A disappointing local election campaign

TonyOX3

Back on 5 April I posted a blog showing which of the candidates in the six Headington/OX3 wards were on twitter. With important issues looming in the not-too-distant future, like the Barton Area expansion plans, the future of Ruskin Fields, plans to expand EF International School’s student numbers, traffic and road planning and so on I was looking forward to an interesting campaign. It didn’t happen. Nothing on twitter addressed any of these issues.

Neither did any of the 12 election leaflets delivered through my door (5 Labour, 4 LibDem and 3 Conservative – no Green). They all stressed how hard their candidate would work and how important Headington was to them. They claimed credit for past successes, with more or less justification – Headington car park, the library. Labour trumpeted their city-wide past achievements (HMO regulation, money for school improvements). The sitting LibDem candidate campaigned on her record of involvement and success in a range of local issues. The Conservatives, with no track record in the Ward or on the City Council, struggled to find anything specific to say. The candidates of all parties would fight for this, that or the other without explaining how they would pay for their ideas to come to fruition. But on the important and contentious issues in the pipeline – nothing.

If I’d had time I’d have done more. I would have tweeted or (heavens!) e-mailed the candidates asking their views on the issues I think are important for Headington’s future as a good place to live and/or work. I even started to write a piece setting out some questions for them but it all got too complex and I didn’t have the time. Maybe come the next elections I’ll be better prepared to jump in and try to get some real debate. Maybe by then more candidates will be engaging with social media and prepared to express their views. I’ll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, here’s a table I compiled showing the twitter activity of the candidates in the six wards over the two week period in the run-up to polling day (winning candidates in red).

WARDS: B&S: Barton & Sandhills. Ch: Churchill. H: Headington. HH&N: Headington Hill & Northway. M: Marston. Q&R: Quarry & Risinghurst.

  • Stephen Tall, LibDem, HH&N    >150 tweets
  • Mike Rowley, Lab, B&S    22 tweets
  • Ruth Wilkinson, LibDem, H    12 tweets
  • Sam Fowkes, LibDem, M    8 tweets
  • Mark Lygo, Lab, Ch    3 tweets
  • Mark Bhagwandin, Con, H    0 tweets
  • Mary Sareva, Green, B&S    0 tweets
  • Roz Smith, LibDem, Q&R    0 tweets
  • Ruth Rundle, LibDem, Ch    n/a

Headington Wards election results

TonyOX3

In the six wards that I consider make up the Headington/OX3 area, five re-elected their sitting candidate. That’s four Labour councillors – Mike Rowley (@redmikerowley), Mark Lygo (@Marklygo), Roy Darke and Laurence Baxter – and one LibDem (@RuthWilk). Marston was the exception, where Labour councillor Mary Clarkson (@maryoxford) did not stand for re-election and the Labour candidate Louise Upton was relegated to second place behind Independent Mick Haines.

The results for the six wards are here.

Mick Haines, a 71 year old retired scaffolder, is a well-known campaigner on local issues, most recently on the new Tesco store to be built on the site of the old Friar pub and for lights to be installed in the Croft Road recreation ground. He has stood unsuccessfully for election 5 times before.

It will be interesting to see what he makes of his new opportunity: for the rest of Headington/OX3 it looks like business as before.

Headington Headlines #60

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 23 – 29 April —

Wood Farm residents have formed a ‘Friends of Magdalen Wood West‘ group to look after the eponymous woodland.

The Barton Area Action Plan has been formally submitted to the Secretary of State. I wrote a short blog piece about it, with links to the official documents. The next step is the Examination in Public: the provisional date and venue for this is 16 to 20 July 2012 in Oxford Town Hall, but this may change.

There was a distraction burglary at Headington Conservative Club in Windmill Road last Saturday (21 April) when two men stole charity cash collecting tins.

On the same day there was a major street brawl in the Wood Farm/The Slade area. According to reports, a gang of 30 men armed with hammers and dog chains attacked several Wood Farm residents. Two men and possibly a third were injured. Police suggest the attack might have been in revenge for an earlier burglary.

Costa Express have opened at the Shell petrol station on the London Road, but it’s only a coffee machine.

A question was raised at the full City Council meeting on Monday about the terms of a leasing agreement for the Northway Community Centre. It centres round a dispute over Cllr Roy Darke’s status as Chair of the Association. I suggest you start with the thread on the e-democracy forum if you want to know more. You can also see the question and answer on the video record of the meeting. Ignore the bit where it says "The recording of the meeting is unavailable" and play the Part 1 video. Scroll through to 39’30” to get the start of the question. Two short sections just after the start have been redacted but stick with it and the video continues. Feelings seem to be running high because after Cllr Bance’s statement (at about 46’40”) Cllr Altaf Khan claims he has been personally verbally attacked and leaves the chamber.

A new residents’ group, the Headington Hill Umbrella Group (HHUG), has been formed to represent the interests of local residents concerned about EF’s developments at Cotuit Hall and the former Plater College, both in Pullens Lane. They have issued an opening press release.

Work started on demolishing The Cavalier pub on Copse Lane, Northway. Accommodation for 58 students will be built in its place. Picture by @headingtonnews.

Active topics on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

  • Controversy over the signing of the new Leasing Agreement in relation to the yet to be constructed Northway Community Centre
  • EF Academy plans for Cotuit Hall
  • The Cavalier pub
  • Restaurant application for former Tote betting shop in Marston Road
  • Is a wider process needed for consents for Transport Plans?
I try to cover news from the OX3 postcode in Headington and out as far as Barton, Sandhills and Risinghurst (see map). To feed into next week’s summary you can comment on this article, or tweet either with the hashtag #ox3 or @mentioning @TonyOX3.