RECENTLY I was one of 345 out of over 2,700 of the electorate of Old Marston who voted in the parish council elections.

Had it not been for the sudden death of Councillor Roy Jones, the parish election which took place on June 26, postponed for legal reasons, should have taken place on the same day (May 22) as the Oxford city and European elections.

Had this been so, more people, perhaps 30 per cent of the electorate would have voted, compared to the poor turnout of only 13 per cent.

There were 13 candidates standing, competing for 12 seats and some voters may have only known of one or two of those standing. You could vote for only one candidate, or as many as you wished from one to 12.

That was the first parish election for many years and during that time co-options took place whenever there was a vacancy.

Now we have a democratically elected parish council ready to continue to serve the interests of the people of Old Marston. It’s a shame that many of the electorate still do not know who sits on the council or what they do for the community.

Knowing, as a member of the public who has sat in on meetings for a couple years, I can assure everyone the council does a tremendous job in the interests of the people of the parish of Old Marston, not just the village but south of the Marston Ferry Link Road also.

MICHAEL CLARKE
Lewell Avenue
Old Marston
Oxford


Today’s letters