I HAVE just been reading today’s letters page (November 17) and there are very interesting points made.

The Frideswide Square cock-up is the top spot. I read county council’s leader Ian Hudspeth’s letter defending Frideswide yesterday. In it he mentions the removal of the traffic lights will make the traffic flow easier.

If that’s the case why are the roundabouts on the A40 northern bypass being replaced by traffic lights? A couple of years ago while planning this fiasco a figure of £ 3.7m was the projected cost, then why has Frideswide Square cost £5m?

John Power in his letter says that the county has reserves of many millions of pounds and the draconion cuts in public spending aren’t necessary. And, as Mr Power points out, the councillors were able to raise their expenses by a huge amount.

Mr Tanner again wants to tax the rich even more, yet recently he was advocating a larger than two per cent increase in the council tax which would really hit the not so well off. John is both a city and county councillor and therefore is eligible to two lots of expenses and it would be interesting to know how much his recent jaunt to Brussels to discuss Green issues cost the local taxpayer.

Everyone is appalled at the recent tragedy in Paris and I agree with John that we shouldn’t be cutting back on our Armed Forces or the police force in these horrific times. No, as John says, we cannot blame the refugees for what has happened in Paris, but it is so easy for potential terrorists to infiltrate these masses of people.

As he says, it could easily happen in this country and I believe there are those that wish us harm probably already here. At the same time we cannot attach any blame to the Muslim communities of this country as they condemn what these extremists believe in. The extremists are not carrying out such atrocities in the name of Islam, in their eyes, it’s against the preachings of the Koran.

MICHAEL CLARKE
Lewell Avenue
Old Marston
Oxford