I am afraid my colleague, city council leader John Goddard, is becoming increasingly delusional about the power he thinks he can wield.

After the last local elections, when his Liberal Democrats won nine seats out of 24 (including just four outside their North Oxford and student-ville heartland), he should perhaps have realised that, to run Oxford, you need to listen to, and work with, other political parties.

Instead, he turned his attention to offending his colleagues (two resigning from his group within a matter of days), and sorting himself out with a nice new office, and a secretary (cost to the taxpayer: more than £21,000 per annum). He also found time to delay much-needed improvements to recycling.

Now, days after Labour and Green councillors ensured that the city council stated its opposition to incineration of waste loud and clear (at the council meeting, with the Lib Dems, apart from two rebels, opposing), Mr Goddard tells your reporter it would "not be sensible" to rule out incineration (Oxford Mail, July 11).

In our view, it would not be sensible to leave the county council in any doubt about our views on incineration. It will take any sign of weakness as the green light to go ahead with an incinerator on the outskirts of Oxford.

As the leader of a minority administration, Mr Goddard needs to learn the value of listening to colleagues' views. Most city councillors are against incineration, and he should respect our views, which I am sure are shared by the majority of Oxford residents.

Or he should clear the stage and make way for a colleague, who isn't in denial about the need for teamwork and cooperation.

Ed Turner (Councillor), Deputy Leader, Labour group, Oxford City Council