Victoria Campbell has written a letter following the parish poll on Oxford United's new stadium.

It was with astonishment that I read that James Hobbs’s curious interpretation of the advisory Kidlington Parish Poll on the proposal for a new stadium in Kidlington.

Mr Hobbs appears to hail the results as a ‘win’ for Oxford United, despite almost 70 per cent of voters rejecting support for it.

Parish polls are rare, but as a comparison, turnout at local elections is typically lower than at general elections, around 30 per cent. Pretty much spot on the turnout here.

Considering that voting in parish polls is only from 4pm to 9pm, and no postal voting is available for those on holiday or at work, the turnout is undeniably impressive.

The long queues at the polling stations, despite heavy rain showers, bolsters this view.

In terms of national opinion polls, a sample of 1,000 is widely held to be appropriate.

Mr Hobbs should be reminded that Oxfordshire County Council’s online survey in 2022 (yes, the one being relied upon as a basis for entering formal discussions with the club) had only 3,740 respondents in total, despite being open to the whole world. 3,006 turned out to vote in the Kidlington parish poll.

The results are unquestionably reliable and statistically relevant.

Kidlington said no, whether Mr Hobbs likes it or not. To suggest that all non-voters will in time be swept up by Oxford United as their charm offensive marches on seems somewhat arrogant.

Clearly, football supporters are keen to find a win wherever they can, but I’m afraid their post-match analysis seems to have gone awry.

Victoria Campbell

Kidlington

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