Brian Hodgson

Brian's family has confirmed the funeral arrangements:

2pm Friday 7 September, 2007.

Stonesfield Parish Church, near Witney, Oxford.
(buses are available from Oxford Bus or Rail Station - see attached PDF )

Donations in lieu of flowers to:

Adopt-A-Minefield
Kensington Charity Centre
4th Floor
Charles House
375 Kensington High Street
London, W14 8QH

telephone: 020.7471.5581
fax: 020.7471.5582
web: http://www.landmines.org.uk

Many words have been written about John Biffen and Bill Deedes, Tim Garden and Tony Wilson in recent days. I suspect somewhat fewer will be written about Brian Hodgson, chair of the Labour Land Campaign and former Labour group leader on Oxfordshire County Council who sadly died following a heart attack and short illness from which he had been expected to recover on Saturday 18th August. But that belies the affection with which he will be remembered by anyone who had the good fortune to know or work with him in Oxfordshire or Georgist politics.

I first came across Brian when, as a City Councillor in 2001, we formed a joint group with the County Council where he was Labour opposition leader to explore ways in which we could better collaborate in support and provision for asylum seekers in Oxford. But soon learned he was a kindred spirit in Land Value Tax and in the "spirit of 1909". When I say he was unashamedly "Old Labour" I do not mean the bad old days of Militant Tendency, but of Diggers, Levellers and the spirit of the early days of Labour politics. UPDATE: Thanks Gareth for reminding me of Brian's own description as "Vintage Labour".

I have to say slightly unkindly that he always made me smile. For any familiar with the paintings in Oxford Town Hall, he always reminded me of one of the "Old Gaffers" watching proceedings in the Old Library with his somewhat 19th century style beard. But he was as kindly a man as one could wish to meet.

It was his motion to Oxfordshire County Council in 2001 that led to the council establishing a pilot project to investigate the potential effects of replacing the Council Tax with Land Value Tax and he was able to steer a coalition of Lib Dems and Greens in developing the study which has become a highly regarded contribution to the evidence in favour of LVT.

Having not been re-elected in 2005 to Oxfordshire County Council in the rout of Labour in his home area in David Cameron's Witney constituency, he put a lot of effort into the causes he had long supported - Land Value Tax and, more recently, Community Land Trusts. I last saw Brian when to my pleasant surprise he turned up to support a mutual colleague giving a talk to Woodstock Town Council in July where we are trying to build some interest in a Community Land Trust project to develop affordable local housing. He had been active already in such mechanisms as a trustee of the Stonesfield Village Trust, which in twenty or so years has provided fourteen affordable homes for local people with no subsidy - proving it can be don. We had a good long chat, with him still wondering when I was going to join the real progressive party that he had supported all his life!

I suspect Oxfordshire politics will be a more tribal arena without his conciliatory style and "elder statesmanship". Rest in peace Brian.