The Letter below was sent to the Oxford Mail on Monday 29 November:
Dear Sir,
Many Oxford residents will share my astonishment at the bare-faced cheek displayed by Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds in opposing bus cut her party failed to prevent.
The Oxford Mail of 27 November reported Ms Dodds as “very concerned to hear of major cuts” that were announced by Oxfordshire County Council earlier in the week. The same news report says that Ms Dodds “had spoken to the leader of the council a few weeks ago”, which begs a question for the discerning reader; why have her representations been so ineffective?
As a Littlemore resident since 2013 I have been alarmed by changes that have further isolated our community. Ms Dodds’ Labour colleagues on the district and county council have promised for years to improve our bus provision. Less than six months into facilitating a Liberal Democrat led-council, Oxford Labour have not opened up crucial routes out of Littlemore, and have now failed to protect our bus services, much less improve them.
Many voters in Oxford East will be wondering whether their Labour MP and councillors are at best ineffectual, or at worst willfully negligent. Either way, deprived communities like Littlemore can ill afford their representatives to be asleep at the wheel and failing to stand up for their interests.
I am thrilled that my party colleagues on the county council are actively talking to myself and others in Oxford about what needs to be done to protect community transport links. If Labour are serious about standing up for Oxford’s residents, they need to come alongside the county Conservative group to make this happen.
Daniel Stafford
Oxford East Conservatives
