PROTESTERS demonstrated outside Oxfordshire County Council's headquarters today to show their opposition to years of spending cuts.

The county council's budget has been sliced by about half in recent years because of Government cuts.

But Labour city councillor – and former county councillor – John Tanner said more should be done to boost services.

He said: “Oxfordshire County Council has sliced £260m from public services in the last five years. Youth clubs scrapped, libraries depending on volunteers, children’s centres closed and potholes filled with borrowed money."

The county council had planned to cut a total of £1.6m of mental health spending, but has since shelved £1m of that and delayed the other £600,000 for another year.

Mr Tanner added: “Theresa May claims austerity is coming to an end so we want our public services back. Postponing mental health cuts for a year is welcome but still leaves a damaging cut the following year."

Mr Tanner was joined at the protest by students from the Oxford University Labour Club, who held a banner that proclaimed: 'Forward to socialism'.

The county council's cabinet member for finance, David Bartholomew, said the council was introducing an innovative £1bn investment programme to improve services in the future.

That will, he said, include investment rebuilding Northfield School in Blackbird Leys and spending £41m replacing streetlights across the county with more efficient LED ones.

The county council's budget is set to be confirmed by its members at a meeting on February 12.