Rose Hill and Iffley
This isn’t going to be a councillor-blog. Local news and views from your two (!) Labour councillors for RH&I will go on www.oxfordlabour.org.uk.
But the morning after, indulge the novice councillor, excited and a little scared.
Here’s my ward (I still can’t get used to that - I keep saying “the ward I’m campaigning for”, the ward I hope to represent”!):
Pretty, isn’t it? But you can’t tell much from an ariel photo. So here’s a map with lines drawn to show the informal distinctions of the ward:
To the east is the area of private semi-detached houses known in estate agent-speak as “Iffley Borders”. To the south is the medium-size estate of council housing, with some right-to-buy and some private rented houses. And to the north is Iffley Village, the picture-postcard village served by a noted Norman church with the river Thames at its edge.
Looking at the ACORN classifications, the differences are even more stark.
Residents are mostly in their 20s and early 30s. They are well qualified, usually to A-level and degree standard. The older individuals in this type are often already in successful professional and managerial careers. Others are in lower managerial roles, as well as clerical occupations. Some work in the education and healthcare sectors. [...] Their preferred newspapers are The Guardian, Independent and Observer. They are likely to have cable TV and are keen on exercise and sport as well as theatre, music and the arts.
This type of postcode encompasses the most affluent people in the UK. They live in wealthy, high status suburban and semi-rural neighbourhoods, particularly in the Home Counties. Most are highly qualified professionals, senior executives and business owners, often in their 40s and 50s.
They tend to live in large detached houses with four or more bedrooms, many of which are owned outright. These households often have more than two cars, at least one of which is likely to be a high value company car.
There is a high level of readership of the Financial Times as well as the other quality broadsheets.
These are some of the poorest young families in the country. They have exceptionally high numbers of children and a very young age profile. The level of single parents is three times the national average.
Housing is mainly three bedroom terraces, or sometimes semis, rented from the council. For the larger families, this means some overcrowding.
Unemployment is very high with a significant number of young people never having worked. With many single parents not working, the number of wage earners is low and so, inevitably, are incomes. A number of households are in debt.
Needless to say, most of my vote came from the estate, with a good share from the borders, and the few Labour diehards from the village.
[...] it sounds like she has a fascinating ward. Posted in Green politics (Friday May 5, 2006 at 2:08 pm) - [...]
Congratulations! I’m thrilled for you! Hopefully yesterday will be just one in a long line of Bance-led Labour victories =D
JK
xxx
CONGRATULATIONS Councillor Bance! Sorry I couldn’t make it over, but as you’ll have seen from the results, things weren’t as bad as they couldn’t been in London (except perhaps in Barking!!).
See you soon I hope and have a great time in Greece xxx
Why is your ward making that funny thumbs-up sign, by the way? What’s going on in the geography on the far eastern bit of the ward, so that they’ve drawn the boundaries in that peculiar fashion?
(And many congratulations, of course: it’s really excellent news that you’ve won, and won so well.)
Congratulations and well done! I wish you all the best for your role.
Well done you, and the very best of luck! Fabulous!
It’s not a thumbs-up - it’s a badly-drawn keg with a tap on the side.
Many congratulations, Antonia.
Congratulations…..
Thought I’d already posted this, but obviously not! Congratulations - think you’ll make an excellent councillor - glad the people of Rose Hill and Iffley realised!
4: The reason for the thumbs-up shape, Chris, is because the patch of green immediately to the left of the thumb as you look at it is a cemetery, and it is accessible only from the road that runs horizontally left of the thumbnail (so to speak), which is in the neighbouring ward. So the commissioners felt that the cemetery was better placed in that ward.