SOUTH Oxfordshire’s main towns have lost their “champions” on the district council’s cabinet as its leader said “younger blood” was needed.

Councillors from Didcot, Wallingford, Thame and Henley sat on the South Oxfordshire District Council cabinet to promote their areas.

But leader John Cotton, who was the Wallingford champion, has scrapped the roles saying it was unfair on other towns that did not have a specific person to push their cause.

Bill Service represents Didcot North East on the council and lives on the Ladygrove estate.

After being a member of the cabinet on SODC for eight years he was told he was not needed.

Former SODC leader Ann Ducker had the Didcot portfolio until her death last year and it was then passed to Mr Service.

Mr Service, who is also a town councillor, said: “I will now chip away for Didcot from the back benches. I won’t give up.

“I am hugely disappointed that I can no longer be a champion for Didcot in the cabinet.

“The town no longer has a specialist champion and I don’t think that’s a good move.

“There are major schemes in Didcot that need to go forward, such as the new leisure centre, and phase two of the Orchard shopping centre, and I think it’s possible they could slip.

“The leader John Cotton didn’t even have the common courtesy to talk to me face to face – all I got was an e-mail, no real explanation for the decision.

“He said ‘I have decided to go for younger blood’ – I think that was the phrase he used.”

Conservative Mr Service also no longer has the leisure portfolio, which has been awarded to Watlington Councillor Anna Badcock.

Labour town councillor Margaret Davies said the specialist Didcot portfolio should not have been scrapped and urged Mr Cotton to restore it.

She added: “Ann Ducker insisted on Didcot having its own portfolio but now there is no one in the cabinet officially championing the town.

“John Cotton has decided that Didcot does not need a town portfolio but that’s a mistake.”

Wallingford, Thame and Henley have also lost their champions.

Wallingford Town Councillor Ros Lester said: “We will wait and see if the new system works but I wouldn’t want to see Wallingford forgotten and I’m sure the residents of Thame and Henley feel the same way.”

Wallingford Mayor Lynda Atkins added: “I don’t think we’ll worry too much about the loss of our champion in Wallingford, as it didn’t make a noticeable difference to anything when we did have one.

“It’s a good idea, but it would probably need to be a local councillor (as in from Wallingford) to make a difference and that wasn’t the case for us.”

Mr Cotton said: “This was not about Bill’s age, it was about getting talented people into the cabinet.

“I felt having a named person for one place was unfair on other towns and villages in the district.”