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Oxfordshire residents voted in what was expected to be Oxfordshire County Council’s last election on Thursday 1st May after the UK government announced intentions to reform local government in December of last year. The Liberal Democrats gained a majority in the chamber, winning 36 seats.
A total of 69 councilors were elected, with the number of contested seats increasing from 63 to 69 following a review by the Electoral Boundary Commission.
Results of the election were announced on Friday, 2nd May. The Lib Dems saw a 12-seat increase compared to the last elections, giving them an outright majority and overall control of the council’s chamber. Previously, the council had been under no overall control since 2013, relying on a coalition between the Lib Dems and the Green Party in the last elected chamber.
The Greens also saw electoral success, winning four additional seats, bringing their total number of councillors to seven. Meanwhile, the Residents’ Association held on to their one seat on the council, and Reform UK elected their first-ever Oxfordshire councillor.
Liz Leffman, the current Lib Dem leader of the council, said that the election was “everything I could have hoped for”, whilst newly-elected Reform UK councillor Hao Du said he was “exhausted but very honoured” to be elected.
Both Labour and the Conservatives lost seats in the election. Labour won a total of 12 seats, a three-seat loss compared to the last elected chamber, whilst the Conservatives lost 15 seats, leaving them with only ten seats in the chamber.
Oxfordshire currently has a two-tier system of local government meaning that local services are provided by a combination of councils. Across Oxfordshire, services such as social care, waste collection, and transport are provided by Oxfordshire County Council where elections took place on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in the city of Oxford, local services such as planning, licensing, and tax collection are the responsibility of Oxford City Council. Elections for the city council took place last year.
The UK government has announced its intention to simplify this two-tier system by 2028. This means that Thursday’s election was likely the last ever election for Oxfordshire County Council.
Instead of this two-tier structure, local government in Oxfordshire will be replaced by one or more unitary local authorities as well as the election of a new regional Mayor. The precise structure and geographic boundaries of these offices are yet to be determined.
Announcing an overhaul of local government structures in December last year, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “We have an economy that hoards potential and a politics that hoards power. So our devolution revolution will deliver the greatest transfer of power from Whitehall to our communities in a generation.”
Speaking to Cherwell, Oxfordshire politicians have widely welcomed the plans to restructure local government in Oxford. The Conservative Party, however, have expressed scepticism over the plans with Shadow Secretary of State Kevin Hollinrake calling the plans “delegation, not devolution”.
Lydia Mugambe, a UN judge convicted of keeping a woman as a slave in her home in Oxford whilst she was studying for a DPhil in law at Pembroke College, was sentenced to six years and four months imprisonment at the Oxford Crown Court on 2nd May.
In March of this year, a jury found that the victim cooked, cleaned, and cared for Mugambe’s children from 6am to 10pm for no compensation, whilst the UN judge kept her passport and travel documents from her. The jury also heard evidence of intimidation and threats against the victim from Mugambe, including one incident where Mugambe threatened to cancel the victim’s visa and expose her to the authorities when she asked to be paid.
She was sentenced on one account each of facilitating a breach of UK Immigration laws, keeping a person as slave, trafficking a person into the UK for exploitation, as well as intimidating the witness to prevent her from testifying.
Caroline Haughey KC, prosecuting, read for the court an impact statement from the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons. In her statement, the victim explained how these crimes have affected her everyday life since she reported Mugambe, stating: “I live in constant fear … I don’t sleep most nights. I have stopped speaking to most of my friends. I used to enjoy going on walks with my friends and singing and dancing to music … I now mostly sit alone in my room with my laptop.”
The court also heard how Mugambe attempted to silence the victim by contacting her pastor back in Uganda in order to pressure the victim into dropping the case against her.
Mugambe repeatedly shook her head in disbelief whilst the impact statement was read out.
The prosecution pointed out that Mugambe has shown no remorse. In fact, the judge explained that Mugambe continues to see herself as the victim in this case.
Mr Justice Foxton sentenced Mugambe to six years and four months imprisonment, half to be served on license and credit given for time served on remand. The court also made references to a potential arrangement where Mugambe would serve her prison sentence back home in Uganda.
A restraining order was agreed which prevents Mugambe from contacting the victim, and a compensation order was made to repay the victim of her lost wages. During the defence’s remarks, Mugambe made an apparent attempt to seek a restraining order against the victim; this was not acknowledged by the court as it did not have such powers over the complainant in the case.
Ch Supt Ben Clark of Thames Valley Police told Cherwell after the sentencing: “Modern slavery is an under-reported crime and I hope that the bravery of the victim in this case encourages other victims of modern slavery to come forward.”
A spokesperson for the University of Oxford said: “The university is now commencing its own disciplinary process, which has the power to remove students convicted of serious criminal offences.”
When you think about German football, several images doubtless spring to mind – Bayern players drenched in Paulaner after winning another Meisterschale, the ‘Yellow Wall’ in Dortmund, or perhaps the greats who have donned Die Mannschaft’s famous white jersey.
You probably don’t think about lampposts.
Across the nation, concrete-grey urban landscapes are broken up by flashes of colour. There are splotches wrapped around lamp posts, gleaming on street signs, even fixed in the endless loop of the U-Bahn escalators. Everywhere you look, you’re greeted by stickers emblazoned with football badges.
Throughout the nation’s fractured past, football has been a constant, something that all demographics have been able to rely on. The proliferation of stickers in German cities and towns represents how football is woven into the fabric of communities and the country itself.
But the best example of this connection between city and club exists in Gelsenkirchen.
Situated squarely in the Ruhrgebiet, Gelsenkirchen is known as the Stadt der tausend Feuer – ‘the city of a thousand fires’. The nickname refers to mineshafts and blast furnaces, symbols of the coal industry which fuelled its economic and population growth.
Now, Gelsenkirchen looks derelict, ravaged by a rapid deindustrialisation process. Since the Wirtschaftswunder in the 1960s, the average yearly income has slid to less than €18,000–the lowest in Germany–, while unemployment has skyrocketed to over 14%. The city has been unable to maintain or modernise its infrastructure as many fans discovered at last year’s European Championship, having to wait up to three hours for post-match trams.
In 2008, the last of the famous collieries ceased operations, now casting a long shadow over a crumbling city.
However, Gelsenkirchen’s most famous association is still reflected in the cityscape. The streaks of royal blue that adorn virtually every façade are the calling cards of one of the most passionate fanbases in football. But much like the city it calls home, FC Schalke 04 are in freefall.
Once a stalwart of the top division and a regular in continental competition, Schalke have recently lingered in the lower reaches of the 2. Bundesliga. Last season, the Knappen even flirted with relegation to the 3. Liga, before clawing their way to a mid-table finish.
Off the pitch, their financial troubles are well-documented, worsening to the point where extinction became a very real possibility during the 2023/24 season.
But the support of their fans never wavered. In fact, it only improved. Their average home attendance in 2023/24 was 61,438, outnumbering the typical turnout for European giants like Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal.
Through all their troubles, the club has remained the beating heart of Gelsenkirchen. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, mayor Karin Welge called Schalke the ‘social putty’ that holds the city together.
However, a more sinister force has threatened to usurp the passion for the Royal Blues as the overriding sentiment in Gelsenkirchen and destabilise the foundations that Germany itself rests on.
The 23rd February 2025 saw a snap election following the dissolution of the ‘traffic light’ coalition. Two flecks of light blue on the map of constituencies caught people’s attention, the first-ever regions in the West to vote for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party.
One of these light-blue specks was situated in the middle of the Ruhrgebiet.
The question of whether football can enact socio-political change is often thrown around given the numerous controversies that the sport has become entangled in recently. But how about the other way round? Is it possible that radical shifts in the modern-day political landscape affect how we experience the beautiful game?
This much was evident in the reaction to Elon Musk’s takeover of X (formerly Twitter) and subsequent involvement with prominent xenophobic figures and movements, including the AfD. FC St. Pauli were the first German club to leave the platform in November last year, decrying its transformation into a ‘hate machine’.
The Hamburg-based club were quickly followed by the likes of SV Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin, though their resistance has not slowed the march of increasingly extreme political attitudes.
What’s more, their departure from X marks the end of fan communities that have grown with the club’s account and use the site as a means of keeping up with their favourite German team.
Germany’s political limbo reflects a global problem, where the upheaval is so great that every facet of society is influenced by it. Worryingly, when people think of Gelsenkirchen now, the proud Royal Blue of Schalke may not be the first thing to come to mind, but rather a different, more ominous shade of cyan.
In times of such political turmoil in Germany, the role of constants like football has shifted. With ever-widening divides and increasing animosity, you get the impression that it’ll take more than just stickers to hold the country together.
Track athlete Sir Mo Farah and Lord Melvyn Bragg, author and broadcaster best known for ‘In Our Time’, are among nine recipients of honorary degrees by the University of Oxford this year. Other recipients include the former Prime Minister of New Zealand Dame Jacinda Ardern, and Clive Myrie, BBC journalist and presenter.
The esteemed recipients also include Professor Serhii Plokhii, Professor Timothy Snyder, Professor Colm Tóibín, Professor Robert S Langer and Professor Erwin Neher. Professor Plokhii is an extensively published author and historian, recognised for his scholarship on Eastern Europe.
Professor Snyder is an American scholar of the history of Central Europe, Ukraine, the Soviet Union and the Holocaust and is a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.
Professor Tóibín is a novelist and writer whose 2009 novel Brooklyn was adapted for a film starring Saoirse Ronan, while Professor Langer is at MIT who has written over 1,600 articles, now recognised as the most academically cited engineer. Finally, Professor Neher is a German biophysicist who was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1991.
The number of degrees awarded is up this year, with nine degrees awarded compared to six in 2024. Previous recipients include world-renowned Monty Python actor and comedian Sir Michael Palin in 2024 and Val McDermid, a Scottish writer who has sold over 19 million books, in 2023. Their honorary degrees followed undergraduate degrees from Oxford University, however this is not a requirement of recipients.
This year, as the new Chancellor, Lord William Hague will open the ceremony and admit the honorary degrees to the recipients.
The 2025 Encaenia ceremony in which honorary degrees are awarded will be held on Wednesday 25th June. The procession tracks from one college to the Sheldonian Theatre and includes the heads of colleges and university dignitaries. ‘Encaenia’ means festival of renewal and the ceremony is held annually on the Wednesday of ninth week during Trinity term. Students, staff and alumni can register for tickets from 6th May.
The Student Union (SU) has announced that nominations have opened for its newly-introduced part-time officers, who will work alongside the full-time sabbatical officers. Nominations are also open for Student Trustees to sit on the SU’s Trustee Board, with terms lasting for two years.
Any current student at Oxford University is eligible for nomination, with the deadline closing on Friday 9th May, before the elections are held in 4th Week. The roles come as part of the SU’s recently announced restructuring plans, which involved abolishing the role of president, opting instead for a ‘flat’ structure.
The part-time officers, which are voluntary and unpaid unlike the full-time sabbatical officers, face an expected workload of two to four hours per week of term, with there being two types of position available.
Equity Officers “represent student members from marginalised student communities”, with each officer being chair of an associated RepCom, where specific student communities are able to discuss and propose policy changes. These groups include a Class Officer, Disabled Students’ Officer, LGBTQ+ Officer, International Students’ Officer, Black and Ethnic Minorities Students’ Officer, Suspended Students’ Officer, and Women*s’ Officer.
Community Officers, meanwhile, have a brief of representing students “who are involved in the various student communities” at the University. There are three roles in this category: an Environmental Officer, a Societies Officer, and a RAG Officer. The SU have also announced that there will be a Sports Officer, with this position being elected “in accordance with Sports Federation rules”.
In addition to the part-time roles, an election will also be held for Student Trustees, with successful candidates sitting on the Trustee Board which oversees the SU. Board members include the Sabbatical Officers, four elected Student Trustees, and four External Trustees.
Brasenose College was partially evacuated following a chlorine gas leak, with the fire brigade called to the scene to deal with the incident.
According to students at the college, the alarm began at approximately 1.10pm, with one telling Cherwell that they had been instructed by two workers to “get out of the building immediately”.
Two of the college’s three quads were evacuated, with the domestic bursar telling students in an email that the fire service were “working with our teams to resolve as quickly as possible”.
Later, the College’s Bursar told Cherwell: “There was not a fire, but the sensors had detected chemicals of concern in the air. The fire service attended and dealt with the incident.”
Purav Menon, a 3rd year PPE student at Brasenose, told Cherwell that there had been “a fire alarm going off for the past five to ten minutes across most of the college buildings. Everyone’s standing outside and it’s not the usual drill.”
Additionally, Lawrence Thorn, a 1st year Experimental Psychology student at Brasenose, explained to Cherwell that he was walking up to his staircase when he heard two workers saying: “Quick, pull the fire alarm.” He was subsequently told to “get out of the building immediately”.
Despite the incident, one student at the college told Cherwell that “it seems like people aren’t really fazed.” Before being evacuated, they added: “It seems like life is going on as normal – people are playing croquet, sitting around eating lunch.”
Philip Parker, the College’s Bursar, told Cherwell: “I [can] confirm that the emergency services attended College on Thursday 1st May in response to the triggering of a fire alarm.
“We cannot yet confirm more details about the cause and await the report of the emergency services and our internal investigations.
“The College is very grateful to the emergency services and our in-house team for attending quickly and ensuring the safety of all our College members. We are also grateful for the support and understanding of our students, staff and academics during an afternoon of disruption and inconvenience.”
In the summer before starting university, with my place at Oxford secured, and the reality of the impending plunge into the unknown beginning to dawn on me, I embarked on a three-week long solo trip around Italy. Equipped with only a small carry-on, I hopped from one hostel to another, staying in eight different cities. My extremely tight budget did not hold me back; I kept myself busy with museums, art galleries, trips to ruins, and ate some of the best food of my life. I did, unfortunately, turn into somewhat of a pizza snob. Alternately unnerving and exhilarating (Naples is not the safest destination for a solo female traveller), the trip was the best preparation for starting university that I could have asked for, much more so than all that pre-reading that I was never asked about.
I am well aware that the opportunity to travel smacks of privilege. But this is not an exculpation of the gap yah; I’m not advocating a trip to a resort in Bali to find yourself, safely cushioned by daddy’s bank account and padded out with a dabble in voluntourism. This is a defence of the low-budget, high-reward solo trip abroad. It is now easier than ever to find affordable options for travel, accommodation, and food. By saving up from summer work, and developing indispensable budgeting skills, I was able to sustain myself abroad for a far cheaper rate than it costs to live day to day in Oxford, for example.
As travel abroad becomes easier to organise, solo trips are on the rise, particularly among women. Despite the daunting prospect, and the evident risks (strong enough to dissuade many), when done right it can be a vital act of self-assertion, and a prioritisation of autonomous pleasure in a culture which inculcates self-subordination. Chosen solitude shouldn’t be seen as a sign of loneliness, or as an inherent deficiency, but as an active cultivation of the self. The constructive and restorative power of solitude, particularly in the context of what can cheesily be termed an ‘adventure’, cannot be understated.
For me, after my relatively sheltered countryside upbringing, solo travel was a chance to construct a sense of true independence, so that the abrupt isolation of university life did not come as quite the jolting shock it would have otherwise.
A year and a half later, still reeling from my just-completed exams, I took myself off on a three-day solo trip to Athens, and was reminded afresh of the joys of independent travel. As much as I relish travelling with friends, going solo facilitates new realms of possibilities. With none of the compromise, none of the scheduling, none of the inevitable anxiety of making arrangements on someone else’s behalf, there is much greater scope for real relaxation. Besides – somewhat paradoxically, choosing to go alone makes it easier to form connections with others. I became much more confident in social – and even romantic – interactions with people I met along the way in the absence of the ever-debilitating risk that you might run into them on Broad Street.
Of course, the first time I walked into a restaurant by myself and requested a table for one, it was a game of endurance, persevering through the oppressive sense of strangers’ judgement. But comfort is cultivated; whether by talking to waiters or neighbouring diners, choosing more low-key venues or bringing a book, I adapted to deal with situations that previously seemed too intimidating. With confidence progressively earned, my security in my own independence grew, so that now, a solo tute doesn’t seem so scary after all.
An exhibition displaying four sculptures by Zimbabwean artists which aims to “contextualise” the legacy of Cecil Rhodes will open at Oriel College later this year.
The sculptures were chosen from over 100 pieces of art submitted for a competition organised by the Oxford Zimbabwe Arts Partnership (OZAP), a group established in 2020 in response to the Rhodes Must Fall protest movement.
The competition’s judges included Lord Mendoza, the Provost of Oriel College; Elleke Boehmer, a Trustee of the Rhodes Trust; and Norbert Shamuyarira, a Zimbabwean sculptor and one of the co-founders of OZAP.
The panel met on the 7th March and chose the sculpture “Blindfold Justice” as the centrepiece for the exhibition. It was created by Wallace Mkankha, 34, an artist based at the Chitungwiza Arts Centre near Harare.
Mkankha said about his piece: “The face, shrouded in anguish, symbolises the suffering of the Zimbabwean people. The two hands covering the eyes signify the forced blindness to the truth as Rhodes’ regime imposed its oppressive rule.
“The two hands struggling to remove the blindfold represent the resilience and determination of Zimbabwean people to break free from oppression.”
Lord Mendoza said: “I look forward to viewing Wallace’s sculpture at Oriel College. We had a challenging but engaging judging session. I’m grateful to all the expert judges for their insight to help reach a decision.
“Each sculpture represents a creative form of engagement with the complicated legacy of Cecil Rhodes in Zimbabwe.”
Rhodes migrated to southern Africa at the age of 17. In 1871, he moved to Kimberley and over the next twenty years became one of the wealthiest diamond producers in the world, founding the De Beers company in 1888.
In 1890, he became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, a territory spanning part of contemporary South Africa. During his premiership, the government passed the 1892 Franchise and Ballot Act, which raised the property qualifications for voting and thus excluded most non-white voters. He also supported increased racial segregation in areas like Cape Town.
He led the British South Africa Company (BSAC) in 1889. The BSAC colonised contemporary Zimbabwe, seizing the Mashonaland in 1890 and the Matabeleland from 1893 to 1894. From 1896 to 1897, it brutally suppressed a revolt in these territories, with estimates for overall mortality from killings and famine ranging up to 20,000.
From 1873 to 1881, Rhodes intermittently completed a degree at Oriel College. On his death in 1902, he left it money, which allowed for the establishment of the international Rhodes Scholarship, which grants 102 postgraduate scholarships annually. Beneficiaries include former US president Bill Clinton, the Booker Prize-winning novelist Richard Flanagan, and three prime ministers of Australia.
Richard Pantlin, founder of OZAP, said: “We have many visitors to Oxford from around the world to educate them about some of that colonial history and to get them to reflect on the impact of the British Empire, particularly Cecil Rhodes’ impact in Zimbabwe.”
Protests in 2020 called for the removal of the statue of Rhodes above the main entrance of Oriel College. As a consequence, in June 2020, the Oriel College Governing Body voted to remove the Rhodes Statue.
However, in April 2021, Oriel College announced that the statue would not be withdrawn, citing the “regulatory and financial challenges” of taking down a Grade II* listed monument.
The exhibition will open at Oriel in September, before moving to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford until December.
Merton College has submitted an application to conduct the refurbishment of Grade I and Grade II listed buildings. The application includes the renovation of student accommodation, as well as the Middle Common Room (MCR) and facades of the buildings facing Merton Street.
According to the application, both buildings currently have a poor heating system “due to the thermal inefficiency of the historic fabric”. The existing end-of-life electrical installation is “not suitable for the current building use” so the buildings would have to be completely rewired as well.
The project proposal includes a “full strip of all existing furniture” in accommodation, replacement of fire alarms, hot water and floor finishes, and refurbishment of washrooms. In addition, the college is planning to redecorate the MCR by improving access with a platform lift and installing new secondary glazing.
Ridge, the company conducting the works, submitted a request to Oxfordshire City Council and Historic England to review the project. The proposal claims that “[T]he ‘special interest’ and ‘heritage significance’ of the parts of the College affected by the proposals have been respected.” The Heritage Impact Assessment concluded that the proposed works “can be achieved without impact on historic fabric, character or significance and ‘special interest’”.
Front Range No.4, originally the 13th Century Warden’s Lodgings, contains the MCR, the Games Room and College Store. Front Range No.5 was rebuilt in 1904, when St Alban’s Quad was reordered. The building currently contains ten ensuite study bedrooms and a bridge link to the MCR.
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