Barry has lived in West Oxfordshire for over 30 years and runs his own consultancy and testing business from home.

Full statement

Originally a Chemical Engineer he has many years of experience of R&D and management, both in business and academia. He also spent four years working for the councils and government agencies of South East England setting up and running a regional office in Brussels for SEEDA & SERA. His principal responsibility during that time was to work with our politicians to give the region a strong voice in Europe. This involved building up relationships and influencing both politicians and European officials. During his time in Europe he started to realise the vital importance of small businesses to the economy. On his return he became an active member of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and was elected as Chair of the Oxfordshire Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Policy Chair for the whole Thames Valley.

Over the past 20 years his consultancy work has included business to business market-place development, testing services and consultancy. He has specialized in business start-up and innovation in areas of science and technology such as biotechnology and environmental monitoring.

For the last four years Barry has brought his organisational skills and experience to the West Oxfordshire Green Party where he took on the role of Chair for the West Oxfordshire Green Party and more recently as Chair of county wide Oxfordshire Green Party.

On a personal note he counts himself blessed to have had the support of a wonderful wife for over five decades and is extremely proud of his daughter, who studied locally at the Marlborough school and went on to get her MSc and PhD at Oxford University.

Why does Barry Wheatley wish to become your councillor? We are in challenging times and whether that’s running your own business, coping with the cost of living or working to protect our children’s and grandchildren’s futures, we must take urgent steps to build the mechanisms needed to provide not just short term, but long-term sustainable solutions. Barry has been inspired by the positive change that has been achieved working in collaboration with other parties locally and the influence that the Green Party councillors are already making across town, district and county levels around the UK. His main reason for wanting to become a councillor, is to help push for that change and help make our corner of the country the best that it can be. If you want a cleaner, fairer, greener, prosperous future - vote Green. If elected as Councillor on West Oxfordshire District Council Barry will work hard to: · Ensure that local businesses get the best support that we can give them and that village and town centres offer real opportunities to grow our local enterprises and create local worthwhile jobs. · Stand up against housing development projects that do not address local needs and ensure that all forms of development have the right infrastructure in place before they are built and are constructed with the future in mind. · Ensure we maintain our public places and countryside as living green spaces which enhance biodiversity. This includes tackling pollution in all its forms, whether it is general litter and fly tipping, to pollution of the air we breathe or the water in our rivers. Protecting not just our residents but also the flora and fauna that make our countryside so special