As we suspected, the Liberal Democrats have formed a minority administration to run Oxford City Council. It is disappointing that two of the parties could not get together to form a coherent administration with an agreed agenda for at least the next 12 months.

The early signs for the Liberal Democrats and the city council are not good. This is a minority administration hot on the heels of a minority administration of a different hue.

We have recently reported how the city council has been told to get its act together on recycling (among many other things, notably on the financial side).

The exchange of letters on recycling to the right of this column suggest that the Liberal Democrats will not get their own way on this key issue.

They have doubts about the last administration's plans for wheelie bins and understandably want to forge their own path. However, if Labour can muster enough support this will not be easy.

It is possible that we could end up with a recycling and waste collection scheme not supported by the group running the council. At worst, we could end up with a stalemate with no progress made at all.

The party politics is nothing more than a sideshow. It should not dictate the agenda. We expect our councillors to work together to improve services for the residents of Oxford and to deliver much better value for money. On both counts there is work to be done.