Oxford East (UK Parliament constituency) facts for kids

Oxford East is a special area in the United Kingdom that gets to choose its own representative for the UK Parliament. This representative is called a Member of Parliament (MP). The current MP for Oxford East is Anneliese Dodds from the Labour Party. She also helps lead the Labour Party as its chair.

This area, or "constituency," was created in 1983. It covers the eastern and southern parts of the city of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It shares borders with other constituencies like Oxford West and Abingdon to the west and Henley to the north, east, and south.

What is Oxford East Like?

This area includes Cowley, which is famous for its large car factory. You'll also find many homes built by the local council, especially in areas like Blackbird Leys. Some of these homes are still social housing, while others have been bought by residents through a scheme called "Right to Buy."

Headington is another important part of Oxford East. It's home to two big hospitals: the John Radcliffe Hospital and the Churchill Hospital. Many students from Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University live in this constituency, making up a large part of the voters. Areas like Headington, Grandpont, and New Hinksey have many privately owned homes and are generally quite well-off.

A Look at Oxford East's History

Before 1983, most of this area was part of an older constituency simply called Oxford. That area used to vote for Liberal or Conservative MPs, but later started choosing Labour MPs in the 1960s and 1970s.

When Oxford East was first created in 1983, a Conservative MP named Steven Norris represented it for four years. But in 1987, Andrew Smith from the Labour Party won the seat. He held it for a very long time – 30 years! In 2005, the election was very close between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Andrew Smith won by only 963 votes, which meant it was a "marginal seat" – a seat that could easily change hands in the next election.

However, Andrew Smith won by a much larger margin in 2015. When he retired, Anneliese Dodds was chosen by the local Labour Party to run. She won the seat in 2017 with a very big lead of over 23,000 votes. In 2019, her lead was still large, but a bit smaller. Since 2015, the Conservative candidate has usually come in second place.

The Green Party has also had candidates in every election for Oxford East. In 2015, their candidate received almost 12% of the votes.

How Oxford East's Borders Have Changed

The boundaries of a constituency can change over time. This happens to make sure that each constituency has roughly the same number of voters.

1983–1997

When Oxford East was first formed, it included several areas from the City of Oxford and three areas from the District of South Oxfordshire. It was mostly made from the old Oxford constituency.

1997–2010

The boundaries changed in 1997 because local government areas changed. Some parts of South Oxfordshire were moved into the City of Oxford. Other rural areas were moved back to the Henley constituency. A part of the city called "South ward" was moved from Oxford West and Abingdon to Oxford East.

2010-2024

More changes happened in 2010. This time, areas like Carfax and Holywell wards were added from Oxford West and Abingdon. This meant that the city centre of Oxford and most of the famous Oxford colleges became part of Oxford East.

2024-present

The most recent changes happened for the 2024 general election. To balance the number of voters, areas west of the River Cherwell, including the city centre and the university colleges, were moved back to Oxford West and Abingdon.

Who Has Represented Oxford East?

Here's a list of the Members of Parliament (MPs) who have represented Oxford East since it was created:

Recent Elections

Elections are how people choose their MP. Here are the results from the most recent general election in Oxford East, and a few from the 2010s to show how things have changed.

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Oxford East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anneliese Dodds	19,541	49.7	-6.7
	Green	Sushila Dhall	5,076	12.9	+8.2
	Conservative	Louise Brown	4,739	12.0	-9.4
	Liberal Democrats	Theodore Jupp	3,437	8.7	-5.3
	Independent Oxford Alliance	David Henwood	2,381	6.1	N/A
	Independent	Amir Ali	1,761	4.5	N/A
	Workers Party	Zaid Marham	615	1.6	N/A
	Independent	Jabu Nala-Hartley	600	1.5	N/A
	Rejoin EU	Andrew Smith	425	1.1	N/A
	Party of Women	Katherine Longthorp	337	0.9	N/A
	SDP	Benjamin Adams	232	0.6	N/A
	Workers Revolutionary	Brandon French	197	0.5	N/A
Majority			14,465	36.8	+1.8
Turnout			39,341	54.0	–9.0
Registered electors			71,845
	Labour Co-operative hold		Swing	7.5

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Oxford East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anneliese Dodds	28,135	57.0	8.2
	Conservative	Louise Staite	10,303	20.9	1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Alistair Fernie	6,884	13.9	4.8
	Green	David Williams	2,392	4.8	1.5
	Brexit Party	Roger Carter	1,146	2.3	New
	Independent	David Henwood	238	0.5	New
	Independent	Chaka Artwell	143	0.3	0.2
	Independent	Phil Taylor	118	0.2	New
Majority			17,832	36.1	7.1
Turnout			49,359	63.3	5.5
	Labour and Co-operative hold		Swing	3.6

General election 2017: Oxford East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anneliese Dodds	35,118	65.2	15.2
	Conservative	Suzanne Bartington	11,834	22.0	2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Kirsten Johnson	4,904	9.1	1.7
	Green	Larry Sanders	1,785	3.3	8.3
	Independent	Chaka Artwell	255	0.5	0.2
Majority			23,284	43.2	13.1
Turnout			53,896	68.8	4.6
	Labour and Co-operative hold		Swing	6.5

Neighbouring Constituencies

Here are the constituencies that share a border with Oxford East:

Constituencies bordering Oxford East

		Bicester and Woodstock
	Oxford West and Abingdon		Henley and Thame
		Oxford East
		Didcot and Wantage

Images for kids

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  Candidates for Oxford East in the 2010 general election at a climate change meeting.

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  Candidates for Oxford East in the 2010 parliamentary election with the meeting chair.