THE Oxford Mail has had its run ins with Witney Town Council recently – particularly over its decision to exclude our journalists from its meetings.

So we were excited to see the council is putting together a media policy, but slightly bemused about the following extract: “The Government has recently been consulting NALC (the National Association of Local Councils) on the daft [sic] Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014.”

Let’s hope this is a humble typo rather than the council’s actual opinion on government openness.

AND we move on to another council mistake, with Oxford City Council officers having to make an unusual correction.

Sarah Claridge, the council’s committee and member services officer, had to write to all city councillors after noticing a mistake on the authority’s website about the Lib Dem city councillor for Summertown Stuart McCready who had recently resigned.

Oxford Mail:

  • Stuart McCready

Ms Claridge wrote: “Unfortunately, due to a clerical error we have given the impression on the history of our website that Stuart McCready has died. This is not the case, and we have rectified the history. Apologies for any concern this might have caused.”

In fairness to Ms Claridge, she called Mr McCready personally to apologise. There is no truth in the rumour that his new nickname is Lazarus.

MEANWHILE, county council leader Ian Hudspeth was caught in the act of making cuts by one of The Insider’s colleagues.

But children’s centres can breathe a sigh of relief because this time the Conservative councillor was caught leaving County Hall to get his hair cut.

Oxford Mail:

The days when hairdressers will have been able to do something interesting with Mr Hudspeth’s hair are long gone, as readers can compare for themselves in the pictures from the 70s, above and now, below.

Oxford Mail:

But then, Mr Hudspeth has by necessity become an expert at making cuts even when there is not a lot left to trim, so his barber can always ask for his advice.

OXFORD’S Lord Mayor Dee Sinclair was landed in a difficult position while chairing her last council meeting this week.

During a heated debate on housing Ms Sinclair, a Labour councillor, told off the leader of Oxford City Council’s Green group, Craig Simmons, for pointing across the room at her fellow party members and not addressing them through her, as is traditional.

Oxford Mail:

  • Dee Sinclair

But when her fellow Labour councillor Scott Seamons, the executive board member for housing, stood up to reply, the Greens objected that he too was pointing, forcing Ms Sinclair to ask him to stop – rather more politely and a bit more meekly.