Felix Bloomfield - Benson and Crowmarsh
Known to many members, Felix has been both a district councillor and a county councillor for many years which is understandable as his family have lived in the county for generations which makes Felix the ideal candidate for the Benson and Crowmarsh division as, in his own words, he will “do all he can to see this fantastic county continue to thrive”.
He is also keen to end the current council’s war on motorists, focusing on improving the conditions of our roads – an important issue for the county’s residents who want to be able to travel easily and also not see their money being wasted on compensating drivers who’ve experienced damage from potholes. Felix wants to ensure that money is instead used to ensure the roads are fit for purpose, including roads on the council’s top priorities list.
Dylan Thomas - Berinsfield and Garsington
Dylan’s career with the Conservative Party started almost 30 years ago at University and has seen him elected as a Henley town councillor, stand as a candidate for District Council in 2023 and also as a Parliamentary Candidate in our most recent General Election.
Dylan has a proven commitment to the party and also to the residents that he represented with a track record of delivering on important issues, which is just what you would expect from an ex-Officer in the British Army.
Paul Harrison - Chinnor
Newly retired from the IT industry, Paul is keen to put his retirement to good use as a County Councillor on behalf of the residents of Chinnor. Paul has plenty of experience as a District Councillor, holding the role for almost 15 years, so he will bring plenty of knowledge and skill, to enable him to continue delivering the results that residents want and need at county level, as he did in District Council. Paul is particularly proud of his track record of kicking off projects that had been stalled for many years so be sure to let him know if you know of any he can start on if he gets elected!
Jim Donahue - Goring and Woodcote
Jim was an obvious choice for this division as he already delivers for his local community through his role as Parish Council Chairman for Whitchurch on Thames.
Jim also increased the Conservative vote by 50% since twhen he stood for the role of District Councillor in 2023. His local knowledge as well as his experience of campaigning will give him a great platform for his County Council campaign and ensure that the issues that he is choosing to focus on are what’s important to fellow residents. How he brings in his experience working with NASA is another question!
James Cracknell - Henley
Gold medal winning rower James, has always had a soft spot for Henley and has made it his home. He will often be found down on the river, which is why holding water companies to account over river cleanliness will be one of the areas that he wants to focus on in his forthcoming campaign.
James brings a breadth of political and campaigning experience from his first foray into politics as part of the NoToAV campaign to his recent selection standing as a Parliamentary Candidate for Colchester July’s General Election where he put up a great fight!
David Bartholomew - Sonning Common and Henley South
Another familiar face to many as David has not only been politically active in the area for almost 25 years, he has also been the County Councillor for Sonning Common since 2013 ensuring that, even in the face of budget constraints and political opposition, things get done!
David’s passion in his role is to keep the focus on local issues which the council has the power to change, rather than things best left to national government, or localised vanity projects like the Lib Dem council’s focus on vegan menus, a topic on which David is much quoted by our national media!
William Wilde - Thame
Recent University of Bristol graduate, Will was born and raised in Thame so it seemed natural to him to settle back here after university to live and work in the town.
He is passionate about ensuring that Thame’s residents get the services they need, particularly it's children as he has seen first hand the impact of a lottery approach to the provision of SEND support, so will be including this amongst the issues he looks to address. He will also be bringing some great energy and fresh ideas to the team.
Daniel Masters - Wheatley
Local teacher and supportive campaigner in the recent General Election, Daniel is more than aware of the many issues which bother the residents of Wheatley including the challenge to retain its own character and stop it simply becoming a suburb of Oxford.
Whether it’s the LTNs channelling traffic from Oxford through the streets of Wheatley or housing developments impacting the local flood plain (as well as not being affordable to the younger people in this division), Daniel is keen to get his teeth into helping to address these challenges and we’re very much looking forward to supporting him in his campaign.
Richard Newman - Watlington and Rotherfield
Another long-standing member of the Conservatives, Dickie joined the party over 20 years ago and in that time has served as a Councillor for a number of years, including previously holding the post of Cabinet Member for Youth.
Dickie also spends a good deal of his time in Parliament with his “day job” as a Corporate Affairs Director involved in regulatory & public affairs, which is possibly why he has such innovative ideas about how to make Councils run more efficiently so that residents’ council tax bills are kept as low as possible, while better services are provided.