West Oxfordshire Green Party Candidates 

Oxfordshire County Council Elections  2021

Burford & Carterton North

Rosie Pearson

Rosie has lived in Oxfordshire since 1997. She grew up in Sussex, studied at Oxford University, and has worked in PR, journalism, education, philanthropy and the arts. Since 1998, she has lived at Asthall Manor, near Burford, where she runs the popular sculpture exhibition, on form, and is setting up community-supported food growing in the walled garden.

Rosie has been a member of the Green Party for fifteen years. An optimist by nature, she believes that human beings are capable of finding a more generous and harmonious way to live on the earth than that which is currently considered normal. She is inspired by a vision of a future which is not only cleaner and fairer, but also happier, less stressful, and more fun.

If elected, Rosie would hold the county council to the implementation of its climate action Plan, insisting on the need for real travel choices, including the possibility of a rail link between Oxford and Carterton, and safer cycling. She would give a platform to community groups like WASP (Witney Against Sewage Pollution) and she would measure all county policies by their effect on the broader environment, as well as their contribution to human prosperity.

Carterton South & West

Hemashu Kotecha

Hemashu has lived in Carterton for over 11 years. He is a sound engineer, a Prince’s Trust business mentor and a volunteer for the NHS.

His main concern is the impact of climate change and the environment on our children and their children - he feels that the authorities are not serious about the urgency in tackling all our sources of greenhouse gas emissions, or protecting the environment in which we live. 

Hemashu is a very a strong believer in justice and equality for all.

If elected, Hemashu would put his weight behind increased use of electric buses and the proposed rail link from Carterton to Witney and Oxford and beyond. Improved transport links for Carterton are vital for the prosperity of Carterton. 

He would also concentrate upon what the County can do to enhance educational provision to help children catch up on their learning now that they are back at school - especially the young children. He would, of course, also push the Council to be more supportive of schemes to encourage the rewilding of road verges and green spaces for wildlife, and to stop routine and unnecessary use of chemicals harmful to nature. The council should also try harder to influence landowners, developers, business and communities to maximise opportunities for nature.

Charlbury & Wychwood

Dr Frances Mortimer

Green Party candidate for Stonesfield and Tackley (West Oxfordshire District Council) and Charlbury and Wychwood (Oxfordshire County Council)

Frances grew up locally and lives between Charlbury and Stonesfield with her husband and three young children. She studied medicine in Oxford and London and worked as an NHS doctor for five years before leaving in 2008 to co-found the independent charity, The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, where she now works as Medical Director.

She joined the newly-formed Charlbury Town Council Environment Working Group last year, where her first action was to organise a popular electric bike try-out event. She loves the freedom of e-bikes - and is often to be seen riding the family's blue e-cargo bike with a couple of kids on the back! She is a member of the Stonesfield Climate Emergency group and over the past two years has been liaising with local farmers and the community to plant trees and protect local wildlife.

If elected, she will continue to work towards creating a thriving community where much more of our food is grown locally, our homes are efficient, the air and the rivers are clean, streets are safe for people of every age to get around on foot or by bike, and we are well-connected by public transport. 

Chipping Norton

Dr Malcolm Brown

Malcolm Brown has lived in Chipping Norton for almost 20 years. He is a Medical Doctor with previous experience as a Transplant Surgeon. More recently he has completed a post-graduate Masters degree in Medical Law and Ethics via distance learning at the University of Edinburgh.

If elected, one of his priorities would be to use his medical knowledge to continue to remind council of their responsibilities to safeguard the health of the citizens of district and county.

Dangerous levels of air pollution are not limited to our major cities.  Locally West Oxfordshire has some of the most polluted locations in the whole county, as traffic has outgrown the historic streets of our towns. Chipping Norton is one of the towns in Oxfordshire with a particular problem  in relation to air quality.

The health risk to both elderly and younger citizens in West Oxfordshire was recognised as long ago as 2005 when West Oxfordshire District Council was required to create Air Quality Management Action Plans for Horsefair in Chipping Norton and Bridge Street in Witney, but very little has been done in the last decade and a half.  The 2008 plan for Chipping Norton has not been fully implemented and we have yet to see any action plan for Witney. Meanwhile residents in both towns continue to inhale the polluted air and are exposed to the long-term consequences to health.

Continuing to ignore the health consequences of air pollution is not  acceptable.

Hanborough & Minster Lovell

Dr Angela Wilson

Dr Angela Wilson is a resident of Long Hanborough and a GP. She moved to Oxfordshire 3 years ago with her partner who is a paediatrician and their 11-year-old daughter. 

Having lived in cities for most of the previous 30 years, it was a delight to move to the countryside, watching how nature changes throughout the year. In her personal and professional work, she became increasingly aware of the beneficial effect time in nature has on mental and physical health.

Angela was part of the team that helped raise funds to provide a copy of the popular art and poetry book “The Lost Words” to Oxfordshire schools. 

She is a member of the Hanborough Nature Recovery Network, helped set up the Grow for Hanborough Facebook group and was active in the Covid-19 support group.

Moving to Oxfordshire also coincided with one of the hottest summers on record and a report that showed action on climate change needed to be happening much quicker than it was. The Lancet medical journal had started publishing the Countdown, which was documenting the toll on health, both at home and abroad, due to the effects of climate change and air pollution. She was a founding member of Doctors for Extinction Rebellion, advocating for a climate and ecological emergency to be declared and far more government action on this crisis. 

Through work with members of the Royal College of General Practitioners she is involved in projects designed to make healthcare more sustainable. 

Angela would like to work to see green spaces protected for recreational use and nature enrichment. Quality farmland can be used to grow food more efficiently and sustainably and to allow the soil to recover. 

The right housing should be built in appropriate places and where infrastructure is planned in advance to avoid environment depletion and car dependency. Investment in active transport networks and sustainable travel would improve air quality and improve public health.

Green Job creation is possible through retraining workers into skills that allow them to use sustainable building techniques, retrofitting and repurposing what we already have constructed. Investment in social care will provide jobs and also free up healthcare facilities.

In order to get the action needed Angela would like to see democracy strengthened though electoral reform and peoples’ assemblies given the knowledge to make evidence-based decisions that are then put into action in a timely manner. A system of policing and justice that tackles upstream causes of crime would help make women feel safer. The right to meaningful protest should be protected to allow the voices of the vulnerable and neglected to be heard. Racial and gender rights would not have progressed without protesters being allowed to speak out against injustice.

Through her work abroad Angela has seen the effects of poverty and inequalities in Europe, Africa and North America. Research shows that reducing these inequalities is affordable and will positively impact the quality of life of everyone, including those that are more affluent. Angela would work to ensure that society develops to become fairer, and quality of life enhanced by living more sustainably. She is aware that this is a challenge as she works to move towards living more sustainably herself.

A better future is possible but only if our politicians demonstrate compassion and honesty in all their personal and professional lives.

Witney North & East

Andrew Prosser

Andrew is Town Councillor for Witney North. The local community is very important to him. he has lived in Witney for over 21 years and has two daughters who attended The Blake and Wood Green Schools. He runs his own company working as a sustainability consultant, helping international businesses to reduce their carbon emissions.

He has coached local girls’ football teams and helped organise 6 a-side football at the Witney ATP for over 15 years and was previously a volunteer for the Samaritans in the South East of England, so understands the crucial importance of physical and mental wellbeing in our community.

If elected, he will push for much more rapid action to address the climate emergency and nature crisis. He will be a strong green voice on the County Council and will push for more effective transport infrastructure planning, and better provision for health and social services.

He will challenge the 1400 houses in the local plan for North Witney. He has loved working for residents over the past two years, listening to what matters to you and working tirelessly to make our area better for everyone

Witney South & Central

Harriet Kopinska

Harriet has lived in West Oxfordshire for over 15 years and has two children who go to school in the area.

She works in Witney, supporting students to achieve their qualifications at Abingdon and Witney college, as well as teaching Environmental Sciences through distance learning with the Open University. 

Harriet feels very lucky to live and work in such a lovely area,  and is passionate about improving livelihoods and health whilst protecting the environment through truly sustainable development. 

In her own village, Harriet runs a 'Toad patrol' to help toads cross the road safely  during their migration season. 

Harriet is a recent convert to the electric bike which has transformed her journeys, making travelling on her bike  in the local area often the most attractive transport option.

If Harriet was elected as well as pushing for improved public transport such as the Winey Oxford Rail Link,

she would encourage more active travel both within Witney and to the neighbouring villages, she would stand up against housing proposals that potentially contribute to increased flooding, air pollution and ever increasing congestion on our roads.  

She would also do her best to encourage the Councils to invest in more leisure facilities and for the councils, local land-owners and business to do their best to encourage nature to flourish in and around our beautify town.

Witney West & Bampton

Sandra Simpson

Sandra Simpson has lived in Witney for over 20 years.  She was a lecturer with the Open University and University of Hertfordshire teaching IT and Business studies.   Since retiring she spent several years teaching local people the skills to help them gain employment.

Interest and understanding of the environment was fostered through studies in natural sciences with the Open University. 

Following a Millennium Award trip to the Utah desert in 2001  Sandra set up the Woodgreen Area Waste Action Group which campaigned for improved recycling and the introduction of green waste collections and, with the council, organised a monthly green waste collection point. 

If elected Sandra would continue to campaign for improved recycling, better cycle routes and help for local businesses to thrive and grow.  She will also try to ensure new developments serve the needs of this community without causing environmental harm through pollution and flooding.