No idea what telly Lord Sewell is watching, because I can't think of a single show with this plotline let alone it being something that is inescapable for young white men who subsequently now face a crisis of masculinity drawing them to the far right?? 🙃

car dependency is crippling the UK theconversation.com/how-the-uks-... "for the UK to be more like Singapore, the government needs to make motorists pay much more for their car use. To be more like the Netherlands, it must take away their space"

Cowley Road’s cinema, the Ultimate Picture Palace, has launched a fundraising appeal to “secure our long-term tenancy in our historic cinema”. The community-owned cinema has been seeking a longer lease from landlords Oriel College. uppoxford.savoysystems.co.uk/UPPOxford.dl...

I’ve written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage urging them to condemn Donald Trump’s attack on the BBC. The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.

I made an infographic map. Oxford's Congestion Charge scheme (from 29th Oct) is not like most congestion charge schemes, because you can get to most streets in the city without being charged. My impression is a lot of people haven't realised this.

ICYMI yesterday, our hacks to beat the congestion charge. You'll never believe number 12! (Are we doing it right?) oxfordclarion.uk/twelve-easy-...

X is designed to radicalise people. The algorithm promotes Elon Musk's agenda to promote racists and people who want violence bought - specifically - to the streets of Britain. Members of Parliament, major institutions and the media should not be there. news.sky.com/story/the-x-...

Conservative Alliance played their usualy game of wasting valuable council time on meaningless leaflet and social media post fodder by presenting a motion to scrap the congestion charge a mere 6 days after it was implemented.

sorry everyone I’m just having a lot of fun with the congestion charge debate because look I live outside the ring road in a village with not great bus service and I personally think the CC is one of the best things to happen to Oxford this year

A Conservative motion to cancel Oxford’s new Congestion Charge has been rejected by a meeting of Oxfordshire County Council. The Conservative and Labour groups voted to withdraw the charge but were outvoted by the LibDem administration and the Greens. (Our live posts are in the thread below!)

'personally I do all my shopping at the big super store outside the ring road, this is why I can with expertise speak to the fact that we need to support independent businesses in our city, by making a point for protecting parking at the superstore at the edge of the city.'

Bus has to wait FOUR TIMES to keep to the timetable due to lack of congestion after Oxford's Congestion Charge went in. ⬇️ I remember hearing the same thing on here after the NY congestion charge went live.

Iffley Road as you've never seen it at 5pm on a Friday night. Unjammed! Freedom of mobility is restored, after decades of waiting.

Obsessed with the St. Clements' Telraam, which seems to be showing, and I know you'll all be shocked by this, that so far the Oxford Congestion Charge is doing exactly what it is intended to and what all other CCs have done - reducing private car congestion so the buses can speed up. Stay tuned!

Investment in #sustainable #transport #infrastructure is what colleagues and I at the city county and in parliament have been calling for and supporting. So good news about funding to reopen the Cowley Branch line #railway station @laylamoran.bsky.social @ollyglover.bsky.social

Launching the new Participation Reports, already available at crossref.org/members/prep. Read about what's new and why more transparency on #openmetadata is important for movements like @barcelonadori.bsky.social, not to mention insights for members themselves doi.org/10.64000/8d5... #Crossref2025

Day 2 of our Annual Meeting (it's the 26th meeting in our 25th year!) and Ed Pentz discusses the scale of Crossref today #Crossref2025

Integrated transport is so important. Driving to the city centre train station to get a train is not part of that idea. We need a bus hub/bus station at the train station. We do NOT need a multi storey car park. If anything, give us a multi storey bike parking garage! More bike parking is needed.

Cost of Privatization, Thames Water wants to pollute UK rivers with illegal sewage dumping until 2040, pay no fines, law already permits some sewage dumping. Will still want profits, pay megabucks to execs, dividends and fleece customers. Public ownership is the only way out.

Reference to the new version of POSI, with four additional principles, based on real-life experiences of 20+ open infrastructure organisations that have adopted them. #Crossref2025

@epentz.bsky.social opens our anniversary Annual Meeting #Crossref2025 with a reminder of our original founding purpose stated in our Certificate of Incorporation back in the year 2000.

15,195 complaints about home wood-burning pollution were made in England in the last year - result: 24 fines issued by councils, no prosecutions #airpollution www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The redesign tender, which we reported in September, is to be awarded in a week’s time. Brenda Boardman from Oxon4Buses said “This bus hub is 'owed' to us by Network Rail in return for all the ongoing disruption over the Botley Road bridge - they have more than one bridge to repair!”

Bus campaigners say that Oxford station needs a bus interchange – not a multi-storey car park. Oxon4Buses has launched a petition calling for Network Rail to ensure any redevelopment includes “a bus hub, physically and visually linked to the rail station”. www.change.org/p/sign-for-a...

Sign petition for a bus hub in Oxford - are you fed up with the chaos at Oxford rail station and Botley Road? Network Rail has further plans to redesign the area – this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance that must not be squandered. c.org/cLwdkv676D

Amazing what you can do when you show some bottle and introduce a tough policy which reaps a dividend later (rather than folding under the slightest pressure, like Oxford East's MP)

Oxford Bus Co has announced more frequent bus services from November to coincide with the congestion charge coming into effect. The improvements mean Blackbird Leys and Cowley will have services to the city centre every 10 minutes, while Iffley Road gets a new night bus.

Only 16% of people understand key Highway Code rules designed to keep everyone safe. TfL have a new campaign aims to raise awareness of the Highway Code, highlighting key rules designed to protect people walking, cycling & motorcycling.

Over 30 local residents gathered on Friday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the post box on Beech Croft Road, North Oxford, installed in 1925. Famous hands are believed to have dropped letters through its slot, from Enid Blyton’s daughter to Phil Selway of Radiohead and John le Carré.

Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for transport, Andrew Gant, has fired back at Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds over the city’s temporary congestion charge. In a five-page open letter, the LibDem councillor calls Labour’s opposition to it “grotesque, upsetting and bizarre”.

Oxford has had congestion problems for years. In 2015, Labour City Council supported Conservative County Council in launching the traffic filters & core schemes. In 2022, all parties & Councillors unanimously approved them as part of LTCP. The solution is clear, regardless of political backsliding.

In London, hate will never win.

Oxford Labour's position on the congestion charge is so disingenuous. They want the benefits of the congestion charge to just magically happen without any policies to deliver them. 🤷‍♀️ www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2545991...

This policy should improve public transport by making the buses faster, more frequent and more reliable. Labour appears to want the exact benefits this policy will bring but are currently opposing it because they think it's unpopular. I'm sure they'll U-turn again if it works.

1) Oxford's geography is of road space limited by history. That's why we've had traffic jams for years, as Dodds knows. 2) Public transport services in Oxford are among the best for a city of its size... except for the cars in the way of the buses (see limited road space) 3) ... to be cont...

Naturally, Walker didn't say what any 'right approach' would be. Because he, like others does not have any credible alternative to solve the transport problems in and around Oxford.

3) Anneliese Dodds MP and others in local Labour, both County and City, have called for action on traffic jams, but not produced any credible alternatives to their own Traffic Filters policy, which they say they don't now support.

Oxford is to get a congestion charge of £5 per car per day, starting this autumn. Charges will be levied for driving past one of six camera sites. The decision, intended to accelerate bus services and encourage cycling/walking, was taken at an Oxfordshire County Council cabinet meeting this morning.

Good morning! Today is the day when Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet decides whether to levy a temporary £5 congestion charge in Oxford, as an interim measure before the full traffic filters come into effect (planned for after next summer when the Botley Road railway bridge reopens).

Aeron Buchanan: “The most repeated opposition argument is Schrödinger's traffic: ‘traffic doesn’t exist making the charge unnecessary, while also being so bad that the LTNs need to be removed’. I haven’t heard a single constructive alternative. I urge Cabinet to push ahead.”

Calum Miller, MP for the constituency where Nigel Farage delivered his repatriation speech today, says Oxfordshire is “thriving thanks to overseas talent” – and criticised him for not meeting residents living near Campsfield House detention centre, next to the venue for Farage’s event.

A final draft of revisions to the Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructure is out for public comment. Deadline for feedback is 22 August 2025: https://openscholarlyinfrastructure.org/public-comment-v2/.

Little gems in the Temporary Congestion Charge report: * Over 90% of people visiting #Oxford City Centre don't arrive by car. * The vast majority of Westgate visitors, don’t arrive by car Car access is not important. People-friendly spaces are.

Once more for the weekend long read crowd. Or sign up to get it by email each week. 👇

What dastardly schemes will this evil council conjure up next in its mission to.... checks notes... stop people getting killed by bad drivers

The evidence for more 20mph zones ⤵️ ✔️ Cut deaths and serious injuries by 1/3 ✔️ Protect children ✔️ Reduce crashes ✔️ Lower noise ✔️ Boost walking & cycling

This, as they say, seems to be 'doing numbers'. If you like this, check out our (free) weekly roundup of curated Oxfordshire news with the occasional dose of snark. See past issues and sign up here for the Clarion in your inbox each Friday lunchtime.👇 oxfordclarion.uk

Letter of the day (in the Times)

fantastic deep dive from @oxfordclarion.bsky.social on the potential for rail commuting in and around Oxford and what can be learned from Cambridge and Copenhagen. oxfordclarion.uk/oxfords-comm...