'It was patronising' to use the acronym BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) to describe a new Banbury councillor, says Conservative - Letters to the Editor

I was saddened that in your coverage of the local elections your report stated that a newly elected councillor, “is understood to be the first Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidate to claim a seat in Cherwell”.

Not only is the patronising and now outdated BAME term used, but the statement is factually incorrect. To my knowledge Labour have had an Indian and a Kashmiri councillor, and the Conservatives have had a Kashmiri, an Indian and a Cape Coloured/British descent councillor on Cherwell Council.

Both parties have selected, and we in Banbury have elected, candidates of all and no religion, different sexual identity, colour and class to Banbury Town Council.

Clearly the people of Banbury do not care of the ethnicity of the people they elect so why does the local paper. But not only that, in the process, publish an inaccurate story, it is a great pity.

We are one Banbury community made up of many different people, ethnicity shouldn’t enter into it.

Cllr Kieron Mallon, Banbury.

Thanks for your support

Banbury Musicians Unite for Ukraine and Bob Dainty of Banbury Music Mix Radio would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended Sunday's fundraising event at General Foods Club.

So many people we have to thank starting with the musicians, Tess Jones, The Shades, BushFieldSmith, Seven O’clock Junkies, Til Dawn, Neva Mynd and The Skalectrics, who all treated everyone to a great mix of local music. We must not forget the people that were some of the first at the venue and last out, the sound engineer Leigh Chambers and lighting team of Jason Hill and Louise Hunter. Everyone at General Foods Club for their help in providing such a great venue. Mike Watling for taking photographs, not forgetting Di for collecting donations on the day. Our final total for the event stands at £2,129, which is brilliant in these difficult times.Just a couple more thank yous to say, first to Sam the flower man who told us all about what he has been delivering for the people of Ukraine.Just to let everyone know we met Sam to sort out where the money will be spent and we can confirm that every penny will go directly to helping the Ukrainian families on Sam’s forthcoming trips to deliver essential items.Lastly to the man who works so hard with me on local musical events, Matty Keefe. So proud we managed to get Banbury Musicians to Unite for Ukraine. Well done Banbury.

Banbury Musicians Unite for Ukraine and Bob Dainty of Banbury Music Mix Radio

All quiet on growth plan

What has happened to the Oxfordshire Plan 2050? This Plan, being drawn up by all our local authorities, is supposed to be setting out the level and nature of growth in the county over the next 30 years.

You might think this would have been an important campaign issue in the local elections. Surely how much development, where it should go, how it should be built and how we should protect our countryside are all critical issues?

Instead, it seems to have barely had a mention and there has been no clear update on progress with the Plan since the consultation at the end of last summer. The consultation responses showed local people would prefer development to be limited to what we actually need, whilst developers are seeking what they call “transformational” levels of development.

By now, we had hoped to have clarity on how decisions on growth would be made, with another full public consultation before anything is set in stone, whereas there is nothing but suspicious silence.

What are our political leaders afraid of? Surely they aren’t planning to push through a level of growth that isn’t supported by the local electorate?

Is our fate to be decided behind closed doors again?

Helen Marshall, Director, CPRE Oxfordshire