Candidates on twitter

Here is the list of all the candidates I can find standing in the County Council elections in the Oxford City divisions who have twitter accounts. I have classified their use of twitter as:

  • active – 5+ tweets since 1 April 2013
  • occasional – 5+ tweets since 1 January 2013
  • dormant – <5 tweets since 1 Jan, 5+ since 1 April 2012
  • unused – less than any of the above
  • locked – locked account, no data
  • unconfirmed – I have not confirmed this account is the candidate
Name Party Division twitter Status
Mary-Jane SAREVA Green Barton, Sandhills & Risinghurst @MarySareva unused
Duncan HATFIELD Con Headington & Quarry @Old_Marston unused
Delia SINCLAIR Lab Headington & Quarry @delia_sinclair occasional
Roz SMITH LibDem Headington & Quarry @RosalindRogers unused
Tim BEARDER LibDem Iffley Fields & St Mary’s @timbearder occasional
George HARNETT Con Jericho & Osney @GWHarnett unused
Alasdair MURRAY LibDem Leys @alasdairjmurray unused
Val SMITH Lab Leys @valsmithoxford locked
Mark BHAGWANDIN Con Marston & Northway @markb_gt dormant
Mark LYGO Lab Marston & Northway @MarkLygo active
Tim PATMORE Con Rose Hill & Littlemore @Tim_Patmore active
Stuart O’REILLY UKIP St Clement’s & Cowley Marsh @stuartoreilly active
John HOWSON LibDem St Margaret’s @John4PCC dormant
Vernon PORTER Con St Margaret’s @oxVP unused
Sam COATES Green University Parks @samcoatescymru active
Jane MACTAGGART LibDem University Parks @JaneMactaggartL unconfirmed
Joe OTTAWAY Lab University Parks @JoeOttaway active
Richard TREFFLER Con University Parks @Rtreffler active
Dick WOLFF Green Wolvercote & Summertown @greenwolff active

Of course candidates are not required to have twitter accounts or to use them if they do. For a full list of all the candidates standing in the Oxford City divisions see the official list.

Open letter to Headington election candidates

Dear @MarySareva @Old_Marston @delia_sinclair @RoziRogers @markb_gt @MarkLygo

The County elections are coming up and campaigning has begun. Anybody in the mainstream media will tell you how significant social media are for keeping up to date with breaking news, sounding opinion and engaging in dialogue with other users. You all have twitter accounts but all but one or two of you don’t use them. Why is this? Why are you shy of social media? You turn out doggedly on the doorsteps of Oxford in all weathers but you miss the opportunity of getting your message out to electors from the comfort of your own living room.

Is there a rational explanation? Have your party spin doctors declared that time spent on social media is time wasted? Are social media users a demographic you know you can afford to ignore? There are plenty of your colleagues in other parts of the country who disagree with you. Have you got research and statistics to back you up?

You local parties aren’t much better. Their social media presence is sporadic, laboured, ineffective, out of date. I don’t understand. Enlighten me. Please.

Tony OX3