I have to disagree with your correspondent AA Williams (letters, January 11) about a “deafening silence from the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors as to how much they will cut from their allowances”.

At the county council meeting the same day, the county Labour group proposed a 50 per cent cut to all the county councillors’ allowances, including our own. This could have saved the council around £500,000 and the money could have been used to help keep our libraries and youth centres open.

But, neither the Tories nor Liberal Democrats supported the proposal and Keith Mitchell, the Conservative leader of the council, described it as “a silly little amendment”.

Clearly the Tories and Lib Dems, while voting through savage cuts to our local services, are not prepared to ‘share the pain’! We are clearly not ‘all in this together’!

Liz Brighouse, Leader of the Labour Group, Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, Oxford