OXFORDSHIRE County Council will be revealed as spiteful, petty and unfit to run services if it increases the cost of parking permits.

When we and Oxford City Council called for a rebate on the £110,000 profit the council is raking in, we didn’t expect a flurry of cheques. That would have required an admission its attempt to manipulate figures was a deception of the public.

But that is what it was.

The enforcement of parking permit bays is one issue. The enforcement of yellow lines — to protect the flow of traffic or safety of road users — is quite another.

Now we have councillor Rodney Rose (who doesn’t face election by those in the city affected) claiming the controversy has just exposed the whole scheme is costing money and he might have to bump up permits even more. And would blame those asking for a rebate.

Oh Rodney, we can’t believe you’d be so, so silly.

Officers claimed from the first both enforcement costs had to be counted together — destroying any argument this ‘loss’ had just come to light. So, is an increase not a punishment for little city folk who dare question the council overlord?

Second, if you want to start looking at different totals then all on-street parking pulls in a profit of £1.138m.

How can any credible public organisation threaten such a spiteful increase in permits when it banks a profit of more than £1m?