infrastructure and that is crucial.

It may be simplistic to drag in the road chaos from Black Friday last week at Bicester Village but when a busy shopping day leads to motorists still queueing at 1am, Bicester can’t just soak up 13,000 more homes with little or no proper investment.

There will be some local opposition to all these schemes. We live in a democracy and everyone’s view should be considered.

But no matter the motivation behind the politicians’ largesse, we should seize these improvements because they are hopefully real moves forward for Oxfordshire.