SIR - It is not surprising to find disagreements between Labour and the Greens on Oxford City Council, Cracks appear in city council (Oxford Mail, February 22). We disagree with the Greens on important issues.
For example, under Labour, the city council has taken the lead in trying to get approval for thousands of new affordable homes on land south of Grenoble Road, and we have supported the expansion of the BMW car plant in Cowley and increasing levels of employment in Oxford -- both of which the Greens oppose.
I was pleased when the Greens decided to back Labour's proposals for registration of all multiple occupation housing, more street wardens, extra resources to tackle poverty and clean up Oxford and expand concessionary bus fares for pensioners.
It is a shame that the other local politicians in the Lib Dem group and the Independent Working Class Association couldn't be bothered when it came to deciding how the council should spend council taxpayers' money. The Lib Dems produced proposals which they hadn't checked with council officers, didn't add up and would have plunged the city council back into financial chaos. The IWCA did not even bother to show up.
But while Labour councillors will work with any political group to do what's best for Oxford, we don't believe that having fewer jobs and fewer homes is a good way to protect the environment, so it's not surprising that there are times when we disagree with the Green Party.
DAN PASKINS (Councillor),
Lye Valley Ward,
Oxford City Council