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Crash partially blocks A40 and causes severe Oxfordshire traffic

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The crash on the Oxfordshire A40 is partially blocking the road and causing severe traffic for evening commuters



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Jeremy Clarkson preparing for death amid health concerns

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The former Top Gear and The Grand Tour presenter lives in Oxfordshire, where he runs Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington and The Farmer’s Dog pub in Asthall, near Burford.

More recently he has become known for starring in Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime, which documents his time running the 1,000-acre farm.

He has been a vocal supporter of the UK’s farming industry regularly highlighting the issues the sector is facing.

READ MORE: Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner score planning victory over neighbours

In addition, in late 2024 he marched in London as part of a protest against a new 20 per cent inheritance tax on farms valued over £1 million from April 2026.

With the tax about to come into force, Mr Clarkson has revealed he has been making plans for his death in his latest The Sunday Times column.

It comes as he has previously revealed that he underwent emergency heart surgery last year at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital after suffering pains.

Jeremy Clarkson arrives at the farmers’ protest in London (Image: Supplied)

Since then, he has been on a new, healthier diet, which has resulted in a noticeable weight loss.

In the column, he reflects that if you’re a farmer and die after April 5, the children will have to “sell up” due to the new policy.

With this in mind he said he’s hoping to “hang on until the Labourites have gone” in the hope the policy will be reversed.

He also revealed that he has been preparing for his death, including looking into his will, his donor card and what might happen if he is incapacitated.

Mr Clarkson said: “All I can say is that I ‘would wish not to be in a vegetative sate’ and that I would ‘prefer it if no heroic efforts’ were made to bring me round after a prolonged deprivation of oxygen.”

Luke Hawes at the farming protest (Image: Andy Ffrench)

Farmers have continued to protest the inheritance tax changes since they were announced.

In 2025 in Oxford, local farmers launched a noisy protest involving tractors.

They parked large tractors outside Oxford University’s Examination Schools where the two-day Oxford Farming Conference was being held.

Farmers in tractors sounded horns outside the conference but did not block the High Street as police monitored the peaceful protest.

READ MORE: David Beckham’s new home plans condemned by neighbour as Blackpool-esque

Luke Hawes, a beef and arable farmer at Oakley, near Thame, said the protest was a show of unity from farmers.

He added: “The policies the Government is coming up with are not sustainable, particularly the inheritance tax policy on agricultural property and business property relief.

“My father is 81 and owns the family business, which is valued at about £6m.

“But if he dies within seven years of handing it down we could be hit with a massive tax bill.”





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MP reveals mockery of northern accent at Oxford University

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Luke Charters, MP for York Outer, told GB News that he was teased by tutors while at university and asked if he was drinking a mug of gravy by other students because of his broad northern accent.

Mr Charters became the Labour MP for the area at the last election having previously worked at the Bank of England and in the fintech industry.

READ MORE: Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner score planning victory over neighbours

He studied philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at Mansfield College, Oxford, from 2013, graduating in 2016.

The 30-year-old told Chopper’s Political Podcast there were older tutors who mocked him for the way he spoke.

Oxford University (Image: Other)

On at least one occasion a fellow student asked him whether he was drinking a mug of gravy or a mug of tea.

Mr Charters added that he was advised to water down his accent if he wanted to get a good graduate job or do a Master’s.

“They’re not going to understand you,” he was apparently told.

READ MORE: Ticket confusion as football legends event at local club cancelled

Classism and accent discrimination has been a regularly discussed topic at Oxford University in recent years.

It was around the time of Mr Charters’ graduation that St Hilda’s College first introduced a ‘class liberation officer’ to support working class students.

Several years later the principal of Somerville College, Jan Royall, controversially suggested octopus be removed from the college menu as it did not foster an inclusive atmosphere.





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£1.3bn Oxford to Milton Keynes train line unused for a year

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The £1.8 billion rail link between Oxford and Milton Keynes is the first phase of the East West Rail line, a £7 billion train service corridor to from Oxford to Cambridge.

The Oxford-Bucks section was completed in October 2024 after construction began four years earlier.

READ MORE: Oxford pedestrian ‘hit’ by Toyota near University Parks

But, despite plans to run passenger trains from late 2025, the line is only open for freight trains and remains unused by the public amid an ongoing union spat.

One of the issues the delays are blamed on is a dispute between Chiltern Railways and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT).

The trade union row is over the issue of whether the trains should have train guards to open and close the doors.

The union is against the use of Driver Only Operation (DOO) trains, claiming they are unsafe.

A new station with a £5 million investment in the Bucks village of Winslow also remains out of operation despite being completed in 2024.

Town councillor Diana Blamires said residents are “fed up” of the wait for train services to begin.

“Never mind rolling stock, it has become a laughing stock,” she said. “No one involved has shown any signs of getting this sorted.”

Cllr Diana Blamires (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)

The councillor noted it is “very lucrative to have ‘fake’ trains” rattling through the town day and night, but there are “consequences” for the people actually living in the towns along the promised train route.

“It is catastrophic that people have moved to Winslow or any of these places between Milton Keynes and Oxford, thinking it’s a great place to get the train.

“The biggest failure here is the government. The taxpayer are dishing out £1 million for security each year for a station which isn’t even open.”

The project is expected to unlock £6.7 billion in economic growth, support 100,000 new homes, and provide more frequent trains for passengers between Oxford and Cambridge.

Passenger trains between Oxford and Milton Keynes, run by Chiltern Railways, were scheduled to launch by the end of December.

Roy and Bridget Kelsey have lived in Winslow for nine years and said while they thought the station would be beneficial, the lack of progress was concerning.

Mr Kelsey, in his 80s, said: “The station not being open does concern me.

“Two years ago we were all invited to a meeting when the construction was taking place and they had quite a lot of managerial types painting a wonderful, rosy picture of how everything was going to go.

“Now it has come to a full stop.”

Bridget and Roy Kelsey (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)

Mr Kelsey added house prices had increased in the area since plans were announced for the station and he imagined they would continue to rise once it was running for passenger services.

Ray Dewberry, 72, has lived next to Winslow station for three years and said “nobody seems to know what’s going on”.

He said: “It’s silly how much money they’ve spent and it’s still not open.

“I’d use it all the time if it was cheap enough. We had some correspondence before Christmas to say it would open soon but nothing since.”

Ray Dewberry (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)

A Chiltern Railways spokesperson said: “Since being announced as operator of the first stage of East West Rail between Oxford and Milton Keynes in March, we have been working at pace to get everything ready for services to begin on the new line.

“Significant progress has been made, including the hiring and training of 44 train drivers, the creation of a new colleague facility at Bletchley, and the fit out of a new modern station with step-free access at Winslow.

“However, there is work still to finish to prepare the trains, on Winslow station and on the operating arrangements for the new route. We are continuing our work on these areas in conjunction with industry colleagues and will provide updates as soon as we are able to.”

Winslow Train Station in Buckinghamshire is still closed with no sign of opening (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)

An RMT spokesperson said: “Our dispute with Chiltern is about the introduction of Driver Only Operation and the running of services without a second safety critical person onboard between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

“It is simply inaccurate to blame delays on our dispute when the project has been held back for years by indecision, rising costs and unresolved planning issues.

“The industrial dispute only affects one part of the route and the biggest delays sit squarely with those in charge of managing the project.

“Even if the industrial dispute were resolved tomorrow, [the Oxford-Cambridge corridor] would still face major delays because the central section between Bedford and Cambridge has not been built or fully planned for.

“In many places the old railway route cannot be reused, so a new line has to be designed, agreed and approved.

“That means planning, land acquisition and construction are still ahead of us, and those are the real reasons this project is far from completion.

“Our members are committed to delivering a safe and reliable railway, but they will not accept being used as cover for failures in project management.”





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