The Clarion, 13 January 2026

This week’s top stories

Oxford’s Green Party have gained a ninth City Councillor, making them the joint second-placed party on the council. Independent Cllr Edward Mundy was elected for Labour in Holywell ward in 2021 and 2022, but had left Labour along with nine other councillors over Keir Starmer’s position on Gaza. Cllr Mundy said:

“The Green Party has an excellent base of political support in Oxford, thanks to years of backing a more sustainable and equal future for the city. The Green Party is at the forefront of progressive politics today and I am looking forward to being part of it.”

Chris Jarvis, leader of the Green Party Group on Oxford City Council, said:

“I’m delighted... I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Ed over the last four years and have seen how dedicated he is to the people of Oxford and working to make our city a fairer and better place to live."

Oxford City Council says drawing up its proposal for a ‘Greater Oxford’ council is taking up “a significant amount of senior capacity from across the Council”. An officers’ report argues that postponing 2026’s elections would “enable an earlier start to prepare for elections to the new authority”. They write:

“The 2027 elections will be complex and resource intensive as under our 3-unitary proposal they involve boundary changes, re-warding, creation of new polling districts and consolidation of electoral rolls. There would be an advantage to starting that work now, rather than post-May 2026.”

Officers are confident that “should the [2026] elections proceed as planned, sufficient capacity would be in place to deliver LGR [council reorganisation] successfully in our area”, but they concede “this may impact on officers’ capacity to deliver other areas of the Council’s work”.

A special council meeting on Wednesday will give all city councillors the chance to have their say on postponing elections, but the decision will be taken by council leader Susan Brown. The Government-set deadline for applications to postpone is the next day, 15 January.

However, the Government will not decide which proposal to adopt – one, two, or three unitary councils – until after May’s elections. Any early preparatory work, whether by the City, County or district councils, would potentially be wasted if the Government chooses a different proposal. Both West Oxfordshire and Cherwell district councils have said they do not intend to cancel their 2026 elections.

“Pavements are for pedestrians, not vehicles,” says Oxfordshire County Council’s Cllr Andrew Gant as the Government introduces new rules on pavement parking where councils will be allowed to introduce and enforce a ban. Five years after a consultation, the Government decided last week not to impose a national ban but to leave it to councils. 83% of individuals responding to the consultation said pavement parking was a problem in their area. Cllr Gant said:

“We very much support the introduction of tougher restrictions on pavement parking as this is something we have actively looked to enforce in Oxfordshire for some time. In fact, we wrote to the Future of Roads Minister about this very point last year. Selfish and inconsiderate parking on footways puts people in danger, particularly those in wheelchairs and parents or carers with children in buggies. We welcome the opportunity to apply for the powers to enforce this.”

As the Clarion reported in 2023, many parts of Oxford, and some market towns, already have a pavement parking ban written into the rules for Controlled Permit Zones (residents’ parking areas). OCC told us: “We do currently enforce pavement parking in [these] areas.” Vehicles illegally parked on the pavement can be reported online via the OCC website, or by calling 0345 337 1138 (option 3).

Around the city

• An 80 year old man has died of his injuries after a fatal collision on the ring road near Risinghurst. He was a pedestrian at the time. A 28 year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death whilst driving a vehicle unlicenced/uninsured. Police are appealing for witnesses.
• Protesters gathered at Carfax on Saturday in solidarity with the ongoing anti-government protests in Iran. They were holding Iranian flags with the Lion and Sun emblem, as well as signs demanding regime change, and photographs of the current protests in Iran.
• Oxford United have appointed Matt Bloomfield as their new manager. Gary Rowett was sacked just before Christmas as the U’s sit second from bottom in the Championship table. Bloomfield had successful spells coaching Colchester United and then Wycombe Wanderers, but was unable to save Luton Town from relegation last year. During his 19-year career as a Wycombe midfielder, he had been the first footballer to sign the "Football v Homophobia” Charter in October 2011.
• Thirst nightclub, on Park End Street, has had its licence suspended until 23 January after illegal tobacco was found on the premises. Other infringements included social media posts that broke tobacco advertising regulations. An Oxford City Council hearing last night imposed new conditions on the business.
       Licensing committee chair Cllr Katherine Miles said: “We were really concerned about what has been presented to us. Serious criminal activity has taken place on your watch, from which your business has profited. The seizure of such tobacco in retail premises would result in a revocation.” However, recognising that “you’re sorry and you’re serious about not allowing this to happen again”, the committee decided on a temporary suspension and conditions including that no water-pipes will be available for use and no tobacco can be stored or sold. The committee has also asked that Thirst write about their experiences in the trade press, or similar, to make other businesses aware of the regulations.
       Oxfordshire Trading Standards had discovered violations including 24.5 kg of smuggled shisha tobacco and failure to display a statutory tobacco warning sign. On four separate occasions, they found non duty-paid water-pipe shisha tobacco in unlocked cupboards and no statutory tobacco warning notice, despite shisha being actively used to promote the venue on social media. Thirst, in mitigation, claimed that the shisha operation was run by a franchisee, and that there was a “genuine misunderstanding of the legal requirements”. They have since terminated the relationship with the shisha provider and replaced the venue management.
• The former Waterstones at the junction of Cornmarket and Broad Street (William Baker House) looks set to become a Mountain Warehouse outdoor store – despite rumours of a Warner Brothers outlet. An application with Oxford City Council seeks permission for signage on the ground and first floors. The building housed Waterstones until last June, when the bookshop closed to move to a new location on Queen Street. It was built in 1915 as a furnishing store, becoming Dillons bookshop in 1987. (In a curious symmetry, the building that once housed Waterstones in Cambridge, 6–7 Bridge Street, now also contains a Mountain Warehouse.)
• The artistic director of the Oxford Playhouse has announced plans to improve its accessibility and “radically open up the building”. The Beaumont Street theatre was refurbished in 1996-97 with Lottery funding and again in 2014-16 with Arts Council funding.

Around the county

• Pothole news! Oxfordshire is mid-table in a new Department for Transport rating of road maintenance, scoring ‘amber’ overall for Condition and Wider Best Practice, and Green for Spend (meaning it spends more on Capital maintenance than it gets funded from DfT). The ratings are intended to show how effectively national and local funding is being spent. Last financial year, Oxfordshire County Council fixed an estimated 37,042 potholes, the highest number for five years.
       OCC has released its own report showing that it is responsible for 4650km (2900 miles) of roads, 350km (220 miles) of cycleways, and 7450km (4650 miles) of Public Rights of Way. This financial year it will spend £69m on maintenance, but receives only £33m from DfT; most is paid for by general council funds. Delving deeper into the ratings, Oxfordshire now scores highly for preventative maintenance, but its roads are in poor condition and have worsened in recent years. A, B and C road condition has worsened slightly over five years to 2024, while unclassified road condition has improved. (Roads are surveyed every 2-4 years according to category so there is a lag.)

• The public consultation for Abingdon Reservoir closes today. Thames Water is proposing a bunded reservoir between Abingdon, Marcham, Didcot and Grove which it says will “supply water to 15 million people across the South East”. Campaign group GARD (Group Against Reservoir Development) have produced a list of objections; the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust has also asked its supporters to object. We covered the project in an introductory long read last March, followed by a three-part series by Vale of White Horse councillor Andy Cooke.

• Details have emerged of the refurbishment that is closing destination Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons for over a year. Owners Belmond have applied for planning permission for the Grade II listed Manor House and Dovecote within the site, which date back to the 15th and 17th centuries respectively. The ‘arrivals lounge’ in the Manor House will be refreshed in keeping with the original history of the building, including a historic fireplace opened up and fitted with a stone surround. The materials palette includes smoked wood panelling and Vincenzo antique glass. The toilets will be refurbished to a similar palette, including a new accessible WC. New joinery will display wine in the ‘Cave du Jour’. The 17th century dovecote, used as a guest room, will be stripped of its current 1980s finishes and restored to expose the original roof structure and roosting shelves. The proposals state they aim to both minimise intervention to, and avoid unnecessary loss of, all significant historic fabric.
• Plans to build 90 affordable homes on an underused car park in Witney are moving forward. Witney has 2,300 households on its housing waiting list, while 500 car parking spaces typically lie unused according to a 2025 survey. The Woodford Way car park currently has 250 spaces; building affordable homes on the site will reduce this to 90. Across Witney, West Oxfordshire District Council provides 1863 off-street parking spaces, all free of charge, including a multi-storey car park opposite Woodford Way; average occupancy is 72%. WODC leader Andy Graham said: “In the current climate, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for local people to stay living in the area they know and work in. We need more truly affordable homes in the right locations, with strong links to services and the community.”

Oxfordshire politics

The year has not started light and fluffy. But here is your round-up of our elected representatives’ travails on your behalf this week.

• Banbury MP Sean Woodcock is celebrating the Government announcement on giving councils the power to crack down on pavement parking. In Parliament, he asked what can be done to improve housing availability, including compelling developers to actually build houses on the sites where they have been granted planning permission – in a rare break of cross-party unity, echoing Cherwell District Council’s observation that 11,000 houses remain unbuilt locally. He is often vocal in his support of farmers in his constituency; he made a contribution in the debate on farming, which this time mainly consisted of slating the previous government. Finally he wants constituents to complete a consultation on reorganisation of the Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service.
• Bicester & Woodstock MP Calum Miller started off his parliamentary year by leading an Adjournment debate in the Commons, speaking about illegal dumping, warning that it is endemic. He is pleased with the apparent U-turn on hospitality business rates, which he's been advocating for. In his foreign affairs beat, he spoke out in support of protesters in Iran, and asked the government to make clear to the US government that no UK bases would be used in a US attack on Greenland (sentences we never thought we'd write).
• Witney MP Charlie Maynard announced that a new drop-off and parcel collection point for Witney Food Bank has been established at Elmfield House on New Yatt Road in Witney. He is hiring for a caseworker, if making Witney a better place is your bag.
• Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds has not let the cold weather stop her campaigning: she's been out on the doorsteps in Iffley Borders. In Parliament she spoke in favour of the Cyber Security & Resilience (Network & Information Systems) Bill at its second reading. The UK is apparently the most targeted country by cyber-attacks in Europe, and it was the fifth most targeted nation in 2024 by nation state-affiliated threat actors. If that sounds concerning, you should read the rest of the debate to see the government proposals to protect our cyber security, for the whole shebang is the stuff of nightmares. (Having read the debate, just going to move to a cabin in the woods and stock up on canned food…)
• Oxford West & Abingdon MP Layla Moran started her parliamentary year with a bang. Calling a debate on the future of Thames Water, she asked: “If they can't be trusted to deliver the basics, what can they be trusted to do?” We presume that is a coded message to the powers that be on SESRO, the consultation for which closes today (13 January). She questioned the minister Stephen Kinnock on palliative care. On Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg she spoke out for a customs union with the EU.
• Didcot & Wantage MP Olly Glover has had a busy start to the year. In parliament he asked for an independent review of business case for Thames Water's SESRO reservoir proposals, worked on the Railway Bill, challenged the Minister for Transport on the new Road Safety Strategy (including potholes), and questioned the Secretary of State on supporting future technologies including Space Solar on Harwell campus. Closer to home, he started the year by meeting with a Director at the Integrated Care Board to press for progress on the ongoing saga of the Great Western Park GP surgery. Finally, he visited Didcot Girls' School Citizenship GCSE groups.
• Henley & Thame MP Freddie van Mierlo met with the Environment Agency to discuss Marsh Lock Bridge. In what seems to have been an Oxfordshire MP pile-on, he too spoke in Parliament about his constituents' catalogue of Thames Water related woes. He also asked the minister about power cuts affecting rural communities. Closer to home, he spoke out against building on Chalgrove Airfield, marshalling national security arguments in his favour (if you want a primer on this, here's ours).
• Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber is not going gentle into that good night (recap: his job has been abolished by the government) but is raging against the dying of the light. (Place your bets as to his next role…) Promoting his ‘Save our Pubs’ campaign, he welcomed the government's U-turn on business rates but criticised the imminent increase in alcohol duty. Closer to his current brief, he wrote to the Home Secretary about police funding, citing a £9m deficit in Thames Valley Police funds under the new funding agreement. And finally, he urged local residents to complete the Abingdon Reservoir consultation.
• North Durham MP Luke Akehurst might be representing a northern cathedral city these days, but he’s still a part-time Oxford resident (and husband of City Council cabinet member Linda Smith): as an influential Labour voice, his New Statesman take on the party’s electoral coalition is interesting. (Archive link.)

University and research

• Global aviation emissions could be halved, says a new study by the University of Oxford, with just three changes: fuel efficient aircraft, all-economy layouts, and increased passenger loads. An 11% emissions reduction is achievable immediately by using the most efficient aircraft more strategically. Co-author Milan Klöwer (Department of Physics) said: “While it is economically and practically unfeasible to replace all older aircraft short term, this analysis shows the potential that more efficient aircraft have.”
• A pioneering trial at Oxford University Hospitals is underway to test an anti-inflammatory treatment which seeks to reduce inflammation in the heart after a cardiac event. The first participant in Europe has now been recruited for the trial. British Heart Foundation Professor Charis Antoniades said: “We are becoming better at identifying those people who are at greatest risk of a heart attack. This trial is an opportunity to see if the experimental drug is effective. The recruitment of this first participant is an important milestone.”
• Lewis Carroll’s own copy of the suppressed first edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is returning to Oxford. It has been donated jointly to the Bodleian Libraries and his college, Christ Church, and will go on public display next week. Carroll's illustrator John Tenniel asked to withdraw the first edition of Alice because he was unhappy with the quality of the printing. Fewer than two dozen copies survive – Christ Church’s own first edition was stolen from its common room a century ago – but Oxford made a successful bid to receive the rare edition from bibliophile Ellen A. Michelson. It will be on public display in the Weston Library, 16-19 Jan; in Christ Church, 27 Jan-26 Feb; then again in the Weston Library, 11 Mar-27 Sep; and will also be digitised. (We reported in February that Christ Church had received a vast donation of books, letters, and photographs by Lewis Carroll from Jon A. Lindseth.)
• Oxford University researchers are among the winners of the Royal Astronomical Society's 2026 Awards. The Herschel Medal for outstanding merit in observational astrophysics was awarded to Andrew Bunker in the Dept of Physics, who studies distant galaxies using the James Webb Space Telescope. Paula Koelemeijer, a geophysicist in the Department of Earth Sciences, won the Fowler Award for her work on understanding of the Earth's deep interior. Suzanne Aigrain, an astrophysicist in the Department of Physics, was awarded the George Darwin Lectureship for her influential work on detecting exoplanets, and her enthusiastic science communication. And Deaglan Bartlett, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physics, won an Early Career Award for his innovative work on theoretical and computational cosmology, including dark energy.
• Oxford lost to Cambridge in a Boat Race on Saturday. The team from the frozen Fens won the Ice Dragon Boat International Friendship Race in north-east China, where teams propel their boats across solid ice using ice-picks. The event was hosted by Harbin Institute of Technology. Oxford and Cambridge competed against teams from across China in an event designed to increase China-UK cooperation. Oriel College’s deputy partnerships director Tina Jiang addressed the event by video link.
• Oxford based AI drug discovery company Oxford Drug Design has taken a step forward in a treatment for aggressive colorectal tumours, in a collaboration with Cancer Research UK. The generative AI model found a way to target two of the most aggressive human colorectal cancer subtypes. Paul Finn, CSO of Oxford Drug Design, said: “We continue to develop this breakthrough programme successfully against major tumours, applying our integrated expertise in generative AI and target biology. Our efforts are now focused on bringing this potential first-in-class treatment into the clinic.”

Trains and buses

• The full Oxford–Banbury train service is finally to be reinstated. CrossCountry’s new timetable from May includes half-hourly trains from Oxford throughout the day, restoring the pre-Covid service level. Services alternate between Manchester–Bournemouth and Newcastle–Reading. Northbound trains will leave Oxford half-hourly from 0639 to 2139 (except for the 2009 slot); southbound trains will leave half-hourly from 0716 to 2215 (except for the 0746 and 2046 slots). The current, reduced service has caused repeated overcrowding with passengers often unable to board northbound trains in the evening peak. The new timetable is only in draft form and further changes are possible before May.
• Café de la Gare, who sell refreshments at Charlbury railway station, will also now operate indoors at Hanborough station on weekday mornings, 6-12. They plan to move their existing coffee van from Hanborough to serve Kingham. Meanwhile GWR has ended an arrangement whereby 30 spaces at Hanborough station car park were reserved for a local business, freeing them up for all-comers (though as good Clarion cyclists, we are honour-bound to point out that decent cycle paths from Eynsham and Woodstock to the station would free up a lot more spaces…).
• Oxford’s Park & Ride buses will remain free for at least another two months. Free buses were introduced for three months from when the congestion charge started on 29 October; this period has now been extended until the end of March. Bus company Stagecoach says its P&R services are over 50% busier than beforehand, while Oxford Bus Company reported a 63% increase at Redbridge P&R. Overall, 10,833 more people are using Oxford’s Park & Rides each week than at the same time the previous year.
• The Cholsey & Wallingford Railway is proudly showing off their restored fuel tanker wagon, brought back to mint condition with the help of locally-headquartered waste company Grundon. (Perhaps GWR might find it useful for the morning express train that embarrassingly ran out of fuel at Oxford station last Wednesday, blocking the station for half an hour?)

Notes from Clarion HQ

The X-odus continues. We left the former Twitter on Friday (thanks to all those of you who cheered us on our way out). Layla Moran followed this week, with Freddie van Mierlo confirming that he hadn’t posted since November and didn’t intend to do so again. Anneliese Dodds has told constituents she is considering the issue carefully, but added “I do not believe this is a simple question to answer”, saying greater regulation was needed.

Perhaps most telling: Oxford Green councillors have vociferously criticised X. Yet the party still used it to announce their star councillor defection. Their post got 2 reposts and 2 likes on X; 40 reposts and 133 likes on Bluesky. To use a metaphor our Conservative readers might recognise, the Twitter bird is an ex-parrot.

And the badger at the top? We just liked it. Have a great week.