Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport, Rodney Rose, right, has recently been seen driving around in an electric Mini.

It’s good to see him taking green issues so seriously.

The BMW-built electric car is being tested by ordinary motorists in extended trials.

And now that Mr Rose and his cabinet colleagues have stopped funding speed cameras he’ll really be able to put it through its paces.

Only joking – we know County Hall puts safety first.

No, Mr Rose will be testing the new model’s suspension in preparation for a deterioration in county roads as budget pressures grow, his leader Keith Mitchell has promised us.

The Insider also hears Mr Rose has been challenged by cabinet colleague Ian Hudspeth to take his eco-credentials further and ride his bike into County Hall.

Both councillors live a few miles apart in the wilds of West Oxfordshire, so perhaps a race is in the offing?

The pair could even do it for charity – the council's beleaguered road repairs budget would be an apt cause.

Thames Valley’s top cop Sara Thornton has revealed her leadership role model – the vertically-challenged French tyrant Napoleon.

In an interview for Thame Town Council’s website, the Chief Constable said: “One of the most important things in leading a team is to be enthusiastic and positive.

“That goes with being resilient, because there will be knockbacks, and the last thing people need is to see me scurrying around not able to work out the answer.

“As Napoleon said, ‘Leaders are dealers in hope’.”

Whether that’s true in the case of Thames Valley Police depends very much on what you're hoping for.

A stickler for procedure, she also gave venerable Oxford detective Inspector Morse a dressing-down for his investigative techniques.

“It’s all just him and his Sergeant, isn’t it?” she said.

“And they never seem to write anything down! They never take a statement!”

Oxfordshire bobbies, you have been warned.

Wantage MP Ed Vaizey proved he was Minister for (Pop) Culture after letting slip an X Factor addiction.

The excitable MP tweeted: “Thought X Factor was past its sell-by date and then they bring on Gamu. Brilliant.”

But as the real time replies flooded in, the minister with responsible for the digital revolution realised the pitfalls of mixing social networking with Sky+.

“Just realised I am watching X Factor on 45 min time delay. Don’t tell me how it ends,” he added.

And finally the MP caught up with the rest of Britain: “Now I’m getting we are the champions references. I’m sure Katie will get through but don’t tell me. I'm on edge of my seat.”