Full County Council Meeting Webcast

On Tuesday this week it was our full Council meeting which was held at Bodicote House in Banbury at the Cherwell District Council Offices.  You can view the full recorded meeting at the following  link which takes you to the district council website.  Items I spoke on included paying tribute to the late County Councillor and Alderman Charles Shouler, the recent recommendations on the remuneration panel which pays councillors' allowances, questions on the lack of bus services to connect to Didcot, Harwell, Milton Park, infrastructure issues generally including Grove station, the poor state of our roads due to potholes not being repaired, and paying tribute to the emergency services giving us the help in Grove during the flash flood of the Letcombe Brook in Cane Lane.

One of the remarkable events of the afternoon, was our Lib Dem motion about improving air quality under our new powers of public health.  This was successful due to all political groups voting with us, recognising the importance of this issue for Oxfordshire - all except the Conservatives, including the Cabinet Member for Public Health, who voted against it or changed their minds and abstained!  You can see the Chairman's hand go up to vote against, then his face changes as he looked at his group in disarray and his hand goes up in the abstentions.  Remarkable!  Then the Cabinet member  for Public Health walked out of the meeting altogether.  Now there is no overall control at the council, the ruling group will find it very difficult to have their own way.  This is a victory for Oxfordshire residents, as the high pollution levels we are all suffering this week makes air quality a very important public health matter.