Two serving city councillors, Tia MacGregor and Paul Sargent, elected as Liberal Democrats, became Independents. Now they have changed their minds yet again and become Tories.

They were welcomed with open arms by party leader David Cameron, although neither has a mandate to be a Conservative councillor, since they were never elected as such, nor had they, until last week, publicly endorsed Tory policies.

People are, of course, entitled to change their minds or, in this case, their political allegiances (even though to do so twice within such a short period of time may reasonably raise a few eyebrows).

But then, surely, the honourable thing to do would be to resign? A by-election could then be held at which these two new recruits to the Tory Party, with other candidates, would allow the electorate to choose their council representative in the usual way.

Anything less than that is treating the voters of their wards with contempt. How do they justify remaining as unelected Tories on Oxford City Council?

They may argue that they are merely following the pattern of previous defectors, but this does not make it defensible and is the sort of thing that contributes to the sceptical view of all politicians that, unfortunately, many people hold.

To maintain, as they do, that they are saving taxpayers money by not resigning is both an insult to the intelligence of the electorate and a red herring.

Why have they not the courage of their new-found convictions to do the decent thing and submit themselves to voters in a by-election? Might it be because they fear defeat?

JACKIE GRAY, Lakeside, Oxford