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Out and about again this morning in #Didcot listening to local residents 💙 🔗 listening.matthewbarber.co.uk

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Christmas Card Competition — Matthew Barber - Listening. Serving. Taking Action.

For more details visit matthewbarber.co.uk/christmascard to download an entry form and submit your creations by noon on Friday 27th November. Good luck!

matthewbarber.co.uk

Design a Christmas Card

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I'm inviting primary school aged children from across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to take part. I've contacted schools and voluntary groups but anyone can take part. So unleash your child's creativity by getting them to design a festive card.

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🎅⛄️🐧🎄 LAUNCHING MY 2026 CHRISTMAS CARD COMPETITION 🎅⛄️🐧🎄 I know it seems early, but following the success of last year's competition, with hundreds of entries from across Thames Valley I want to make sure no-one missed out!

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📹️ Officially opened the new Oxfordshire CCTV Hub in Abingdon Police Station, providing coverage of the entire county

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⚖️ Appeared on BBC News to discussed the impact of the Government's Sentencing Act on the first day of early releases 📚️ Attended the formal opening of St John's CE Academy secondary site in Grove

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📝 Attended the board meeting of Blue Light Commercial 🦮 Spoke to Greatest Hits Radio about the official launch of Thames Valley Police's new spiking sniffer dogs 👮‍♀️ Met with student officers undergoing training to join Thames Valley Police

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🚓 Discussed operational plans to prepare for the possible major asylum camp near Bicester 🔪 Chaired a meeting of the Serious Violence Partnership Forum bringing together the police, councils and other emergency services ♀️ Discussed work to tackle violence against women and girls in Slough

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Looking back at the week... 💙 Met residents whilst out campaigning in Steventon 🗞️ Joined Cllr Ian Snowdon out and about on Great Western Park 💷 Highlight the failings of the Home Office to properly fund Thames Valley Police

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The new arrangements form part of my Thames Valley CCTV Partnership. District councils in Oxfordshire have transferred their public space CCTV to Thames Valley Police, with significant investment from my office and ongoing local authority funding to enhance the provision across the county.

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🚨 New CCTV Hub to boost public safety and support crime prevention across Oxfordshire 📹️ Today I joined local authority partners and Thames Valley Police to officially launch a new countywide CCTV control room in Abingdon Police Station.

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📣 Share your views... I want to know what you think about the local and national issues that matter to you. Take a couple of minutes to complete my quick residents' survey and let me know your views. 📋️ Just visit listening.matthewbarber.co.uk 🔗 (link in bio)

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But on the positive, the children clearly love their school and the facilities look wonderful. 👍

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More discussions behind the scenes this week, my latest understanding is we are waiting (again) for Oxfordshire County Council to approve plans before a crossing can be put in place. I have chased council officers again this evening.

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And yes... as you'd expect more conversation about the long overdue school crossing and other road safety improvements.

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Welcomed by a fantastic and enthusiastic bunch of pupils - a credit to the school and their parents - it was lovely to see some of the fantastic new facilities that will benefit generations of children in the area.

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The start of a new chapter! 🎒📚️ Although the site has been open since the start of term, this evening saw the official opening of the St John's CE Academy secondary site in Grove.

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Learning from the past is always valuable I agree.

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But trying to apportion blame for the past won’t protect victims today.

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I think all three parties that have been in government over the last 50 odd years have partaken in sentence inflation and inadequate prison building. As I’ve said elsewhere it’s not just about building new capacity but the folly of closing old capacity too soon creating relatively small net gains.

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Some have since contacted me to raise concerns about the safety of constituents and have even removed social media posts from last year when they celebrated backing the legislation.

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It was notable that many of the MPs who backed the campaign to keep PC Andrew Harper's killers in prison (for which I am grateful) were the same MPs who voted FOR the Sentencing Bill when it was going through Parliament.

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meaning more work for probation, more chance of a breach of conditions and return to prison and more chance of criminals trying to evade tagging altogether.

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but the child abuser or wife beater who is currently serving a sentence for another offence will be released along with everyone else. Electronic tagging is a great technology and should be used more widely, but most tags will be fitted after release -

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The fundamental flaw with the policy - which I have been saying for months - is that it is not based on individual risk assessments. For example most sex offenders have now been excluded from the early release;

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It is not just the fact that several thousand men will be in prison for less time: that means less public protection, less punishment and less opportunity for rehabilitation.

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🚨 EARLY RELEASE OF PRISONERS BEGINS TODAY 👮‍♂️ AN INCREASE IN CRIME WILL FOLLOW Almost all prisoners will be released eventually, but we should be under no illusion that this policy increases the risk to the public.

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Design a Christmas Card Entries are now open for my 2026 Christmas Card competition. Unleash your child’s creativity to create the best design across Thames Valley.... Read more at: matthewbarber.co.uk/news/2026-ch...

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It’s a place that gives employment, a place to meet, and often celebrate. If the government treat rural communities as a quaint thing of the past that’s what they’ll become rather than great places to live, work and raise a family. Plus a picture of my dog in the pub for context! 🐾🍻

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A country pub - with decent ale and dogs - is not a fantasy it is a reality. We’re not just talking about a pastiche of a bygone age. Living, thriving communities, where the pub sits alongside the village shop, the church and the local school.

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As someone who spent a fair bit of the weekend in my local pub - sometimes with my black labrador I am happy to confirm that I didn’t bump into any fascists!

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Country pubs may end up as just a fantasy if this government keep punishing the hospitality industry! But for now they’re the heart of the community.

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Whilst the Government are spending £100m this year on a delayed and uncertain police reform programme, local taxpayers are having to pick up the bill for additional neighbourhood police officers, state visits, major investigations and the impact of new asylum centres.

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The Home Office have short changed Thames Valley Police. Ensuring adequate resourcing for local forces is essential for public safety and community confidence.

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A quick bit of pre-train leafleting with Cllr Ian Snowdon this morning before heading to London. Delivering updates for the good people of Great Western Park.

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Join my WhatsApp Community🤳🏻 Get the latest news and views on the issues that matter to you locally... Link in bio 🔗 or visit matthewbarber.co.uk/whatsapp

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Here we go again. Another month, another Plough pub quiz about to get underway…

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Great afternoon for the Grove U12 Girls, finishing with a local derby against Didcot! 🏉

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Cearn Solar Farm — Matthew Barber - Listening. Serving. Taking Action.

Farmers wanted to produce food, but government policy, including the family farm tax makes it a less viable business and the energy market is artificially incentivises huge schemes like this in rural areas, rather than where most people think solar should be - on building and car parks.

matthewbarber.co.uk

Promoted by Matthew Barber of DWCA, Boston House, Grove Business Park, Downsview Road, Wantage, OX12 9FF.This website is not funded by the public purse. All views are my own.

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The Cearn Solar Farm will cover 2,800 acres of farmland between Stanford-in-the-Vale, Hanney and Kingston Bagpuize. ☀️🔌 This says as much about how we value and support farming as it does about energy policy.

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Matthew Barber @matthewbarber.co.uk · 26/09/2026

George Stephenson's “Locomotion No. 1" became the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public railway #OnThisDay in 1826, on the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

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Great reception out this morning chatting to residents in #Steventon. 💙

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✅️ Met some of those impacted by the planned Cearn solar farm development between Stanford-in-the-Vale and West Hanney

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✅️ Spoke to student officers joining Thames Valley Police ✅️ Met with the Wrong Plan Wrong Site campaign group to discuss safety concerns at the proposed asylum camp ✅️ Discussed proactive policing in light of a recent think tank policy paper suggesting new policy initiatives

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✅️ Spoke to pupils at St Helen and St Katharine School about my work as PCC and some of the challenges facing the police ✅️ Met with Oxfordshire County Councillors to discuss policing in the county ✅️ Held my regular Liaison meeting with the Chief Constable

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