Oxford Labour has chosen experienced campaigner and Parish Councillor Anna Railton as its candidate for the Hinksey Park by-election, which is expected to take place on Thursday September 29th.
The by-election has been called following the resignation of popular Councillor and former City Cabinet Member Marie Tidball, who has been selected to fight her home town seat of Penistone and Stocksbridge in Yorkshire for Labour at the next General Election.
Anna, who has already started campaigning in the ward, said:
“I am honoured to be selected to stand by local Labour Party members in Hinksey Park. Marie is an incredibly hard act to follow but I have already been working with local members to listen to local residents. If I am successful I will campaign for local residents and among other issues, ensure that work on the Gasworks Bridge starts as soon as possible and campaign to make Hinksey Lake a safe place to swim.”
Anna is an experienced community activist, who has stood up for residents time and time again – campaigning to ensure funds from local developers are fully used to enhance community projects, for a reliable bus network and improved green spaces. Anna works as a Machine Learning engineer at GitHub, a software company.
Retiring Councillor Marie Tidball said: “It has been a great privilege to be an Oxford City Councillor for over six years, serving the community in South Oxford.
“I have now been selected as the Labour candidate to fight the next General Election for the Penistone and Stocksbridge constituency. This is where I grew up, where my family still live and where my partner and I have moved so that I can serve the communities in my home seat and so our daughter can start school here in September.
“I am proud of the difference I have been able to make in Hinksey Park as part of a strong local Labour team, serving alongside Bob Price, Alex Donnelly, Naomi Waite and Brad Baines. Our work has:
- Saved South Oxford Family Room and South Oxford Health Centre from closure;
- Secured a new footbridge connecting Hinksey Park and Marlborough Road;
- Delivered the decarbonisation plans for Hinksey Pool using new heat pumps;
- Secured improvements to Hinksey Park and Fox Crescent playgrounds;
- Ensured key agencies worked together to create a dedicated South Oxford Flood response plan;
- Delivered an effective resident’s parking scheme for New Hinksey;
- Delivered improvements to Preachers Lane and Friars Wharf walkways and landscaping
Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council, said: “Marie has been an outstanding local councillor for the Hinksey Park communities and also contributed hugely as a Cabinet member to the city as a whole. In particular, her work alongside council officers during lockdown to ensure all vulnerable people were being looked after and the setting up of citywide community hubs was exceptional.
“Marie’s contribution to our city will be missed but our loss is Penistone and Stocksbridge’s gain.”
Bob Price, Former Council Leader and local resident of Hinksey Park, said: “Marie has been an outstanding Councillor and has made a huge contribution to South Oxford and St Ebbes. She led the successful campaigns to save the Health Centre and the Family Room at Grandpont Nursery, and secured the funding to repair the footbridge over the river from St Ebbes to Grandpont. She has worked tirelessly to secure a satisfactory design for the Bertie Place housing scheme. The voters of Penistone and Stocksbridge are lucky to have gained Marie’s skills and experience and we look forward to seeing her in Parliament after the next General Election.”
ENDS
