Matthew Barber was first elected to Vale of White Horse District Council on 1 May 2003 as Councillor for the Faringdon & The Coxwells Ward.
[2][3] As leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council he has been nominated as a Director of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
With the backing of the then Prime Minister David Cameron the District Council leaders proposed the abolition of Oxfordshire County Council and its replacement with a series of smaller unitary authorities.
After graduating from university he worked briefly for John Randall, then Member of Parliament for Uxbridge before returning to Oxfordshire.
Barber lives in the village of West Hanney, near Wantage, with his wife and their two young children.