IT'S not difficult to understand why senior county councillors have considered resigning rather than implement cuts to vital services and have not done so as AG MacKeith mentioned in his letter.

Maybe it's the huge salaries, expenses and gold-plated pensions that deters them from resigning. Dave Kemp suggests instead of resigning from their seats on the council, they could resign from the conservative party and sit as Independents. It would send a strong message to the Government but would the Government be that worried, I wonder?

It may reduce the Tory councillors overall control of the county council which may or may not be a good thing. The fact that Oxfordshire County Council is Tory-controlled and Cameron's constituency is within the county hasn't made a ha'porth of difference to the lack of public money being given to local government.

I wonder if there will be huge increases in council tax which local government will be forced to implement to meet costs and the Government will blame them for doing so, so as not to look bad in the eyes of the electorate knowing full well they have no choice. It's all smoke and mirrors.

All the billions of pounds that the Government spends elsewhere could go to local authorities instead and all these cuts would be unnecessary.

Having said that, the county does appear to waste money at times and are there millions of pounds in their coffers being kept back for a rainy day? If so, hasn't that rainy day arrived?

MICHAEL CLARKE

Lewell Avenue

Old Marston

Oxford