Sean Woodcock MP Monthly Column

Fri 6 Jun, 16:12

Sean Woodcock Monthly Column: May/Early June 2025

As always, I’ve been busy representing and working for the constituents of Banbury this month.

I’ve been speaking up in Parliament about various issues affecting local people, including overcrowding on Chiltern Railways trains. Constituents have regularly told me about the issues they’ve faced regarding poor service on Chiltern trains to or from Banbury, so I was pleased to hear that the Department of Transport is working with Chiltern Railways to improve procurement and refurbish carriages. I followed this up more recently in meeting with Rail Minister Lord Hendy to discuss this overcrowding further and to follow up on the progress that the Department for Transport are making. I will continue to monitor these issues and stay informed about any future updates.

I have also spoken in the Chamber on the provision of youth services, given that 19/25 of Oxfordshire’s youth services were closed under the Conservatives. I then later met with Distraction Community Youth Project to discuss youth work in Banbury and the local area. My other contributions have included the use of drones, where I was pleased to hear that drone development will be supported, increasing Britain’s security. I also welcomed the news that 2017 more children in the Banbury constituency will start receiving free school meals from September, which is set to make a real difference in regard to attainment, behaviour and attendance of children in our schools.

In the constituency, I have been out and about in Souldern, Charlbury and Hook Norton speaking to residents, and have been holding regular surgeries listening to constituents’ issues and offering my support and advice. Speaking to local people always shapes the issues I champion, such as writing to Sainsbury’s to ask them to reconsider their decision to shut the customer toilets in the Banbury store on Oxford Road. I have heard of the difficulties faced by constituents as a result of this decision, so I will continue to monitor this and hope that the decision will be reversed. As always, if anyone would like to book a time to meet with me, you can email sean.woodcock.casework@parliament.uk and a member of my team will be in touch with you to set up an appointment.

I have then been getting on and assisting constituents with the issues raised. This includes helping a constituent get a blocked sewage pipe fixed that left them unable to use the toilet in their house, and arranging support from the Home Office to allow my terminally ill constituent’s daughter to visit from Pakistan.

I have also been speaking to and meeting with lots of local groups, businesses and venues to hear their ideas and understand their concerns. This has included Enstone Aerodrome; Cherwell Hospital; Banbury Samaritans; Get Fed’; ‘IE-NDT’; Mahindra Racing and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Through meeting with these groups, I have been able to understand the challenges faced, see their hard work in action and realise how I can provide increased support moving forward.

I have also held various meetings with local groups and stakeholders, including a Policing and Crime Roundtable meeting, engaging with Thames Valley Police and other stakeholders to hear solutions on and understand how to better tackle crime in our towns and villages. Additionally, I have met with representatives of the Country, Land and Business Association, National Farmers’ Union and NE Cotswold Farmers Cluster, alongside local farmers, to discuss issues and how I can offer further support. This is on top of attending a roundtable meeting with the National Farmers Union to understand these issues in more detail.

On other issues, I have written to the government, urging them to support the recognition of Palestine at the UN conference in June, and I have been vocal about my support for the NC1 amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which will decriminalise abortion and provide support for vulnerable women and girls.

Additionally, I have been pleased to welcome investments into our local public services, with Labour’s announcements of funding to schools and hospitals set to benefit the Warriner school and the Horton General Hospital – my former school and birthplace. I know the difference this will make to people’s lives as our local children and hospital patients will be able to benefit from improved facilities and services.

As always, supporting local people and the constituents of Banbury shapes my priorities, and every day I work hard to make sure residents’ voices are heard. I will continue to champion the needs of Banbury and local people in my work, both in the constituency and in Parliament.