Councillor Matthew Barber, Conservative District Councillor for Faringdon & The Coxwells Ward has now been elected to Faringdon Town Council. A vacancy arose on the Council after the sudden death of Cllr Mike Ilott just after Christmas. Matthew Barber was elected unopposed to the Town Council on Friday 13th February 2004. A District Councillor since May 2003, Matthew has been working to raise local issues in Abingdon and ensure a fair deal for local residents. He hopes that he can act as a link to improve coordination and communication between the Town and the District. Matthew has raised vocal objections to further proposed increased in local Council Tax. Not only are the Liberal Democrats on the District increasing their share, but the Town Council have agreed to increase their precept by over 10%. Faringdon residents now pay more to Faringdon Town Council than they do to the Vale of White Horse District Council. Councillor Barber commented: “At the recent Town Meeting the Council completely rejected any idea of looking for savings in an attempt to reduce the amount of waste in the Council. I hope as a member of the Council to gradually change the attitude to spending public money.”