Banbury candidate interviews: Sean Woodcock – Labour

28/06/2024

Labour’s candidate tells us what people are saying to him on the doorstep

Having attended both Wroxton Primary School and the Warriner School in Bloxham, Sean Woodcock is proud that he’s Banbury born and bred, having been brought up on the Hardwick estate. The eldest of five children, he has worked for the last fourteen years in social housing.

Mr Woodcock was elected as a Councillor on Cherwell District Council in 2012 and is the leader of the Labour group. He was asked by party members to stand for Labour in the new Banbury constituency.

Banbury is the only [constituency] I’ve even considered because it’s my home. I believe that the area can do a lot better than it’s had under the Conservatives.

“We’re all aware of the issue with regards to the hospital,” he said, “but there’s other things as well: we lost our courts, there’s potholes all over the roads. There’s the issues in terms of access to decent housing locally. I feel I’m the man who understands these issues and can make a difference.”

Mr Woodcock was keen to promote Labour’s plans for the NHS but questioned what incumbent MP, Conservative Victoria Prentis, had done to support the Horton General Hospital. He said: “

“Despite having a Conservative Member of Parliament, who is in the cabinet and the member of the Government on the front bench, around the cabinet table every week at least a couple of times with the health Secretary, it’s done no good for our Horton Hospital.

“I think the lesson is that the hospital is not safe in the hands of the Conservative government.”

On housing Mr Woodcock says this is an issue that’s often raised with him.

“We need to build more housing. When I knock on doors housing always comes up. There might be somebody sleeping on the sofa or there’s a family sleeping in the back bedroom of mum and dad’s house because they can’t afford housing, and the waiting list is so long.”

He acknowledges people’s concerns about where housing should be built and supports the use of brownfield sites and empty town centre spaces. But Mr Woodcock feels its important everything around new housing is also put in place.

“What there isn’t is the investment in the wider infrastructure, the roads – the potholes always come up – the traffic backlog that we get in various parts of the town.”

On Labour’s plans to support families he said: “We’ve had a succession of Conservative Prime Ministers, even more chancellors, pushing through various policies. We have an autumn statement then we have a spring budget. People don’t know whether they’re coming or going in terms of what taxes they’re paying, what the level of inflation is. People need stability.

“They need to know what their mortgage is going to be, what the cost of goods at the supermarket is going to be. The cost of petrol. We also need to look at energy, how we generate energy. That’s why we as a Labour Party want to set up Great British Energy.”

In terms of how Labour planned to fund its spending plans Mr Woodcock defended one policy that was being raised by some people.

“We do want to make sure that private schools are paying VAT. That’s a difficult decision and I have had some concern about that from parents. But it’s about making sure that the 93 percent of pupils who go to state schools have the same opportunities as the people who are fortunate enough to attend private schools get. Its about equalising the level of education up so that everyone gets an outstanding education.”

You can listen to the full interview here: