The Oxford City Council provides local government for the city of Oxford in England.
Contents |
Overview
Despite the stereotypical view of Oxford as a conservative city, there are no elected Conservatives on the city council, although two Liberal Democrat councillors briefly sat as Conservatives during 2007–8. Since the 2004 local elections, the council has been in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition. In 2006 these roles were reversed, although two years later the council returned to being run by a minority Labour administration.[1] With seven city councillors and five county councillors, Oxford has one of the highest Green Party representation for a UK city. The Independent Working Class Association has two councillors, although their support is confined to a ward in the Blackbird Leys housing estate in the south east of the city. See Oxford Council election 2004 for further information.
Since 2002, elections have been held for Oxford City Council in even years, with each councillor serving a term of four years. Each electoral ward within Oxford is represented by two councillors, thus all wards elect one councillor at each election. Prior to 2002, the City Council was elected by thirds.
In early 2003, the Oxford City Council submitted a bid to become a unitary authority[2]. This was received by Communities and Local Government[3] but subsequently rejected.[4][5][6]
Since 2008, Oxford City Council has been undergoing a programme of Business Transformation [7]
Oxford City Council overlaps with the Oxford East parliamentary constituency, which is expected to be highly marginal between the Liberal Democrats and Labour in the 2010 General Election.[8]
Statistics
- Partisan composition
| Year | Labour | Lib Dem | Green | IWCA | Independent | Conservative | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 21 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | [9] |
| 2002 | 29 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | [9] |
| 2004 | 20 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | [10] |
| 2006 | 17 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | [11] |
| 2008 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | [1] |
- Partisan control
- 1974–1976: Labour
- 1976–1980: Conservative
- 1980–2000: Labour
- 2000–2002: No overall control
- 2002–2004: Labour
- 2004–Present: No overall control
See also
References
- ^ a b Election 2008: Oxford council, BBC, 2008.
- ^ Oxford City Council: the case for unitary status, draft version, 18 January 2007.
- ^ Communities and Local Government press release: Kelly welcomes proposals to improve local services: 26 local authorities bid to move to single tier local Government, 26 January 2007.
- ^ Communities and Local Government: rejection letter to Oxford City Council’s unitary authority bid.
- ^ Communities and Local Government press release: Woolas announces sixteen successful bids for unitary status to improve local services, 27 March 2007.
- ^ Oxford City Council press release: Government backs off Oxfordshire reorganisation, 27 March 2007.
- ^ Oxford City Council website: Business Transformation Strategy, October 2008.
- ^ [1], January 2009
- ^ a b Article, BBC, 2002.
- ^ Article, BBC, 2004.
- ^ Article, BBC, 2006.
External links
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