The Clarion, 18 November 2025

Week two of two newsletters in a week; welcome to our news and politics edition. This weekend, we went to see both the illegal dump in Kidlington, and the Unity March in Oxford. Both were… quite something.

This week’s top stories

Sometimes photos aren’t enough to tell a story, and that’s certainly true of the colossal illegal fly-tip by the River Cherwell near Kidlington.

Local MP Calum Miller said in Parliament last week that “the estimated cost of removal is greater than the entire annual budget of the local district council”. We thought that was hyperbole until we visited the site. But even these photos don’t properly convey the scale of the crime.

A mountain of shredded waste, 150m long and some 5m high, has been piled into a narrow corridor next to the A34. It is already polluting the adjacent River Cherwell: on our visit, we saw rubbish having been washed by last week’s rains into a small brook which feeds the river just a few metres downstream.

The site is hidden in plain sight. The entrance is on the busy sliproad from the A34 into Kidlington, which sees thousands of cars pass a day – but the view is shielded by high security gates, erected to replace a low-level agricultural gate. The dual carriageway itself is just beyond a row of trees. A public footpath, now impassable, runs through the field. Major earthworks have been carried out at the field – earth banks, holes dug, tyre tracks everywhere.

The tipping was first noticed by local anglers this summer. It is believed to have taken place overnight on repeated occasions. The Clarion understands that this and an adjacent field had been in absentee ownership for many years, but were auctioned in July this year, split into several lots. We have been unable to find any record of planning permission applied for or granted.

The Environment Agency has fixed notices to the gate closing off the site, and says it has launched a “major investigation” into the crime. Oxfordshire Friends of the Earth has called for the Army to come in and remove the waste, given the scale of the tip and the potential for environmental disaster. Local councillor Laura Gordon (LibDem, Kidlington North & Otmoor) said: “It's really important that there's a full criminal investigation, but that can happen in very slightly slower time. The cleanup is existential for the Cherwell and needs to happen as soon as humanly possible.”

In other “things we’d rather not see in the county’s rivers” news, Oxfordshire’s sewage map has lit up brown after 40mm of rainfall fell in one day last Friday. Sewage treatment works have been discharging constantly since early that morning. Flooded roads were reported across the north and west of the county while River Thames lock-keepers were called up in the early hours to set the weirs.

Around the city

• The price of a pint has topped £7 in one city centre pub. Oxford CAMRA’s annual survey found two beers from Chadlington Brewery were on sale for £7.05 at the Turf Tavern. The average cost of a pint was £5.62, with pizza pub the White Rabbit again having the most keenly priced beer (outside Wetherspoons) at £3.90. CAMRA secretary Steve Lawrence said: “There has been very little change in terms of number and variety of real ales available, but inevitably the average price has gone up.”
• Oxfordshire County Council has revealed further tantalising details of what lies under the site of its new offices on Speedwell Street. Remains of the historic Blackfriars Mill Stream and medieval revetments may be found by future archaeological work – but the current footprint of the building itself is not affected by these potential discoveries. From April 2028, then, Speedwell House will replace County Hall as the council’s HQ. (This, very sadly, looks like it quashes the fun theory advanced by Madeline Odent that we might have found the site of St Frideswide's Priory, in an article for us last month.) Cllr Dan Levy said: “We believe it will help regenerate this area of Oxford and be a modern home for council staff."
• A crackdown on illegal e-bikes in Oxford saw several delivery bikes seized and “numerous riders” issued with fixed penalty notices. Electrically assisted pedal cycles must not exceed 25km/h with assistance and may not have a throttle for pedal-less riding. Thames Valley Police carried out the operation on Friday night, saying “Let’s just say a few officers found themselves assisting with the delivery of takeaway orders to make sure customers got their food.”
• It was a busy few days for Oxford’s city centre police teams… on Thursday they were in attendance en masse outside the Oxford Union, the student debating club just off Cornmarket, with protests expected at a debate about whether Israel or Iran was the greater threat to stability in the Middle East. In reality the event passed off peaceably.
• Less peaceful was the drumming on Cornmarket, a frequent Saturday fixture as local Extinction Rebellion activists and Oxford Climate Choir protest against plans to drill the Rosebank oil field. This week’s event was part of a global day of climate action, coinciding with the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30. For XR Oxford, Steve Dawe said: “All those concerned about human-created climate change hope to see policy and priority shifts [in the upcoming budget] to increase resources for climate policies.”

• Hundreds of Oxford residents marched across the city on Sunday to demonstrate against racism, and to welcome migrants, in the Oxford Unity March & Rally. Chants included “this is what community looks like” with calls to fight back against racism. Onlookers and passers-by cheered and beeped horns in support as the march, led by drummers, passed down Oxford’s famously diverse Cowley Road. At Bonn Square, the march passed a counter protest of a dozen ‘Oxfordshire Patriots’ including one brandishing a blue passport: separated by police, the Unity marchers sang “There are many many more of us than there are of you.” One of the flags featured a ‘Unity Jill’, a homemade flag in celebration of multicultural and queer Oxford.

Around the county

• Organisers of Abingdon’s fireworks display have issued an apology after the Saturday event was affected by long tailbacks to enter and leave the site, while low cloud cover affected the fireworks’ visibility. Xplosive Events say “We are devastated that not everyone had the experience they deserved or expected. We need to take some time as a team to reflect, process, and carefully consider the future of Abingdon Bonfire & Fireworks.”
• Oxfordshire’s first autism strategy is being drawn up by the County Council. A consultation event in December will give people the opportunity to review and give feedback. Cllr Tim Bearder said “Autistic people have told us that reports and documents too often focus on what people can’t do, rather than recognising autism as part of who they are. It’s a move towards a more inclusive Oxfordshire.”
• Three Oxfordshire tourist attractions have won awards for the warmth of their welcome from Visit England, the official tourist board. The Mini Plant Tour won a gold award; Oxford Castle was the ‘Best Told Story’; and Hook Norton’s brewery tour was judged a ‘Hidden Gem’.
• “This is a local tip for local people”: Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet is expected to sign off a plan to charge out-of-county visitors £15 to use local recycling centres from January. Several neighbouring authorities already limit their tips to county residents only. There’ll also be a new charge for disposing of asbestos. A plan for early closing in the winter months won’t take effect until winter 2027.
• The owners of the Woodman Inn in North Leigh, near Witney, have applied once again to turn it into a house after previous applications were rejected. Their viability assessment claims “the limited number of people in the area and the competition means that the expected turnover just isn’t sufficient”. The application is with West Oxfordshire District Council for consideration.
• Wantage Town Council has launched a Town Survey to seek input into the future of Wantage. The survey closes in January 2026.
• The leader of Vale of White Horse District Council has demanded Government intervention over the escalating costs of Abingdon’s proposed reservoir. In a letter to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Cllr Bethia Thomas wrote: “This cost explosion changes everything. SESRO [the reservoir] was approved on assumptions that Thames Water itself now admits were wildly inaccurate. Continuing down this path without a full reassessment would be reckless and could leave taxpayers footing the bill for a project that fails to deliver." Thames Water has now launched its statutory public consultation, which closes in January. (For our articles on the mega-reservoir, start here.)
  

Oxfordshire politics

• Penistone & Stocksbridge MP Marie Tidball… wait, you’re wondering why we’re featuring a Yorkshire MP? Well, she was previously Oxford City Councillor for Hinksey Park, and has now won the Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Award. A councillor between 2016 and 2022, she was a founding director and coordinator of the Oxford University disability law & policy project.
• Banbury MP Sean Woodcock has signed a letter calling for penguins apparently kept in a basement in the Sea Life Centre in London to be released. Here's the story. He was at no 11 with a representative from local business Cleenol as part of a reception for small businesses to talk to the Chancellor ahead of the autumn Budget. He attended a parliamentary event for Compassion in World Farming's 'End the Cage Age' campaign – particularly interesting as there are several intensive poultry farms in, or very near, his constituency. (Non-intensive farms too! And as a side quest, the UK's foremost maker of chicken runs for pet chickens, Omlet, is also in his constituency.) He was at the Co-op Party Conference at the weekend. On Monday, he set out his views on the NHS in an op-ed, where he celebrates a reduction in waiting lists and investment in the Horton. He's recruiting for a caseworker: if that's your bag, go here. (But do you get to meet his cats?)
• Calum Miller, MP for Bicester & Woodstock and LibDem Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, has presented a Bill to Parliament to enable the seizure of frozen Russian assets and direct the proceeds to Ukraine’s defence, reconstruction and humanitarian relief. There are estimated to be £30bn of Russian state assets frozen in the UK, with an estimated $300bn globally. The Ukrainian defence minister has estimated that Ukraine needs $60bn assistance to resist Russia next year. Calum Miller commented: “Putin must be punished, not rewarded, for his barbaric assault on the brave people of Ukraine. This Bill would see billions in frozen Russian assets seized and used to support the defence of President Zelensky’s proud nation. I urge MPs from all parties to back this bill.”
• Witney MP Charlie Maynard was seemingly out all day Friday during Storm Claudia, organising sandbags, inspecting parts of the constituency prone to flooding, and posting an increasingly soggy series of videos to inform constituents (dry, slightly damp, flooded). His Facebook page is quite something this week. In other watery news, he will no doubt have been relieved that courts ruled he didn't have to pay Thames Water's legal bills, having taken them to court last year. He accused them of “retaliation” against his campaign to tame Oxfordshire's least favourite utility company. And while we've not seen a press release or media on this, if you're geeky enough to read Hansard on a wet and windy weekend, you will find Maynard in Parliament proposed a tax on the windfall profits of banks, as well as a digital services tax, and also that Parliament be allowed proper time to scrutinise and debate the Budget “as opposed to the wave-through regime we have now”.
• Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds asked questions in Parliament on Sudan, and backed the government inclusion of social medial literacy in the new curriculum. She attended the same small business event as Sean Woodcock, but with Izabela Ochylski from Polish Kitchen in Rose Hill. She wants to ban plastic wet wipes, apparently as the result of having seen a fatberg in a sewer in East Oxford (thanks for not posting that picture, Anneliese). More seriously, she attended COP30 in Brazil as part of a cross party delegation. Other media outlets covered Conservative criticism of her attendance, so we asked for her response:

"Cllr Liam Walker appears unaware that the cross-party parliamentary delegation he criticised included representatives of his own Conservative Party. He is wrong about Oxford East residents not caring about the environment. Many local residents have been hit hard by recent record levels of flooding. And many local peoples' families, from Bangladesh to Jamaica, have been hammered by extreme weather linked with climate change. Almost 1000 of my constituents have contacted me individually just over the last 12 months to express their concerns about the environment.

“Cllr Walker sadly also seems unaware of how important green growth is for Oxford. Green investment is growing three times faster than the overall economy and we must ensure green jobs come and stay here, not least at BMW Cowley. Though Oxford East residents support a range of political parties, they are often keen to tell me that they want to see action on the environment.”

• Oxford West & Abingdon MP Layla Moran was on BBC Oxford talking about the Lodge Hill junction construction, and again on issues with the Botley West Solar Farm. She accused Reform UK and the Conservatives of spreading misinformation about the introduction of the Congestion Charge in Oxford. (Full article here; Cllr Liam Walker's response here.)
• Didcot & Wantage MP Olly Glover has, in an issue close to Clarion readers’ hearts, been elected Honorary President of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Cycling, Walking and Wheeling, as well as President of Liberal Democrats for Election Reform. But the update that likely has the most resonance with our readers this week is his challenge in Parliament that health, transport and leisure facilities are not keeping up with rapid housing growth.
• Henley & Thame MP Freddie van Mierlo held a roundtable for farmers in Watlington to discuss the future of British farming, from fair funding to environmental schemes. He's joined the cross party Science, Innovation & Technology Select Committee. And he's supporting Greener Henley's campaign on learning to love weeds. (Note the plural. This is Henley, not Cowley.)
• Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber had what amounts to a very bad day at the office last week. Firstly the government announced the PCC role was to be scrapped; then the by-election he'd been actively campaigning for went to the LibDems. That said, the Tories beat Reform and the Greens, and did 30 times better than Labour. Politics can be brutal. He rapidly issued a statement committing to continue to work with the police while he remained in role, and then continued to do just that, issuing this update. Among the highlights was his address to the Thames Valley Serious Organised Crime Partnership, about the police working with partners such as councils, the Environment Agency, and HMRC to target criminal businesses: “The dodgy barbershops and nail bars, the sophisticated series of tool thefts, large scale waste crime – all of these can be symptoms of organised crime.” And, dare we say it, illegal waste dumping? Obligatory Labrador picture.

Council reorganisation

• Oxfordshire’s three competing plans for unitary councils are winging their way to the Government in time for the 28 November deadline. Here’s the press releases from Oxfordshire County Council (one council), the rural districts (two councils), and the City Council (three councils). These news-friendly summaries are all very upbeat and positive, but you don’t have to look far below the surface to find each council doing down the others. One example: from page 393 in this document you’ll find the rural districts subtly knifing the county and city councils. We tend to think this is a zero-sum game – every Oxfordshire council has its weaknesses, and you really don’t want us to enumerate them all here, but to hear the positive case instead. Right? …right?
• Although unitary councils are attracting the most attention, the other part of reorganisation is the creation of a Thames Valley Mayor, where the ‘Swindon – in or out?’ debate rumbles on. A question at the most recent Oxfordshire County Council meeting (Q55) noted “only the two Labour majority authorities in the Thames Valley favour this”, with OCC leader Liz Leffman replying that the council is keeping its powder dry until “the Government publish spatial planning maps in the next few months”. Oxfordshire’s councils are expected to endorse a tentative Expression of Interest in a Thames Valley mayoralty in December. Meanwhile, Reading’s papers report a Windsor councillor commenting “In Windsor and Maidenhead, I'd have great difficulty putting anything [forward] that included Swindon”… which is perhaps overestimating the importance of Maidenhead to the people of Banbury, but no matter.

University and research

• Oxford University Press is planning a further round of redundancies, with 113 jobs to go principally in its Education and ELT divisions. OUP told trade paper the Bookseller that “ongoing difficult trading conditions” were to blame.
• The former Head of Nursing at Oxford Brookes, Prof Liz Westcott, has become President of the Sigma Society of Nursing, a global organization which develops nurse leaders to improve healthcare. At Brookes she launched the School of Nursing & the Nursing Doctorate.
• Former US presidential candidate John Kerry, foreign correspondent Christina Lamb, and famed psephologist John Curtice are among those proposed as recipients of honorary degrees at Oxford University this year. If approved, the degrees will be conferred at a special ceremony in February. Also proposed are Dinah Rose, President of Magdalen, and Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University. It is a long-standing tradition that the Chancellor of the University proposes the current Vice-Chancellor and the current head of their own college, which for William Hague is Magdalen. Honorary degrees have also been earmarked for Elish Angiolini, former Principal of St Hugh’s; historian and podcast host Dominic Sandbrook; social psychologist Jonathan Haidt; and conservationist Isabella Tree. Oxford University members have until noon on 24 November to object.
• Peter Mandelson has resigned his honorary fellowship at St Catherine’s College, following controversy over his links with Jeffrey Epstein. The college, where he was an undergraduate, said: “Lord Mandelson informed St Catherine’s that he has decided to step back from public life. The College has accepted his resignation.”
• Oxford Brookes has launched a journalism fellowship to support in-depth investigations. For the next five years, one journalist each year will be awarded £15,000 to fund a piece of long-form investigative journalism. The fellowship is the legacy of David McClure, who spent a decade investigating the Royal Family’s finances. Alexandra Shakespeare, from Brookes’ Centre for Publishing & Journalism, said: “It’s very difficult for journalists to fund the public interest, investigative journalism that is so vital to society. This Fellowship will provide the resources for that investigative journalism.”
• Oxford Business College on Oxpens Road has won an appeal on one ground against the Government’s decision to “de-designate” it. The private college was the subject of allegations in the Sunday Times earlier this year that it had enrolled non-existent students, that most students at one campus did not attend classes, and that widespread financial fraud took place. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson took the nuclear option of removing “designated” status from its courses, meaning students would not qualify for financial support or student loans. A High Court judgement found this decision was procedurally unfair. Education blog WonkHE has more analysis.

Trains and buses

• A widespread engine fault on GWR’s fleet of intercity trains is causing overcrowding, late running and cancellations on London–Oxford services, and onwards into the Cotswolds. Fuel pumps are said to be “disintegrating”, leading to trains running slow with several engines out of service. Over the last four weeks, only 60% of Oxford–Paddington services have run to time (or within 5 minutes). Some services have been particularly unpunctual: the 2035 from Oxford has been on time for just 15% of its scheduled runs, with the 1331 little better at 25%. The engine failures mean that services booked for nine-coach trains are often run with just five, with passengers being left on the platform at Oxford on occasion. A nine-coach train has five engines: GWR withdraws them from service if three of the five have failed.
• An Oxford coach driver has been nominated for the ‘Coach Driver of the Year’ award with bus group Go-Ahead, which owns Oxford Bus Company. Oseas Moura Nunes, who was born in Brazil, was a nurse at the John Ratcliffe before changing career to drive the Airline coach to Heathrow and Gatwick.

Notes from Clarion HQ

We have been very taken this week with Normal Town, the new album from the Dreaming Spires. It's a concept album about Didcot, with tracks including ‘Cooling Towers’ and ‘21st Century Light Industrial’. The Dreaming Spires features Robin Bennett, former Oxfordshire county councillor and touring member of Saint Etienne. Any other Oxfordshire politicians with Batman-like ‘by night’ roles? Let us know.

We hope you’ve enjoyed another packed edition: news, politics, university, and disintegrating trains. If you think your friends would be interested, do share – and keep talking to us as we refine it each week. See you in your inbox on Friday for the Clarion Weekend.