18/07/2026
Today’s announcement that the Government has chosen the 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 for Oxfordshire and West Berkshire marks one of the biggest changes to local government in a generation.
As someone 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐭, I probably see these boundaries a little differently to some. I was born when Didcot was still in Berkshire, so like many long-time residents I don’t get too hung up on county boundaries. In many ways, Didcot has always had much more in common with Newbury and Reading than it has with Banbury or Chipping Norton.
But this isn’t about lines on a map.
It’s about whether 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥.
I support the principle of simplifying local government if it genuinely delivers better services, less bureaucracy and better value for taxpayers. But I have real concerns that this proposal risks years of expensive reorganisation without providing the answers residents are looking for.
My biggest concern is that while councils and officers spend the next two years restructuring organisations, local people will still be asking the same questions:
● Why is SEND provision still so difficult to access?
● When will infrastructure catch up with housing growth?
● How will adult social care cope with increasing demand?
● Will local taxpayers end up paying for financial problems inherited from elsewhere?
The proposed Ridgeway Council brings together South Oxfordshire, the Vale of White Horse and West Berkshire. West Berkshire has already required Exceptional Financial Support from Government because of its financial pressures. Residents deserve clear answers about what that means for the finances of the new authority and whether South Oxfordshire taxpayers could end up carrying additional financial risk.
I’m also deeply concerned about the impact on Didcot itself.
Under these proposals, villages such as 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐝𝐞𝐧 move into the new Greater Oxford Council, taking significant housing allocations with them. If overall housing requirements remain, where will the pressure for additional development fall?
𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧.
Our roads are congested, GP appointments are harder to get, school places are under pressure and our infrastructure continues to lag years behind the pace of development. Residents deserve investment before more expansion is forced upon our town.
There are also questions around democratic representation. South Oxfordshire residents must not find themselves with a weaker voice in the new authority while other areas enjoy greater representation. Any new council must be built around fairness for residents, not political convenience or gerrymandered to suit political parties before people.
This reorganisation only happens once in a generation. It needed to put communities first.
As your local councillor, my priority will remain exactly as it always has been: standing up for 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, fighting for better services, protecting taxpayers, and making sure our community is never treated as the easy answer whenever difficult decisions need to be made.
People don’t care about council structures. They care about whether they can get an EHCP for their child, see a GP, drive on decent roads, find an affordable home and enjoy the services they pay for.
Those are the issues I’ll keep fighting for.
