Friday 2nd May 2008

Oxford City Conservatives

Swing of 7.5% to Conservatives in Oxford as Lib Dem vote collapses

Following the most vigorous campaign that Oxford Conservatives have mounted for over a decade the Party has made major progress in the City. Despite the sad loss of Paul Sargent and Tia MacGregor in the Carfax and Quarry & Risinghurst seats the Conservatives had an excellent night, picking up a large percentage of the vote as Lib Dem support collapsed across the City. The Conservatives had no directly-elected Councillors before this election, but they are now much closer to making the break through. From an incredibly low base, with virtually no information or resources the Conservatives have seen a swing of 7.5% from Lib Dems to Conservatives across the City.

The hard work of candidates and volunteers has paid off. The Conservatives are now the real opposition across Oxford City. This result provides a base on which to build for next year’s County Council election, City elections again in 2010 and of course the inevitable General Election.

Headline successes
 City wide swing from Lib Dem to Conservatives of 7.5%
 Across the City, more than 2,000 more people vote Conservative.
 In half of the seats up for election the Conservatives were in 2nd.
 In 6 seats Conservatives lost by less than 100 votes.
 In 3 seats Conservatives lost by 51 votes or less.
 City wide the Conservatives are only 2.61% behind the Lib Dems.
 City wide the Conservatives are only 897 votes behind the Lib Dems.
 In 9 seats Conservatives came from 3rd place to 2nd (in one seat Conservatives came from 4th).
 In 10 seats Conservatives closed the gap by more than 100 votes.
 The swing from Lib Dem to Conservative in individual seats was up to 13%.