Just over seven days before the polling stations open, and three weeks since the candidates for the City Council elections were announced, and my list of bios and personal statements for the candidates in the six OX3 wards who want YOUR vote is still not complete. I’ve kept the information updated as more has come through, but there are still four candidates for whom I have nothing.
Oxford LibDems, I’m calling you out! Just who are Sallie Barnard (Barton & Sandhills), James Reilly (Churchill), Maria Bourbon (Headington Hill & Northway) and Salman Navqi (Marston)? You want us to vote for them? Why? Just because they’re LibDems? Doesn’t it matter whether they live locally or far away, whether they have any experience of local issues or are wet-behind-the-ears newbies to politics? Are they academics? Teachers? Hospital workers? Bringing up a family full-time? Why won’t you tell us?
And it’s not just me. I just re-checked the Oxford Mail website for their lists. Click on these names – nothing. Their own website? Nothing.We have hard-working LibDem Councillors in Headington who have substantial personal votes. They and their potential colleagues are being let down by this silence.