All posts in the topic City council elections, 1 May (Short link)
Summary
- There are 24 posts — by 12 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Julia Gasper at May 11 19:49 UTC
I am sure you all know that one city councillor from each ward in Oxford is
standing for re-election on 1 May, and that you can expect canvassers in the
next couple of weeks (if you haven't had them already).
I list below the electoral candidates for the six wards in the North-East
(Headington and Marston) area. I think it will be an interesting election,
especially in the two wards where the current city councillor is standing down
(Headington, and HHill & Northway), and the ward where the sitting councillor
has changed her political allegiance (Quarry & Risinghurst).
Four of the new candidates below happen to be on this forum, as are some
existing city, county, and parish councillors, so do start some topics for them
here.
BARTON & SANDHILLS
Seat currently held by Patrick Murray (Liberal Democrat)
• Timothy Stephen HAMER (Conservative)
• Raymond Leslie HITCHENS (Green)
• Andrew Philip LOMAS (Labour)
• Patrick MURRAY (Liberal Democrat)
CHURCHILL
Seat currently held by Claire Kent (Independent Working Class Association)
• Gordon Alexander BELL (Conservative)
• Peter BONNEY (Liberal Democrat)
• Eliza Ruth HILTON (Green)
• Claire KENT (Independent Working Class Association)
• Mark LYGO (Labour)
HEADINGTON
Seat currently held by Stephen Tall (Liberal Democrat): not standing for
re-election
• Chris CLIFFORD (Conservative)
• Van COULTER (Labour)
• Jill HAAS (Green)
• Ruth Elaine WILKINSON (Liberal Democrat)
HEADINGTON HILL & NORTHWAY
Seat currently held by Tony Gray (Labour): not standing for re-election
• Marc Anthony BORJA (Conservative)
• Maureen Lena CHRISTIAN (Labour)
• Jock COATS (Liberal Democrat)
• Mary Watkins LIVINGSTONE (Green)
MARSTON
Seat currently held by Caroline van Zyl (Liberal Democrat)
• Michael Christopher HAINES (Independent)
• Duncan Valentine HATFIELD (Conservative)
• Beverley Jane HAZZELL (Labour)
• Alistair David Pryce MORRIS (Green)
• Caroline VAN ZYL (Liberal Democrat)
QUARRY & RISINGHURST
Seat currently held by Tia MacGregor (Conservative)
• Laurence Peter BAXTER (Labour)
• Tia Khadija MacGREGOR (Conservative)
• Pat MYLVAGANAM (Independent)
• Donald Martin O'NEAL (Green)
• Roz SMITH (Liberal Democrat)
For more details see http://oxfordprospect.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/persons-nominated-for-election-as-an-oxford-city-councillor-for/
Who spends more money on advertising, Laurence Baxter or Domino's Pizza ? Both
have very colourful, impressive flyers and although Domino's advertise all year
round, Mr Baxters leaflets have been 'pouring' through my letterbox the last
few weeks like I was the only voter in the area !! I even got 'three' in one
drop the other day...........it's nice to know the money is being spent wisley.
Personnaly, out of the two, I would only answer my door to the Domino's
representative, at least with Domino's you get what you ask for !!
The amount that candidates spend on canvassing is indeed an important issue,
and it is very clear that Labour is pouring funds into this marginal ward in
the hope of regaining it.
He claims that Labour will protect green spaces in this area - what a joke.
Wasn't it John Prescott who gave the go-ahead to building two blocks of flats
in Spring Lane?
Mr Baxter puts himself over as being very "green" - well we have seen how
Labour councillors keep their pledges about being green from the way they have
just hacked down all the trees around the Westgate Centre and (dare I mention
it again) Bonn Square.
He claims that he can "pressurize" bus companies into improving their service -
how? Our current Labour city councillor, Delia Sinclair, told me categorically
that the council has no such powers.
The Conservative leaflet is largely concerned with maligning the Libdems, from
which their candidate has recently defected.
Does anyone know if Pat MYLVAGANAM is the same as Pathmanathan Mylvaganam? The
nly thing that I can find out about this person is that he/she has a very long
name and likes standing in parliamentary elections.
I thought people might like to know the city council election results for Headington & Marston bright and early, especially as there have been so many changes: of the six city councillors who came up for re-election, only one is left -- two resigned and three were defeated. Three seats in our area were taken by Labour, which has taken control of Oxford city council. Churchill: Claire Kent (IWCA) lost to Mark Lygo (Labour) Marston: Caroline Van Zyl (LibDem) lost to Beverley Hazzell (Labour) Quarry & Risinghurst: Tia MacGregor (Conservative, formerly LibDem) lost to Laurence Baxter (Labour) Barton & Sandhills: Patrick Murray (Labour) held his seat Headington: Ruth Wilkinson held Stephen Tall's former seat for the LibDems Headington Hill & Northway: Maureen Christian held Tony Gray's former seat for Labour. I would like to pretend I valiantly stayed up all night, but I got the results from the Radio Oxford website, where all the city's results are listed: http://www.oxford.gov.uk/council/results-2008.cfm
Sorry, when I said I got the results from the Radio Oxford website, I meant the
city council website. I hadn't realized that all Radio Oxford had done was to
link to the city council results page: I thought I was still with them (rushing
too much too early).
Well done to the city council for getting the results up so early!
A couple of corrections to Stephanie's useful e-mail. Patrick Murray would
consider it an insult to have Labour after his name: he's a LibDem. And the
overall situation on the Council is now:
Labour 23
LibDem 16
Green 7
IWCA 2
So, there is still no overall control but the general expectation is that
Labour will seek to form a minority administration.
Finally, thanks to all of those who went out and voted, for whichever party
it was.
David
David Rundle
City Councillor (LibDem), Headington Ward
We don't really deserve good government in this city, do we?
Turn out was 32.59% - around two thirds of people simply can't be bothered.
It's pathetic.
In my ward of Headington Hill and Northway three of the parties fought
energetic campaigns - and were rewarded with 31.17% turn out.
It isn't just Oxford - in fact we do pretty well by national standards in
local government elections, particularly considering that we have such a
high proportion of transient students (eg Carfax 24.51%). Turnouts of 46.05%
(Marston), 45.99% (Quarry and Risinghurst) and 40.26% (Wolvercote) are
unusually high except where there is a really electrifying issue to
galvanise the voters.
Of course we should all like to see a greater involvement (not least, I
guess, the politicians who could feel more supported)
Has anyone any good ideas how this might be achieved without compulsion?
Tony
Chris I have steadfastly remained a lurker on this forum as I am usually far too busy to get involved in long drawn-out posts, but I'm afraid you have touched a nerve that is extremely raw. I live in Quarry and my preferred candidate would be representing the Conservatives. My candidate on this occasion (Tia MacGregor) had been elected as a Lib Dem in previous elections and mid way through the term opted to become a Tory. this is a course of action that is not IMHO compatible with democracy. Having gladly utilised the resources and goodwill of a political organisation, a candidate if elected should serve the electorate within the framework of the political party that they represent. If, for some reason, they feel the need to distance themselves from that political party, they should either resign or go (AND REMAIN) independent until the electorate next have the opportunity to have their say. I suffered this problem in a previous life when I was living in Witney. My duly elected Conservative candidate (Shawn Woodward) suddenly became a labour MP overnight! Perhaps you can tell me how that is supposed to make me feel a part of this wonderful political democracy that, apparently, I so 'pathetically' take for granted? How dare you accuse local electors of apathy and describe their actions as pathetic? Who gives you the right to judge our actions? I have no respect for my allotted Conservative candidate. Something I have told Tory canvassers on the doorstep on several occasions, and indeed would have told her to her face if I'd not been at work when she called last night! My decision not to vote in these elections was borne out of frustration and not apathy. Have you ever stopped to consider how many other people around Oxford feel the same way? I suspect not, you are too busy telling us how pathetic we are for having standards and scruples that wont be lowered at the drop of a hat. Best Regards. Mick Chris Brewer wrote: > We don't really deserve good government in this city, do we? > > Turn out was 32.59% - around two thirds of people simply can't be bothered. It's pathetic. > > In my ward of Headington Hill and Northway three of the parties fought energetic campaigns - and were rewarded with 31.17% turn out. > > Chris Brewer > > Info about Chris Brewer: http://forums.e-democracy.org/contacts/chrisbrewer > > This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/1OxoPsyTt1yPgkTDTzu0js
People will only vote if they can see that their councillor is making a
difference in their local area - that was very clear from conversations on the
doorstep.
David Rundle and I are already planning a series of community surveys in
Headington to identify local issues and actively pursue casework.
Many thanks to all who voted in the local elections for whatever party
Ruth
Ruth Wilkinson
City Councillor (Lib Dem), Headington Ward
Turn-out might have been higher if people had got voting-cards delivered to
their doors (I never got one) telling them where their local polling station
was.
None of the party propaganda we got swamped with mentioned where exactly the
polling-stations were either. They kept showing us pictures of the candidates
taken in a flattering light!!
When you go to the Council's webpage listing polling-stations it provides a
list relating to numbers of areas BUT it does not explain what the numbers
mean! There is no map. How do I know what area my street is in? I ended up
guessing that it must be Gladstone Road as that is the nearest polling station
inside my ward.
It might help if the places that are chosen as polling stations had some sign
up on them in advance of the day.
Yes, it is tragic and disgusting for Labour to retain so many seats after their
dismal performance over the past 25 years but elections are won by making
hollow promises and putting money into key marginal wards, and that is what
Labour did.
Add to that the fact that local government has virtually no powers and merely
follows the directives of national government, which is dictated by the EU,
well, it's not surprising if many people don't vote.
In response to the various messages:
1. Turn-out: I believe it was down from 2006 (though that was quite a high).
In Australia, they have compulsory voting -- a system which surely could
only be anywhere near fair if the ballot paper included RON -- Re-Open
Nominations. At the same time, as the e-mails here show, non-voting can be a
positive choice, just as we have to be careful in how we read shifts. Those
of us who are elected representatives know that people don't necessarily
vote for each of us as an individual, nor do they necessarily vote
positively for a party, sometimes voting against the other parties.
2. Fraud and polling cards: yes, it is an amazing rule that you only have to
remember who you are to be able to vote; impersonation is an issue. I
thought the law was changing and a form of ID (but, let's hope, never an ID
card) would be requested from each voter.
3. Polling stations: a resident pointed out to me during the election
campaign that there was *no* list of polling stations on the council's
website. I got officers to put up the list, but it was late on and they
didn't have time to do what we should be doing: allowing residents to search
by postcode for their councillors, candidates, and polling station.
In response to Tony Joyce’s request for ideas about increasing involvement,
here’s a thought. In February of this year the citizens of Hamburg voted in
their local elections. A comparison with Oxford is admittedly of limited use,
Hamburg is a much larger city and the Hamburg government has much greater
powers than Oxford City Council. But one thing they did do was actively
encourage people to vote, by running a campaign called ‘Wirf deine Stimme nicht
Weg’ which (I am told) means ‘Don’t throw your vote away’. The campaign was
supported by an impressive web site. There was even a video of the HSV football
team singing a cheerful tune encouraging people to vote.
I would concede there is maybe a cultural difference here – it does take an
effort of the imagination to imagine Darren Patterson and his Oxford United
team singing ‘Don’t throw your vote away’, possibly to the tune of The
Searchers’ ‘Don’t throw your love away’. But it is an appealing thought.
The contrast between Hamburg’s imaginative campaign and the rather tired way
we run elections in Oxford is clear. Their reward for Hamburg was a 63.5%
turnout in the Bürgerschaft election, nearly double what we achieved in Oxford.
I would hope that in 2010 the City Council could put some thought, and some
investment, into encouraging people to vote.
Investment? No, thank you. Surely Council Tax is quite high enough without
having to
pay to make ourselves vote.
I certainly don't want pop groups singing jingles about it!
Here is a cheaper suggestion - we should turn the election into a raffle.
Everyone who votes will be entered into a prize draw, and the winner will be
allowed to overturn one City or County Council policy of their choice. That
should tempt people away from the telly.
There might even be queues at the polling stations!
Julia comments: >Here is a cheaper suggestion - we should turn the election into a raffle. >Everyone who votes will be entered into a prize draw, and the winner will be >allowed to overturn one City or County Council policy of their choice. I rather like that idea - certainly far better than either payment or compulsion - we've already got far too much of those! But what reward should we give for bothering to vote at general elections? Removing 10 items from the statute, perhaps? Sometimes, it seems impossible to step out of one's own front door without breaking one regulation or another - or, come to that, remaining in one's own home. Perhaps an even bigger 'bonus' for MEP elections? Don't even get me started on EU legislation - a typically wrong-headed Directive from the EU (started, I believe, by a German welders union) almost made it on the books this month. This Directive was planned to 'save' us all from the (largely) non-existent dangers of exposure to magnetic fields in the workplace - if enacted, it would have banned pretty much all use of medical MRI scanners throughout Europe. http://www.medicexchange.com/mall/departmentpage.cfm/MedicExchangeUSA/_81675/1542/departments-contentview http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/23 This would have included the 12 MRI scanners (installed value totalling perhaps £20M) currently operating or planned in the various Headington hospitals - which would have been an incredible waste of taxpayer's money. Fortunately there is a 4 year stay of execution, I hope common sense prevails in the meantime.
Mick wrote:
"My decision not to vote in these elections was borne out of frustration
and not apathy."
If you don't want to vote for any of the candidates, there is nothing to stop
you spoiling your vote as a way of distinguishing youself from the "can't be
bothered" brigade - at least that way your vote will (sort of) count.
(Perhaps ballot papers should be more like customer surveys with a question
along the lines of :"Please tell us why you have chosen not to vote for any of
the above candidates")
Personally, I opted for the candidate I thought could do least harm which is, I
suspect, probably the best that we can hope for in the current state of local
democracy.
Can someone point me in the direction of the percentage of votes cast for the
different parties in last week's City Council election please?
I'd also be interested to see the figures for 2002, 2004 and 2006.
You will find everything you could possibly want in the way of Oxford city election results from 2001 right up to 2008 linked from this city council webpage: http://www.oxford.gov.uk/council/election-results.cfm but you will have to work out the exact percentages for yourself.
It would be helpful if the City Council web pages did provide the overall percentages. However, I've found what I'm looking for on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Council_election%2C_2008 The results for previous years are there too. One striking figure is that the Liberal Democrats with 22.8% of the votes won eights seats, whereas the Conservatives with 20.2% failed to win a seat. Also Labour won half of the seats with only 11.2% of the electorate voting for them.
When you say 11.2% of the electorate, I take it you mean all those entitled to
vote, not merely the minority who did?
The fact that so few people are voting and membership of the old political
parties is so low, is one reason the phrase (so beloved of the media) "the main
parties" does not make much sense any more.
By the way, I would like officially to assert my legal copyright in the idea
of turning elections into raffles. If this idea (which is not the official
policy of any party) ever does get taken up, by any local or national
government, I would like to claim the credit and entitlement to royalties.
Having lotteries / rewards has already been thought of (and in one instance got as far as a proposition) : UK : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1572084/Vote-for-your-council-and-win-a-lottery-prize.html USA : http://www.azsos.gov/election/2006/Info/pubpamphlet/english/Prop200.htm Still a neat idea though! On Fri, May 9, 2008 at 10:49 PM, Julia Gasper <<email obscured>> wrote: > When you say 11.2% of the electorate, I take it you mean all those entitled to vote, not merely the minority who did? > The fact that so few people are voting and membership of the old political parties is so low, is one reason the phrase (so beloved of the media) "the main parties" does not make much sense any more. > By the way, I would like officially to assert my legal copyright in the idea of turning elections into raffles. If this idea (which is not the official policy of any party) ever does get taken up, by any local or national government, I would like to claim the credit and entitlement to royalties. > > > Julia Gasper > Headington Quarry, Oxford England > Info about Julia Gasper: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/juliagasper > > This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/1JLuMgIA6wTdHtS8dksxv0
Darn it - my dreams of fame and wealth have been dashed again. 'Twas ever so.
I was not born under a lucrative star, whichever one that is - presumably
Pluto?