Latest news with #FreddievanMierlo
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local election count begins in Oxfordshire
Local election results are being counted in Banbury to determine who will control Oxfordshire County Council for the next four years. All 69 seats on the council are up for election. There are also various district council by-elections across the county. The authority has been run by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats and the Greens since 2023, after Labour pulled out of a three-party alliance formed following the 2021 election. Counting started on Friday morning and results were expected by 19:00 BST. Although Oxfordshire County Council probably will not exist for much longer, the authority will still have time to implement - or scrap - major policies such as planned new traffic filters. The balance of power on Oxfordshire County Council is on a knife edge. Extra seats have been created after boundary changes increased the number of councillors from 63 to 69. In the last election in 2021, the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives won exactly 21 seats each. Initially, the authority was run by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Labour, but Labour left in 2023 over a damning report into provision for children with disabilities and special educational needs (SEND). The council has since been run as a minority administration of Lib Dems and Greens. In this election, the Conservatives will be looking to win enough seats to retake control, while the Liberal Democrats will be looking to strengthen their existing position. LIVE: Follow the latest election updates What happened in local elections overnight and what's still to come? Who won the local election in my area? This is set to be the last time Oxfordshire residents are asked to elect county councillors, as local government could be reorganised in the next four years. The government has announced its intention to scrap the current two-tier system of local government - with both districts and a county council. Some areas have been "fast-tracked", meaning they will not have planned elections this May and will instead push on with reorganisation and devolution. Oxfordshire was not successful in its bid to be included in the fast-track scheme, but has been told by the government to prepare plans for reorganisation, with changes set to be in put in place in 2028. After this point, the county council will no longer exist and will have been replaced by one or more unitary authorities, along with a regional elected mayor. Four of Oxfordshire's MPs have been so-called "double-hatters" since the general election in July. That means they have sat on both local councils and as MPs - that will change. Freddie van Mierlo, the Liberal Democrat MP for Henley, is stepping down as both a district and county councillor. Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester & Woodstock, is not standing for re-election to the county council. The Labour MP for Banbury Sean Woodcock has also decided to stand down from his seat on Cherwell District Council, prompting a by-election. Liberal Democrat Charlie Maynard's previous seat on West Oxfordshire District Council will also be filled. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. When will we know all the results? How the BBC is reporting local election results Anger and indifference collide in unpredictable local elections Oxfordshire County Council
BBC News
04-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Henley MP demands apology from Oxford's hospital trust
An MP has urged a hospital trust to apologise for "misleading" the family of a boy with a degenerative illness. The Liberal Democrat MP for Henley and Thame, Freddie van Mierlo, said Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) assured him it was ready to roll out a new medication for people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DND). He told the family of 11-year-old Ben, from Henley, who has the condition, but the family was subsequently told by the trust it could not commit to a timescale. OUH said it was exploring how to deliver the drug, but funding challenges meant the process was "not straightforward". Mr van Mierlo said the trust told him it was ready to launch an Early Access Programme to allow patients to access givinostat during a meeting in drug, which has shown positive results in trials, was given conditional approval in the UK in MP said: "I took the trust at its word and shared the information with my constituent. "To later find out the trust was not ready and could not provide Ben with the treatment he needs was devastating for the family." Ben was diagnosed with DND in 2017. The condition progressively weakens muscles and can limit life expectancy. Alex Clarke, Ben's dad, said: "This drug could slow down the progression of Ben's condition, but we need action now. "Every day that passes without access to givinostat feels like we are running out of time. "I urge OUH to follow through on their earlier assurances and get Ben the treatment he urgently needs." Professor Andrew Brent, chief medical officer at OUH, said: "Unfortunately, although the drug is being offered for free by the company, there are many other costs to delivery of the treatment as the medication needs close monitoring which will require additional staffing resource and expertise. "We are currently investigating how we might do this, but it is not straightforward without NHS commissioning funding to support the service and at a time when we, like all of the NHS, are being asked reduce our costs."We want to do all we can support patients with Duchenne and their families, and are therefore exploring whether there is any way we can deliver givinostat without stopping other essential care." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter) or Instagram.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Electric Mini affected by 'post-Brexit red tape'
A group of Liberal Democrat MPs are calling on the government to take urgent action over "post-Brexit red tape" in order to safeguard the future of jobs at Oxford's Mini plant. The MPs met with management and union representatives on Monday in the wake of the manufacturer BMW's decision to delay the reintroduction of electric vehicle making there. Last month BMW said "multiple uncertainties facing the automotive industry" had led to its decision to pause work on the £600m upgrade of the Cowley plant. Calum Miller, MP for Bicester and Woodstock, told the BBC that many of his constituents working at the plant are worried for their jobs. He said: "Because of the way Brexit has been implemented, hundreds of pages of paperwork need to be completed just for one car. "If we can do more to work with our European partners to reduce that burden, then it will be easier for BMW to make the right decision and invest in the plant's future in Oxford." Freddie van Mierlo, MP for Henley and Thame, also attended the meeting and described the lack of investment in infrastructure as worrying. "The charging infrastructure simply isn't there and we haven't seen the capacity built for battery manufacture in the UK, and that is causing problems," he said. The MPs say their discussions were "fruitful" and they plan to meet the Minister for Industry in April to press for clarity on the government's plans for the car industry. In 2023 BMW announced plans to invest hundreds of millions of pounds to prepare the factory to build a new generation of electric cars. Production of two new electric Mini models was due to begin at the plant in 2026. The industry has been in a long-running debate with the government over its targets for electric vehicle production, with manufacturers saying they will not be able to meet the current targets. The Department for Transport (DfT) said it recognised the challenges they were facing and was listening to concerns. It said it was consulting on "reinstating the 2030 electric vehicle deadline while also protecting jobs", a decision it said was "supported by a majority of manufacturers who have been working towards this date and are on track to meet their zero emission vehicle mandate targets". The DfT said it was investing more than £2.3bn to support industry and consumers to make the switch to electric. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Electric Mini plan 'delayed, not cancelled' BMW delays electric Mini over 'uncertainty' Mini factories get cash to build new electric cars MINI UK
BBC News
25-03-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Oxford Mini weighed down by 'post-Brexit red tape'
A group of Liberal Democrat MPs are calling on the government to take urgent action over "post-Brexit red tape" in order to safeguard the future of jobs at Oxford's Mini MPs met with management and union representatives on Monday in the wake of the manufacturer BMW's decision to delay the reintroduction of electric vehicle making month BMW said "multiple uncertainties facing the automotive industry" had led to its decision to pause work on the £600m upgrade of the Cowley Miller, MP for Bicester and Woodstock, told the BBC that many of his constituents working at the plant are worried for their jobs. He said: "Because of the way Brexit has been implemented, hundreds of pages of paperwork need to be completed just for one car. "If we can do more to work with our European partners to reduce that burden, then it will be easier for BMW to make the right decision and invest in the plant's future in Oxford."Freddie van Mierlo, MP for Henley and Thame, also attended the meeting and described the lack of investment in infrastructure as worrying."The charging infrastructure simply isn't there and we haven't seen the capacity built for battery manufacture in the UK, and that is causing problems," he MPs say their discussions were "fruitful" and they plan to meet the Minister for Industry in April to press for clarity on the government's plans for the car industry. 2030 deadline In 2023 BMW announced plans to invest hundreds of millions of pounds to prepare the factory to build a new generation of electric of two new electric Mini models was due to begin at the plant in industry has been in a long-running debate with the government over its targets for electric vehicle production, with manufacturers saying they will not be able to meet the current Department for Transport (DfT) said it recognised the challenges they were facing and was listening to said it was consulting on "reinstating the 2030 electric vehicle deadline while also protecting jobs", a decision it said was "supported by a majority of manufacturers who have been working towards this date and are on track to meet their zero emission vehicle mandate targets".The DfT said it was investing more than £2.3bn to support industry and consumers to make the switch to electric. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
06-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Oxfordshire MPs join social care reform campaigners
Two Liberal Democrat MPs have joined campaigners calling for a change to social care Glover, MP for Didcot and Wantage, and Henley and Thame MP Freddie van Mierlo joined campaigners in Westminster calling on the government to address what they called a "crisis in social care".The government has committed to an independent commission that would make "clear recommendations" on how to rebuild the sector, which is expected to begin in critics have previously said the timescale set out by Labour lacked sufficient urgency. "It definitely needs reform, and it's good that the Labour government is committing to doing that, but I'm really concerned they want to take another three years to do yet another review into social care," Mr Glover told the said social care was "incredibly important", with one constituent recently telling him at a surgery that it was currently a "lonely, stressful journey" to find the right care."Because there isn't an overall system, a lot of people are finding it really hard to navigate through it," he added. Social care covers a broad range of services for people who are older or living with a physical or mental King's Fund estimates local authorities in England spent £28.4bn on social care in 2022/ Lib Dems have called for the government's planned review to be carried out within a year, as opposed to the three that Labour have currently van Mierlo said he joined protesters in Parliament Square because "we need this to be a wake-up call for ministers". Speaking about the protest on 25 February, he said: "As we have seen today, the care sector, people in need of care and council budgets simply cannot wait any longer; the social care review needs to be completed within a year, not the three currently scheduled."Only then will we see the care in Oxfordshire available when and where people need it. Health Secretary Wes Streeting previously said the government's aim was to set up a "National Care Service" that would be capable of catering for an ageing population for decades to said the government would "finally grasp the nettle on social care reform" but that it would take time to devise a model fit for the Streeting also rejected suggestions the government was pushing social care reform into the long grass, saying it was "already acting" and had "done a lot" during its first months in power. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
