AFTER taking a beating in the 2015 General Election, the Liberal Democrats sense a comeback could be just around the corner.

Voters punished them for going into coalition with the Conservatives in 2010 but the political winds have since changed dramatically.

The Lib Dems are hoping their pro-European Union stance will strike a cord with the 48 per cent of voters nationally who voted for Remain last June – including the 70 per cent in Oxford.

Closer to home, they are campaigning for a more 'innovative' approach to the gargantuan £380m cuts faced by local government.

Richard Webber, the party's group leader on Oxfordshire County Council, says just one example is the use of council-owned properties.

He said: "It is fair to say the last few years have been very difficult, but there has also been a series of missed opportunities.

"We should be making the most out of our massive property portfolio – which is worth £1bn – and we have also been leading calls for Oxfordshire to have a new unitary council to save millions of pounds.

"The Conservatives are good at managing money but there has been a lack of imagination that has not benefitted the people they represent."

A top priority of a Lib Dem administration would be to borrow £10m to tackle the scourge of potholes, he says.

The suggestion was slammed as 'irresponsible' by the ruling Conservatives and Labour opposition in February, but Mr Webber says it could wipe out 40 per cent of the backlog in repairs.

He added: "Everywhere you go, potholes are one of the biggest concerns – if not the biggest concern – people have.

"Borrowing is cheap at the moment and the finance officers have said this is possible. We think it could help address a lot."

The councillor also says more money would be ploughed into adult social care, which is facing a funding crisis both locally and nationally.

"Demand is increasing all the time and we think we need to plan ahead to help avoid much bigger problems down the road," Mr Webber says.

The Lib Dems are fielding candidates in every county council division.