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County leader berates Oxfam chief

1:00pm Friday 24th June 2011 in Oxford

OXFORDSHIRE County Council leader Keith Mitchell has hit back at an Oxfam chief for warning volunteers should not run libraries, saying: “Surely he understands the country is broke?”

Mr Mitchell, who proposed closing 20 out of 43 branches, spoke after Oxfam trading director David McCullough said using volunteers only was a “bad idea”.

The Conservative councillor told the Oxford Mail: “I worry that this chap is apparently running a large business.

“Surely he understands the country is broke? The coalition Government inherited a national budget where spending has exceeded income in every year since 2001, meaning that the country keeps on adding to the national credit card.

“We have no choice other than to cut public spending and, by doing it quickly, we have earned the confidence of those who fund our debt and kept interest rates low and affordable.”

Mr McCullough spoke out this week, saying the charity had been approached by other councils for advice about using volunteers.

But he warned: “A vibrant, engaged community starts from an investment in infrastructure and skills, which can then be supplemented with a willing volunteer base.

“Cutting jobs for trained staff and hoping to fill the space with volunteers will not deliver a stable, long-term solution.”

The council made a u-turn on the closure plans last month.

It now wants volunteers to help run 22 branches, backed with council funding.

Comments(21)

Dave Sidford says...
1:05pm Fri 24 Jun 11

The Oxfam chief sound like a very sensible man. Keith Mitchell just sounds like a lunatic.

I worry that this chap is apparently running the county council

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Additional information says...
1:13pm Fri 24 Jun 11

This is typical of Keith Mitchell who always wants everything for nothing and being the leader of a very poorly managed council!
I assume that Keith Mitchell has himself offered and volunteered to run these then?????

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ed10 says...
1:24pm Fri 24 Jun 11

Keith Mitchell is economically illiterate. A sovereign nation's economy is nothing like a credit card - the country isn't broke and the deficit is the result of a massive economic recession. Government spending is the only thing keeping it from falling over a cliff and Osborne's Plan A isn't working (the deficit is still going up!)

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OxChampions says...
1:28pm Fri 24 Jun 11

The OXFAM Trading Director is of course correct...“A vibrant, engaged community starts from an investment in infrastructure and skills, which can then be supplemented with a willing volunteer base."
Keith Mitchell advising OXFAM on how the voluntary sector should work seems somewhat ludicrous to say the least, however, for the sake of fairness it should be noted that OCC's 'Big Society Fund' innitiative does give important support to the Third/Voluntary Sector.

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hesperus says...
5:35pm Fri 24 Jun 11

Mr Mitchell seems rather a fool. The Government are telling us that we are broke and yet they are giving our money away like there is no tomorrow. Perhaps he should be asking his friends for a little of the money they are handing out for the libraries. Personally I agree with Oxfam's leader, cutting out experts is never a good idea. Leadership is always wanted and seems sadly lacking at the top levels of Oxfordshire's political hierachy.

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Jeromiah says...
6:31pm Fri 24 Jun 11

Can somebody not have Keith Mitchell sectioned, he is clearly suffering from some sort of mental illness with what he says and does.

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Porphyro says...
7:45pm Fri 24 Jun 11

If Mitchell is right about the country being "broke" perhaps he can explain why his administration is still planning to spend about £20million on the ill-conceived Cogges Link Road when there is a better and cheaper alternative. The "we're broke" mantra he and his Tory friends keep trotting out will only work if, as he seems to believe, the people are gullible fools. Come to think of it, an awful lot of votes still go his way.

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Lord Peter Macvay says...
7:48pm Fri 24 Jun 11

Jeromiah wrote:
Can somebody not have Keith Mitchell sectioned, he is clearly suffering from some sort of mental illness with what he says and does.
My views on Keefy Boy are well known, but this time he is right. The Oxfam bloke is well out of order. He will employ 1, or a maximum of 2 staff in his shops and run the rest on untrained volunteers who are wiling to put the hours in. Pot, Kettle, and Black come to mind here. P.S. For a Charity that spends £millions on Taxis a year worldwide instead of using buses he should keep mum.

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ItscalledspinIcallitlying says...
9:57pm Fri 24 Jun 11

"“Surely he understands the country is broke?”

Is Mitchell the only Tory that hasn't cottoned on to the propaganda yet?
Someone please remind him of the money we gave the Irish to bail them out and the updated cost of our actions in Libya

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ItscalledspinIcallitlying says...
10:01pm Fri 24 Jun 11

Lord Peter Macvay wrote:
Jeromiah wrote:
Can somebody not have Keith Mitchell sectioned, he is clearly suffering from some sort of mental illness with what he says and does.
My views on Keefy Boy are well known, but this time he is right. The Oxfam bloke is well out of order. He will employ 1, or a maximum of 2 staff in his shops and run the rest on untrained volunteers who are wiling to put the hours in. Pot, Kettle, and Black come to mind here. P.S. For a Charity that spends £millions on Taxis a year worldwide instead of using buses he should keep mum.
Talking of talking ****.

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ItscalledspinIcallitlying says...
10:03pm Fri 24 Jun 11

There is a fundamental difference between people volunteering to enhance the community and being forced to do so or lose local services. That is not a 'Big Society', that is Hobson's choice.

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IS says...
10:09pm Fri 24 Jun 11

Mr Mitchell seems to foroget that the county council are still spending £150,000 a year on a security guard at Redbridge Hollow to prevent fly-tipping. That would keep a several of the smaller libraries running....

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Victor Meldrew2 says...
10:09pm Fri 24 Jun 11

Plus aid to Asia - increased - plus Portugal and Greece and of course a 13% increase in the Bloxham Bandits expenses 2 years ago.
Yes - some of the UK is broke - not the bit that pays Keefy and his
schemes though

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Severian says...
8:34am Sat 25 Jun 11

Porphyro wrote:
If Mitchell is right about the country being "broke" perhaps he can explain why his administration is still planning to spend about £20million on the ill-conceived Cogges Link Road when there is a better and cheaper alternative. The "we're broke" mantra he and his Tory friends keep trotting out will only work if, as he seems to believe, the people are gullible fools. Come to think of it, an awful lot of votes still go his way.
Or perhaps he could explain why his party is giving £280m in "aid" to India this year, when they have a nuclear weapons and a space programme, and they are about to spend £200m building the world's tallest statue?
Our country is now relying on volunteers to run our libraries, while we give our money to others!

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Oxford taxpayer says...
10:10am Sat 25 Jun 11

Is it just a coincidence that a Labour councillor has a full-time senior management post with Oxfam?

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oafie says...
3:48pm Sat 25 Jun 11

Volunteers should be able to choose where and for what they volunteer.
Mitchell should should start by setting an example.
How much longer are we going to have to put up with this baffoon who is typical of the 'i.m alright jack' and the rest of you can suffer approach.
How can he morally take the salary he is given.
The man needs to go.

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riman09 says...
5:01pm Sat 25 Jun 11

Mr Mitchell is so happy for others to volunteer and run libraries.
Why is it that these same people have never offered to do any of their work for free?
That is a sign of their hypocrisy. They want people working for free, as if the old fiefdom /suffrage /servitude economy is back!

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Lord Peter Macvay says...
4:04am Sun 26 Jun 11

Why don't we just close Temple Cowley Pool, with the money saved we could keep the libraries open,

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james altea says...
10:58pm Sun 26 Jun 11

You know they just sent my census form back, tut-tut.
-
My reply to the question about my dependants I answered,
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The Royal Family,
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Asylum seekers,
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Travellers,
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Smack heads and junkies,
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Unemployable indescribables,
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The cast of the Jeremy Kyle show,
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Northern Rock,
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RBS,
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Greece, Portugal and Ireland,
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Half of Eastern Europe.
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It seems my answer was not acceptable, but in reality if we are doing all this how can we be broke. On top of all that we are continuing an un winable war in Afghanistan and not content with that we have started another now with Libya. It seems now that senior local level Tories are using the same old divide and conquer techniques employed by Thatcher, and no doubt the likes of Cllr Mitchell's pension will continue to grow unabated. If it all seems familiar then it should as it happened before under Maggie and the gullible have voted for it again.

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ItscalledspinIcallitlying says...
12:01am Mon 27 Jun 11

"Unemployable indescribables"

An oxmoron shurely?

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abingdon resident says...
2:16pm Mon 27 Jun 11

We are being deceived. The government has increased foreign aid including aid to India and they are funding a costly space program. We have also increased spending on the E U. Have you seen their new luxurious headquarters. We are being robbed so that our taxes can be spent abroad.

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