Oxford East

177

9

Boundary changes: Gains most of Carfax and Holywell wards and a small part of St Marys, covering the centre of Oxford and the University colleges.

Profile: Unlike Oxford West, which is largely rural and now contains relatively little of Oxford, this is an urban seat and contains the vast majority of Oxford itself.

The seat covers the centre of Oxford, and now includes the majority of the Oxford Colleges - the two city centre wards Holywell and Carfax are overwhelmingly made up of students. To the east the suburb of Headington also contains Oxford Brookes University and the teaching hospitals. Just under a quarter of residents are students and as might be expected it is a strong area for the Liberal Democrats and Green party.

It would be wrong however to characterise this seat as being made up of academic quadrangles, ivory towers and Guardian reading students - most people here are not students. Away from the city centre there a mixed residential suburbs including the industrial Cowley, home to BMW’s Mini production, and the large council estate of Blackbird Leys, with an unfortunate reputation for unemployment, crime and joyriding. A minor party, the Independent Working Class Association, has some strength on the council estates here and returns several councillors, however they have a negligible effect at the last election.

Note that Rallings & Thrasher`s notional figures have Oxford East as a Labour seat, so the mainstream media will treat this as a Labour held seat at the next election.

Current MP: Andrew Smith (Labour) born 1952, Reading. Formerly worked for the Co-op. Former Oxford councillor. First elected as MP for Oxford East in 1987. Minister for Employment 1997-1999, Chief Secretary of the Treasury 1999-2002 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2002-2004, when he left the frontbench (more information at They work for you)

Candidates:
Steve Goddard (Liberal Democrat) born 1969, Taunton. Educated at Oxford University. University lecturer in Oxford. Oxford City Councillor from 1996-2002. Contested Oxford East in 2001 and 2005. Main policy interests are the environment, Europe and foreign affairs, civil liberties and constitutional reform.
Peter Tatchell (Green) born 1952, Melborne, Australia. Educated at Mount Waverley High School and North London Polytechnic. A high profile gay rights and human rights activist, Tatchell was the Labour candidate in the notorious 1983 Bermondsey by-election, which he lost to the Liberal candidate Simon Hughes. Following the by-election Tatchell worked as an author and in 1990 was a founder member of Outrage!, a radical gay-rights group. Tatchell most famously disrupted the then Archbishop of Canterbury`s Easter Sermon to denounce the church`s stance on homosexuality from the pulpit. Tatchell has also been active in demonstrating against the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe and in 2001 unsuccessfully attempted a citizen`s arrest upon Mugabe in Belgium. Contested Bermondsey by-election 2003 as a Labour candidate, contested London Assembly elections 2000 as an Independent.
Ed Argar (Conservative) born 1977, Ashford, Kent. Educated Harvey GS, Folkestone, and Oriel College, Oxford. Currently management consultant, previously Political Adviser to Michael Ancram. Westminster City Councillor since 2006.