Oxford West and Abingdon (OxWAb) has a well educated, socially conscious electorate with a strong sense of community. It is one of six parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire.
Oxford West and Abingdon stretches along the A34 from Kidlington in the north to Abingdon in the south. In Oxford it includes north and west Oxford and includes the parishes as far west as Appleton and Besselsleigh. The result is a constituency with a wide mix of students, city, town and villages.
The constituency includes parts of three different district councils: around half of the Vale of White Horse District Council, a fifth of Oxford City Council and the southwestern part of Cherwell District Council. This means that there are normally council elections every year somewhere in the constituency.
Oxford West and Abingdon constituency was held by the Liberal Democrats from 1997 until 2010 when the Conservatives won by a very narrow margin of just 176 votes in 2010. In 2017 Layla Moran went on to win the Parliamentary seat and again in the 2019 General Election with 53.3% of the vote share and a majority of 8943. Layla Moran MP is the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education. In March 2020, Layla announced her intention to run for election to be the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party.
The Liberal Democrats currently hold the majority of seats on the Vale of White Horse District Council with 30 of the 38 councillors.
In South Oxfordshire District Council the 13 Liberal Democrat group councillors lead the Council in partnership with six Green group councillors, three Labour group councillors, three Henley Residents' Group councillors, and two South Oxfordshire Residents Team group councillors.
The Liberal Democrats are the official opposition on Oxford City Council, holding 6 of the 10 seats within the constituency.
The Liberal Democrats hold two Council seats on Cherwell District Council, both in Kidlington.
There are 13 Liberal Democrat Councillors at Oxfordshire County Council, of which six are in the OxWab Constituency.
