IT’S the coalition Government’s mantra as it pushes through spending cuts, that we’re all in it together.

Unfortunately, in this respect Oxford City Council has scored a spectacular own goal with its decision to implement parking charges at many of the city’s parks – except two used by a large number of its staff.

We don’t wish those workers to be hit in the pocket per se.

But if the council is going to charge other people – including mums taking their children to parks or sportspeople going training – then it’s just asking for a backlash from the public for appearing to protect its own.

And that’s before you even get started on the argument about whether the authority should be encouraging private vehicle use among its staff.

Perception over the spending cuts is almost everything.

Look at the change to the park-and-ride sites. Oxfordshire County Council is going to charge £1.

Realistically, this isn’t a massive hike for someone coming into the city for a shopping trip.

But the perception of moving from something free to being charged will impact far more on motorists’ thinking than the reality of handing over a quid.

What is more worrying is the closure of five waste recycling sites, including Redbridge on the southern limits of the city.

This will almost certainly lead to an increase in flytipping around the city or on its rural fringes because laziness is a major factor in the vast majority of cases.

Will everyone really travel across Oxford to Kidlington to get rid of their waste? No, of course they won’t.

These are hard times. And we are about to see the evidence of that strewn across the county.