A SIMPLE spelling error has moved Wantage MP Ed Vaizey’s constituency surgery almost 140 miles south.

In an itinerary circulated to members of the press about the movements of the junior minister, right, details of the surgery are revealed.

In the email, an aide wrote: “Ed will be holding his usual MP’s surgery for constituents to come and discuss their concerns with him. “This week the surgery will be hosted in Farringdon.” Let’s hope the extra ‘r’ in ‘Faringdon’ doesn’t result in a long commute to south Devon for some of his constituents...

THE arrival of a Tory councillor at an Oxford City Council meeting caused quite a stir this week, and he had only popped in for a look.

County councillor Arash Fatemian, pictured, stuck his head round the door of the council chamber during a break in the Joe Janiak gig he was enjoying elsewhere in the Town Hall.

And his attendance sparked a flurry of excited tweets from a council that has not seen a Conservative member for some years. Labour’s Antonia Bance tweeted: “Oh my! Cllr @arashfatemian has come to Oxford City Council’s full council meeting. First Tory in these hallowed halls in years...!” And Lib Dem Mark Mills added: “A Tory cllr is in Oxford council chamber. First time in how long!? #fullcouncil”

Meanwhile, fellow Liberal Tony Brett decided to get in a bit of political sniping for good measure. He tweeted: “@arashfatemian welcome to the public gallery. I hope you’ve not come to tell us about £10m of welfare cuts...”

At least all this social networking shows the councillors were still awake and alert, despite the fact they sat through a five-hour meeting.

OXFORD city councillor David Rundle will broadcast across the UK next week. The Lib Dem councillor for Headington, who has warmed up with a few lengthy speeches at recent council meetings, will join Melvyn Bragg on the Radio 4 show In Our Time at 9am next Thursday.

In his capacity as an expert on the Renaissance, he will be sharing his knowledge of William Caxton, credited with introducing the printing press to England. But will the show, hosted by a Labour peer, offer him the unusual opportunity to wax lyrical without being heckled by his political opponents?