Clarion Weekend, 8 May 2026

Election fever! Our editorial fingers have barely stopped moving since the small hours. This week’s newsletter is brought to you by coffee, adrenaline and sheer bloody-mindedness. Read on for the latest…

This week’s top stories

The Green Party was the big winner in the Oxford City Council elections – scooping up seats across the city from Osney to Lye Valley. With 24 seats (half the council) up for grabs, the party made a clean sweep of the city centre and dramatic advances in East Oxford. After all votes were counted, the Greens scored 29% city-wide – their third highest share in England.

It was a tough day nationally for Labour and Oxford was no exception. The Liberal Democrats maintained their position. But the big losers in the city were Reform UK, who mustered only three distant second places, and the independents, who fell back from four seats to one and failed to capture any of their targets.

The Greens won Carfax & Jericho and St Clement’s directly from Labour, as well as Cowley, Lye Valley, and Holywell, where Labour candidates were elected in 2022 but subsequently sat as independents. Both the Greens and the LibDems retained all their current seats.

Despite the Green successes, this was the best result Oxford Labour could have hoped for. They successfully fought spirited defences across East Oxford, avoiding the wipe-out suffered on other councils across Britain. Northfield Brook moved back into the Labour column, while Headington Hill & Northway moved from ultra-marginal to a firm Labour majority. The city party is famously ruthless in its targeting operation and, despite the national picture, it has paid off.

These were the first elections fought since Oxford’s congestion charge was introduced in October 2025. Though roads are a County Council, not City Council matter, independent candidates made great play of their opposition to the charge. It didn’t help: the Independent Oxford Alliance’s Emily Scaysbrook, one of the prime movers behind the failed legal challenge to the charge, also failed to gain a seat in Marston, while indies in Littlemore, Donnington and Rose Hill ran active campaigns but failed to trouble the incumbent party.

Oxford City Council is elected by halves – in other words, the councillors elected in 2024 continue in office for another two years. Combining these with yesterday’s winners, the final score is Labour 20, Green 13, LibDem 9, IOA 4, independent 2.

This new electoral arithmetic means that, although Labour remains the largest party, the Greens and Liberal Democrats together could outnumber them should they choose to form a coalition… meaning a change of control on a council that has long been a Labour fiefdom. But that’s by no means guaranteed.

We’ll keep you posted in Tuesday’s newsletter and on our Bluesky feed – where you can re-read the full results from last night as they happened. For the full numbers on one page, head over to Oxford City Council’s website.

As we go to press, counting is underway in West Oxfordshire. Early results show a Liberal Democrat gain from the Conservatives in Ascott & Shipton (won by just four votes last time), while the Conservatives’ Toby Morris returns to the council in Freeland & Hanborough, unseating LibDem cabinet member Lidia Arciszewska.

The Conservatives have also taken Witney South, this time from Labour. Reform have so far failed to take seats from the Conservatives in Carterton. West Oxfordshire is the Conservatives’ strongest prospect and the party will be looking to make further gains; it’s currently run by a LibDem/Labour/Green coalition. Once again, we’ll be posting the results on Bluesky.

Cherwell District Council results come this afternoon. It’s a LibDem/Green partnership and looks likely to stay that way, which doesn’t mean there aren’t interesting battles around the district. Banbury could be Reform’s best chance of getting more councillors in Oxfordshire. Again, we’ll post results on Bluesky and in Tuesday’s newsletter.

Around the city

• Elections be damned. This week’s big news: Lego has arrived. The toy retailer opened its new store on the Westgate ground floor yesterday, with long queues throughout the day – would-be shoppers were still being penned in a holding area when we visited at 5pm, perhaps encouraged by a host of opening-day offers. Features in the store include a Pick-a-Brick Wall where customers can select the exact elements that they require for their builds, and a mix-and-match Build a Minifigure Tower. The store is Lego’s 22nd in the UK.
       Speaking of Lego, the Brick Festival is coming to the King's Centre in Osney Mead on 11 July. Organisers promise “Lego themed fun as families, collectors, adult builders, and every kind of Lego fan come together for a day of brick-filled bliss!” Tickets now available.
• Meanwhile, the latest retailer announced for the Westgate is David Clulow opticians, just across the way from the Lego store. They promise "state-of-the-art optical testing rooms, and the latest designer, smart eyewear and lens technology". But more excitingly:
• A new secondhand bookshop is coming to central Oxford! Barker & Co Booksellers plans to open on Monday in the Golden Cross shopping arcade. It will replace the Japanese pancake café Fluffy Fluffy which closed in March (much to the disappointment of our Mini Clarions, but we confess we never saw anyone else in there…).
• The annual Oxford Jewish Fair took place on Broad Street on Tuesday. A klezmer band and Jewish folk musicians provided entertainment, with stalls selling kosher food, a kosher whisky tasting, and displays on Jewish history.
• Oxford’s beloved indie music bible, Nightshift, is closing. After 35 years, June’s issue will be the last one. A celebration of its role at the heart of Oxford’s music scene will be held on Sunday 31 May at the Bullingdon on Cowley Road, promising ‘Oxford songs by Oxford people’. Proceeds will go to grassroots music co-operative Causing a Scene.
• Tomorrow is Europe Day, and the Council of Europe Flag – which happens to be the same as the EU flag – will fly from Oxford Town Hall in celebration. The UK co-founded the Council of Europe in 1949 and remains a member today, making its flag legal to fly from public buildings. Witney Town Council flew the Council of Europe flag on Tuesday, to mark its “commitment to peace, co-operation, and shared values across Europe”; on Wednesday, it flew the Union Flag to celebrate the third anniversary of the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla, followed by VE Day on Friday.
• Did you know (perhaps you did) that Oxford had a leper chapel, and that it still stands? Tucked away in Bartlemas, it celebrates its 900th anniversary this year. A series of events are scheduled to mark the nonacentennial:
  • Saturday 16–Monday 25 May, 12pm–6pm daily: a Bartlemas photo exhibition in the chapel itself as part of Artweeks.
  • Sunday 17 May: photography and music with performances at 1, 3 and 5pm.
  • Thursday 21 May, 6pm: talk by author and Bartlemas expert Martin Stott in the chapel as part of the Oxford Festival of the Arts. Admission is free but space is limited (the chapel is small!). Book here.
  • Saturday 23 May, 6.30pm: Ilustrated talk by Martin Stott in SS Mary & John Church on Cowley Road. Free.
  • Wednesday 13 May, 7.30pm: Fully illustrated talk by Martin at Florence Park Community Centre, Cornwallis Road. Tickets here.

Around the county

(but this week mainly by the water)

• The former Mayor of Abingdon will attempt to break the world long-distance Morris Dancing record – 200 miles along the Thames Path, from London to Abingdon and back, this May. Duncan Bhaskaran Brown is raising money for six charities along the way. Starting this Sunday, he will pass through Maidenhead, Henley, Reading, Abingdon, Windsor, Kingston-upon-Thames and London. He must maintain the steps, the style, and the spirit of morris dancing — with its distinctive bells, hankies and rhythmic footwork — across the full 200-mile distance to qualify for the record.
       The challenge has brought the morris dancing community together in support. Local sides from along the entire route have rallied to support Duncan, joining him each evening for free public performances that are set transform the record attempt into a travelling festival of folk culture. 200 Miles of Morris is aiming to raise £10,000 for six charities across the Thames Valley: the Rowan Trust, Maidenhead Alzheimer’s Dementia Support, The Brain Tumour Charity, Thames Valley Adventure Playground, The Sherwood Foundation, and The Listening Post. The total stands at £2,800 already and you can donate online.
• Residents of Heyford Park, the fast-expanding village and potential new town on a former airbase, have called for “urgent intervention” against car transporters passing through the village centre. Land on the airbase is rented out for vehicle storage by owners Dorchester Living. They say that the number of transporters each morning has more than doubled recently: “We have had three close misses with children on the school run, and a number of killed pets in recent weeks.” A direct access road, avoiding the village, has been promised but not yet delivered. Heyford Park Community Action Group believe that “once Chilgrove Drive is built, HGV traffic on Camp Road would reduce by over 93%”. County councillor Gareth Epps said he was pressing the developers for action to “get car transporters off Camp Road and onto Chilgrove Drive where they belong”.
• A former taxi driver from Kennington has been given a suspended service for fraud and insurance offences after forging his licence documents. Thomas Sharp created a fake taxi licence, badge and vehicle plates to continue working even though he had not been formally licensed since January 2023. Cllr Helen Pighills from Vale of White Horse District Council said: “Forging taxi licence documents is a serious offence, particularly in a role where passengers must be able to place their trust in licensed drivers.”
• The World Pooh Sticks Championships will return to Sandford Lock on 24 May, bringing families, competitors, and spectators together for a day of quintessentially British fun. This year’s event is extra special, marking 100 years of A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. You can enter online.
• Also at Sandford Lock, the King's Arms is set to close on 5 May for a six-figure transformation, reopening in June. The refurb will include an upgraded bar area, new flooring to offer a more welcoming space for "guests and their four-legged friends" and a renovated beer garden.
• Twenty teams will compete in a ‘Race Across Oxfordshire’ on Monday in aid of charity Homeless Oxfordshire. Inspired by the BBC’s Race Across the World, the event will see the two-person teams complete challenges at “secret checkpoints” across the county with no phones and limited money. The event is being supported by Oxford Bus Company, which has supplied the teams with Go-Anywhere tickets to help them travel around the county. Homeless Oxfordshire is the county’s largest not-for-profit provider of supported accommodation for people experiencing homelessness, accommodating some 170 people each night.
• Plans for a new railfreight interchange at Ardley, between Bicester and Banbury, are being considered by the Government’s national planning body. The proposals envisage 600,000 square metres of warehouse space, plus access roads and a connection to the Chiltern mainline railway. The planning examination is scheduled to take place this autumn with a decision early in 2027.

Walking and cycling

• Kids will claim the streets of Oxford on Sunday in a family bike ride, Kidical Mass. Feeder rides start at 2pm from Florence Park (OX4 3NH), Cutteslowe School (OX2 7SX), Makespace (Jericho, OX2 6TP), Headington (Manor Surgery, OX3 9BP), and West Oxford (Oatlands Road Rec, OX2 0HS). Organisers Cyclox bill it as a joyful ride for everyone who can ride or be transported on a bike, however young or old. Alison Moore from Cyclox said: “We want every family to feel confident cycling together & for children to grow up, able to cycle independently. This is a great way to get that started.” Here's what happened at the last one.
• The Thames Path National Trail celebrates its 30th anniversary in June. To celebrate, a relay walk will cover the whole length of the route from Thames Head to Woolwich, via Oxford – setting off on Friday 5 and ending on Sunday 28 June. The event is a collaboration between the Thames Path National Trail office, local Ramblers groups, and the Drinkable Rivers Foundation, who are campaigning for a ‘drinkable Thames’. You can sign up to join the walk on the Drinkable Rivers website: the relay will be passing through Oxford on 10 and 11 June.

This weekend

• The Family Folk Show (£), Sat, The North Wall. Daytime concerts with husband-and-wife duo Megson. “I really liked dancing with my sisters at the front!” (Phoebe, 3).
• 20th Anniversary Celebration (free), Sat, Barracks Lane Community Garden. DIY pizza, mocktails, a ceilidh and more at the East Oxford hideaway.
• Chicken Keeping Basics (£), Sat, Oxford City Farm. Learn how to keep chickens at home.
• Snail Trail (£), Sat, University Museum. Drag king Bi-Curious George returns to embrace the natural world in all its fleshiness.
• Isis Chamber Orchestra Concert (£), Sat, All Saints Church (Headington). An evening of 'marvellous Mozart'.
• National Mills Weekend. Including Combe Mill near Blenheim (Sat/Sun, £) and Wheatley Windmill (Sun, free).
• Dawn Chorus Walk (free), Sun, Eynsham. Three-hour walk to Eynsham Lock and back, birdwatching and listening.
• An Interstellar Odyssey (£), Sun, Oxford Town Hall. Children's classical concert from the Oxford Phil. Astronaut and alien costumes welcome.
• Deerhoof (£), Sun, The Bullingdon. The noisy artrockers return, with support from local stars Lucy Leave. Covid-secure gig – masks encouraged.

This week

• The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (£), Mon, Magdalen College Chapel. First in a series of three silent films with improvised accompaniment on the organ.
• 200 Miles of Morris (£donation), Tue, Market Place (Abingdon). Cheer on Abingdon's own Duncan Bhaskaran Brown in his Morris dancing marathon.
• Bright Futures (free), Tue, Florence Park Community Centre. A 'solar celebration day' for the community centre's new rooftop solar panels.
• The Importance of Being Earnest (£), Wed-Sat, Harris Manchester College. A familiar garden play in an unfamiliar location.
• Electronic Against Hate (£), Thu, The Handle Bar. Every electronic musician in Oxford coming together for Love Music Hate Racism.
• Crab Museum (free), Fri, University Museum. Move over, MERL – there's a new influencer in museum town, and they're serving crab.

Dates for your diary

A selection of May’s forthcoming events.

• Unspeak the Chorus launch party (free!), Fri 22 May, Modern Art Oxford. The first major solo exhibition by Kira Freije, featuring “immersive installations using welded steel, cast hands and feet, textiles and found materials”.
• Encounters With Landscapes (£), Fri 22 May, Quaker Meeting House, St Giles. Venerable psychogeographical journal Northern Earth presents an evening of films, talks and conversation about landscape and the relationship between people and place.
• Visit the oldest house in Abingdon (£), Sat 23 May. A chance to look around the Medieval Merchant’s House and see the restored gallery window, dating from 1430.

• And it’s Pride season! Throughout May and June, Oxford and the county’s market towns will be flying the rainbow flag – here’s the full calendar.

Oxfordshire’s independent media

• Asylum Welcome's podcast tells the story of Phoenix FC, a football team bringing together young refugees and asylum seekers from across the world. 
• Hybrid from Oxford Brookes has a fascinating piece of investigative journalism on how shoplifting has surged in the Thames Valley while overall crime has fallen.
• Cherwell looks at the Oxford donors in the Epstein files.
• The Oxford Sausage, no stranger to the recherché, outdoes themselves this week by looking at Oxford through the eyes of Chiang Yee – a Chinese émigré who stayed in Oxford in the 1940s after his home in London was bombed in the Blitz.
• The Oxford Blue ranks 31 coffee shops and takes no prisoners.
• Banbury Old Town Indies is fast becoming one of our favourite Facebook accounts to follow with their Banbury retail news and all-round positive outlook (#BeMoreBanbury). This week, as works to renovate a long empty sandwich shop uncover an old butchers, they tell the history of the shop.
• Edible Reading flames eating out in Reading, heads to Oxford in the hope of better, and ends up eating rotisserie chicken at Port Mahon. Wonderfully acerbic (the review, not the chicken).

Books

Regular reading recommendations from Xander at Magdalen Road’s Caper bookshop.

• The Book of Birds – Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris. From the creators of the phenomenal The Lost Words: a dazzling celebration of birdlife in Britain, re-imagining the classic field guide for a new generation of nature lovers.
• The Things We Never Say – Elizabeth Strout. Grief echoes through the decades, but the comfort found in deep friendships and the freedom that comes when we break free of our secrets. Another cracker on humans being human from Strout.
• The Poisoned King – Katherine Rundell. When Christopher Forrester is unexpectedly woken by a miniature dragon chewing on his face, his heart leaps for joy. Another barnstorming, fantasy classic-in-the-making from Rundell.

Notes from Clarion HQ

We think you could call that an all-nighter. Our team of reporter, photographer, and back-at-base coordinator kept going until the last results were announced at 5am – so you’ll forgive us for a slightly shorter than usual newsletter today!

We're going to go get some sleep. So should you all. Especially candidates, activists, and election staff – we salute you all, of all parties and none, for you are what keep the wheels of democracy turning. It may ‘only’ be bins and houses, but rent or mortgage is the biggest expenditure most of us have, and everyone has a view on bin collection and the state of the local parks.

If our coverage has been helpful, as ever, please do share it, and thank you – so much – to those of you that have. Thank you, and goodnight.