Stephen Tall

The last time a Conservative was elected to Oxford City Council was 12 years ago, in 2000. Her name was Barbara Burgess, and she won in a backlash against Labour over a local planning issue (the controversial building of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies). Her time on the Council was brief — she resigned two years later. And since then not a single Conservative has topped the poll in any of the 24 wards across the city.

Given that the Tory tally stands at a big fat zero, it’s perhaps not too surprising that the party is downbeat about its prospects — a view confirmed by Tory chairwoman Baroness (Sayeeda) Warsi on a visit to Oxford this week:

“It is my job to go out there to fight elections and win elections. I would love to make gains in Oxford, and in recent years we have come close.

“I hope that in due course we will have a councillor as well, but this visit is not about immediate electoral success. It is about making sure Oxford is being heard.”

It’s a view Oxford’s voters may want to take into account when they cast their votes this May.