Oxford News
Cherwell Reform UK councillor says win shows demand for change
Paul Jeffreys, an engineer and former soldier, took 950 votes to Labour’s 701, unseating Andrew Drichton, who has held the ward since 2022.
Reform UK, who gained six seats on Cherwell District Council during this year’s election, with Liberal Democrats leading the no majority council.
Mr Jeffreys aid he had “done a lot of research” and spent weeks leafleting and speaking to residents on their doorsteps.
He described campaigning as hard‑working but fair with candidates treating each other respectfully.
He said: “It’s been very fair and respectful. We haven’t done anything too untoward and when we met here we’ve all been very friendly.”
He argued that “not a lot has happened” under the previous Labour control in Banbury Hardwick and that people had turned to Reform UK because they were frustrated by a lack of progress on everyday issues.
READ MORE: Local elections 2026: Cherwell and West Oxfordshire results
Drawing on his professional background, he said he could “see what needs to be fixed” and could not understand why simple problems had been allowed to drag on, insisting the barriers were “not down to money” but to “time and resource”.
Mr Jeffreys pointed to waste and street cleaning as examples of what he wants to tackle first.
He said small changes, such as giving street staff better equipment and scrapping the requirement to book appointments at the tip, could make a big difference to how clean the area feels.
The Thames Valley Police Abingdon unit arrested a man for “breaching court bail conditions” on Saturday, August 29.
A spokesperson said: “On Saturday, PC Hackett attended reports of a male breaching court bail conditions.
READ MORE: Public told ‘DO NOT APPROACH’ as wanted man sighted in Oxford centre
“With assistance from PC Ellingworth and PC Harvey, the male was arrested. Following a search, a knife was recovered from his possession.”
In a wide ranging update, the force also revealed it had supported in a “concern for welfare incident linked to the night-time economy.
In addition, it had carried out licensing checks across Abingdon with drug wipes used and sent off for testing
OXFORD Mail Camera Club members have been taking photos of their dogs
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The collision happened on the southbound carriageway between Junction 6 for Lewknor and Junction 5 for Watlington in the late morning on Saturday, August 29.
The emergency services attended the scene and closed the road,
National Highways said lanes two and three of the three-lane motorway were shut as a result while crews dealt with the incident, leading to delays of around 40 minutes.
Congestion was worsened by separate lane closures between Junctions 4 and 5 in both directions following damage to the central reservation from an earlier incident.
Traffic built up on approaches to the crash, with nearby areas including Stokenchurch and Lewknor also affected.
Images from traffic cameras showed long queues of vehicles and emergency workers at the scene throughout the afternoon.
AA Travel also reported that one lane was closed on the northbound carriageway between Handy Cross and Stokenchurch due to emergency repairs.
National Highways later confirmed that all southbound lanes between Junctions 6 and 5 had reopened and that the lane closures linked to the earlier incident were also being removed.
Despite the reopening, delays of around 40 minutes remained on the approach as traffic slowly returned to normal.
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