Post by bjornhattan on Mar 30, 2020 21:08:33 GMT
This is copied across from the main thread.
OXFORD EAST
The city of Oxford lies at the confluence of two rivers: the Cherwell and the Thames (known locally as the Isis). This caused it to grow as a major transport centre, and the name Oxford derives from its earliest history as a convenient point to ford oxen. Today, however, the city is best known for education and not commerce, with its ancient university one of the foremost in the entire world.
This esteemed centre for learning has a huge influence on the city and its politics. Most of the colleges and students are located in the heart of the city, in the wards of Carfax and Holywell, but many students live further out along the eclectic and diverse Cowley Road. In addition to the students, there are also many graduates. The upmarket suburb of Headington, around the city's hospital, has a staggering 61% of its adult population holding a degree or equivalent, which is one of the highest figures in the country. And many of its non-graduates will have a degree soon - they study at Oxford's newer university, Oxford Brookes, whose modern campus is perched at the top of Headington Hill.
However, there is another side to Oxford, and one which is perhaps less well-known. Ever since the 1920s, Oxford has emerged as a manufacturing centre, with a vast car factory lying in the working-class suburb of Cowley. Though this no longer employs 20,000 workers, as it did in its heyday, large swathes of the city's outskirts are distinctly blue-collar. The peripheral estate of Blackbird Leys is perhaps the most striking example of this, and its name is still associated with the antisocial behaviour that plagued the estate in the 1990s. This even fed through to its politics - a local populist party known as the Independent Working Class Association won council seats on a manifesto with a significant focus on reducing antisocial behaviour. Parts of the seat also have a large ethnic minority population - 48% of Cowley Marsh residents came from an ethnic group other than White British at the 2011 Census, and this will almost certainly be a majority by now. Churchill, Lye Valley, and Cowley ward are also ethnically diverse, and specialist shops in the area cater to residents from around the world who now call the area home.
Traditionally, the entire city of Oxford formed a single ancient constituency, but in 1983 it was split into the two constituencies we still have today. Population shifts have gradually seen Oxford East gain more wards in the west of the city, taking the area around Hinksey Park in 1997, followed by the city centre in 2010. Its history since 1983 has been decisively Labour, with the exception of a narrow Conservative victory in their 1983 landslide, some Liberal Democrat strength during their peak in the 2000s, and even a Green challenge fuelled by their local strength in wards along the Cowley Road. Labour's strength shows no signs of abating either - the party's strength with Remain voters was certainly a boon in an overwhelmingly Remain voting city (even if Labour's strongest wards beyond the ring road were actually pro-Leave). The city of Oxford may be associated with great wealth and privilege, but it is also a divided city, and both town and gown currently back Labour by some margin.
OXFORD EAST
The city of Oxford lies at the confluence of two rivers: the Cherwell and the Thames (known locally as the Isis). This caused it to grow as a major transport centre, and the name Oxford derives from its earliest history as a convenient point to ford oxen. Today, however, the city is best known for education and not commerce, with its ancient university one of the foremost in the entire world.
This esteemed centre for learning has a huge influence on the city and its politics. Most of the colleges and students are located in the heart of the city, in the wards of Carfax and Holywell, but many students live further out along the eclectic and diverse Cowley Road. In addition to the students, there are also many graduates. The upmarket suburb of Headington, around the city's hospital, has a staggering 61% of its adult population holding a degree or equivalent, which is one of the highest figures in the country. And many of its non-graduates will have a degree soon - they study at Oxford's newer university, Oxford Brookes, whose modern campus is perched at the top of Headington Hill.
However, there is another side to Oxford, and one which is perhaps less well-known. Ever since the 1920s, Oxford has emerged as a manufacturing centre, with a vast car factory lying in the working-class suburb of Cowley. Though this no longer employs 20,000 workers, as it did in its heyday, large swathes of the city's outskirts are distinctly blue-collar. The peripheral estate of Blackbird Leys is perhaps the most striking example of this, and its name is still associated with the antisocial behaviour that plagued the estate in the 1990s. This even fed through to its politics - a local populist party known as the Independent Working Class Association won council seats on a manifesto with a significant focus on reducing antisocial behaviour. Parts of the seat also have a large ethnic minority population - 48% of Cowley Marsh residents came from an ethnic group other than White British at the 2011 Census, and this will almost certainly be a majority by now. Churchill, Lye Valley, and Cowley ward are also ethnically diverse, and specialist shops in the area cater to residents from around the world who now call the area home.
Traditionally, the entire city of Oxford formed a single ancient constituency, but in 1983 it was split into the two constituencies we still have today. Population shifts have gradually seen Oxford East gain more wards in the west of the city, taking the area around Hinksey Park in 1997, followed by the city centre in 2010. Its history since 1983 has been decisively Labour, with the exception of a narrow Conservative victory in their 1983 landslide, some Liberal Democrat strength during their peak in the 2000s, and even a Green challenge fuelled by their local strength in wards along the Cowley Road. Labour's strength shows no signs of abating either - the party's strength with Remain voters was certainly a boon in an overwhelmingly Remain voting city (even if Labour's strongest wards beyond the ring road were actually pro-Leave). The city of Oxford may be associated with great wealth and privilege, but it is also a divided city, and both town and gown currently back Labour by some margin.
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