UPDATE: The Oxfordshire Green Party submitted a response. Then in November 2018, the Boundary Commission accepted our proposal for 7 wards. The final decision will be announced in February 2019.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is consulting on new ward boundaries for Oxford. In Oxford people in each ward elect two councillors to represent us on Oxford City Council. They serve the people within their ward.
Because the number of voters in each ward has changed, the Boundary Commission is doing a review to set out new ward boundaries with almost the same number of voters in each ward. They have produced a draft proposal for new ward boundaries, based on what they heard from the council and the Labour Party. We now have until 13 August 2018 to respond to the consultation, telling them what they have got wrong and how to improve on the draft.
Anyone working or living in Oxford can take part in the consultation. The Oxfordshire Green Party wants your help in designing our response. Please leave your suggestions below.
The Boundary Commission wants to know how well the proposed wards do 3 things:
- Does it reflect the community boundaries as understood by people in Oxford? The wards should not cut a community in two. Ideally they bring together communities who are linked. (For example, Donnington and Iffley Village are part of the same Church of England parish.)
- Is it convenient to administer? Do people come together at the same places (community centres, pubs, shops etc.)? Do the transport routes bring people together or separate one area from another?
- Are there the same number of registered electors in each ward?
We have the data on the number of voters in each area, so we need your help on 1 and 2. We need suggestions backed up by evidence that supports your changes.
In the map below, you can see the draft boundaries from the Boundary Commission (in red). Overlaid on that (in green) is a proposed alternative for 3 wards prepared by our Green councillors for a council committee. These proposals were judged by officials as fine. They improve on the draft. But they were voted down by Labour councillors, in a tradition dating back to 1812.
