Oxford City Council is the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

for the city of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England. Oxford has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974, Oxford has been a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

, with county-level functions in the city provided by Oxfordshire County Council. The city council has been under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

since 2023. It is based at Oxford Town Hall.

History

Oxford was an

ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...

, being governed by a corporation from medieval times. The borough gained

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

in 1542. It was reformed in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 to become a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

. When elected county councils were created on 1 April 1889, Oxford was initially within the area of Oxfordshire County Council. Seven months later, on 9 November 1889, the city become a county borough, making it independent from the county council. In 1962 the council was given the right to appoint a

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

. Local government was reformed across England and Wales in 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, which established a two-tier structure of local government comprising upper-tier counties and lower-tier districts. Oxford became a

, and county-level functions passed up to Oxfordshire County Council. In early 2003, Oxford City Council submitted a bid to become a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

. This was received by the Department for Communities and Local Government, but subsequently rejected. In 2016, Oxfordshire County Council put forward a 'One Oxfordshire' proposal which would see Oxford City Council and the four other district councils in

abolished and replaced with a single unitary county council for Oxfordshire. In 2017, Oxford City Council voiced their opposition to the proposal, and it was subsequently dropped.

Governance

Oxford City Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Oxfordshire County Council. Some outer parts of the city are also included in

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es, which form an additional tier of local government for their areas.

Political control

The first election to the reconstituted city council following the Local Government Act 1972 was held in 1973. It operated as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since then has been as follows: (Put "Oxford" in search box to see specific results.) In October 2023, the Labour Party lost control of the council after 9 Labour councillors resigned the party in protest at Keir Starmer's refusal to call for a ceasefire in the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. A tenth councillor resigned the part on 14 November, ahead of a vote in Westminster on an SNP amendment to the debate on the

Speech from the throne A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a Legislative session, session is opened. ...

Leadership

Political leadership is provided by the

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

; the role of Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial and usually changes hands each year. The leaders since 1998 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was: Of the independent councillors, two sit together as the 'Oxford Community Independents' group, two form the 'Oxford Independent Group' and two form the 'Real Independent Group'. The next election is due in 2026.

Premises

The city council meets at the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

on the street called St Aldate's in the city centre. The current building was completed in 1897, on a site which had been occupied by Oxford's

guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

since the thirteenth century. Between 1967 and 2022 the council had its main offices at St Aldate's Chambers at 113 St Aldate's, a 1930s building opposite the town hall, but continued to use the town hall for meetings. In 2022 the council moved its offices back into the town hall.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes came into effect for the 2021 election, the council has comprised 48

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 24 wards, with each ward electing two councillors. Elections are held in alternate years, with half the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office.

Councillors

Oxford City Council is composed of the following councillors

Climate change

Oxford City Council became the first UK authority to divest from fossil fuel companies in September 2014. In 2011, the council had reduced their carbon footprint by 25% against a baseline of 2005/6, and continues to reduce carbon emissions from its own estate by 5% year on year. In 2014, Oxford City Council was named 'Most Sustainable Local Authority' in the Public Sector Sustainability Awards. That same year, both the city and the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

implemented its own low emission zone (LEZ) for buses, making it UK's second LEZ after

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

because buses accounted for up to 80% of emissions in the city. The council leads the Low Carbon Oxford network, a collaboration of over 40 organisations working together to reduce emissions in the city by 40% by 2020. In 2021, both councils agreed to implement a zero emission zone (ZEZ) which came into force in February 2022, the first of its kind in Britain. They also lead onto delivering the annual Low Carbon Oxford Week festival, which uses culture, creativity and, community to inspire local people to take action on climate change. In 2015, the festival saw over 60 local organisations partner to deliver over 100 events across the city and attract over 40,000 visitors. In 2023, Oxford City Council voted to serve plant-based, vegan food at council events. Butchers and animal farmers protested the vote, which came after a similar policy was adopted by the Oxfordshire County Council.

Energy Superhub Oxford

Energy Superhub Oxford is a power optimisation project at Redbridge

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

. It includes a

lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energ ...

of 48MW/50MWh, a

vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an ...

flow battery of 2MW/5MWh, 20 fast electric vehicle chargers for public use and ground-source heat pumps for residential properties.

References

External links

Oxford City Council website
{{Authority control

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

Non-metropolitan district councils of England Billing authorities in England Local authorities in Oxfordshire