Polling card for Thursday

Wed 4 May 2022, 08:42

It's an understandable confusion, because we've just emerged from a decade or so of unprecedented electoral activity.

Ordinarily, there are local elections in Charlbury every other year: in a four-year cycle, we vote in year 1 for:

• The District seat currently held by Liz Leffman
• Our County Councillor
• The Town Council

And we vote in year 3 for the District seat currently held by Andy Graham, and normally every 4-5 years for our MP (often on the same day as the locals). So we usually have elections only every other year

But since 2009, we've also had:

• Elections for the Westminster parliament in 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019
• Referendums on proportional representation in 2011, on Brexit in 2016, on Charlbury rates in 2016 and on the Charlbury Town Plan in 2021
• Elections for the European parliament in 2009, 2014 and 2019
• Elections for the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner in 2012, 2016 and 2021

So thinking back, most of us probably remember there being an election just about every year in the past decade.

But of course in Charlbury it's not the arrival of polling cards that flags an imminent election: it's the display of posters. 

And there's been no outbreak of political apathy.

Tue 3 May 2022, 17:01

Basically, each councillor is supposed to represent an average number of electors, this being revised every once in a while.  Charlbury, Finstock and Fawler were put together in the last review in 2002.  Currently, Eynsham & Cassington, Chipping Norton and Witney South elect every year - everybody else gets a break (or call it what you will).

Tue 3 May 2022, 15:57

It’s a bit complex but basically…

Elections to West Oxfordshire District Council are in thirds, i.e. one-third of the council is up for election each year.

It’s a four-year electoral cycle (i.e. each councillor serves a four-year term). That means there’s a “year off” from WODC elections.

In that year, Oxfordshire County Council elections take place.

However, we’re in the Charlbury & Finstock ward of WODC, and that has just two councillors. So of the three WODC election years, we only get elections in two of them.

Tue 3 May 2022, 15:50

How does this happen? Must be something to do with Covid restrictions etc putting elections out of sequence but being poor at arithmetic can’t figure out why we don’t get at least one “part” election this year…

Tue 3 May 2022, 15:03

Thanks Mike,

That explains it!

Tue 3 May 2022, 14:28

There aren't any elections in Charlbury this year.

Tue 3 May 2022, 14:25

Neither my Wife or I have received ours.

Do we just rock up to The Memorial Hall?