MEP Catherine Bearder on why UKIP 'failed' here in Oxfordshire

I love living in Oxford and feel privileged to do so. Oxford is a truly cosmopolitan city, with students and workers coming to study, train and work here from all over the world.

But now the turmoil of the Euro elections is dying down, it’s worth reflecting what membership of the EU means to Oxford and why people here largely refused to back UKIP.

UKIP’s negative, xenophobic campaign painted not just the EU, but migrants themselves in a very bleak light and it just didn’t gain ground here.

Oxford’s residents see the benefits EU membership brings wherever they look. There’s the millions of pounds invested into research in our world-famous universities, investment into our big industries like BMW and our thriving SMEs which are testament to the half a billion customers opened up to them by the EU; as well as this there are the migrants working in our hospitals, care homes, agriculture and other trades and professions.

Actually, the UK is the EU’s biggest recipient of scientific research funding, and Oxfordshire is one of the UK’s biggest beneficiaries, having been granted more than £160m since 2007.

During the campaign I visited the university’s Jenner Institute where vital research into a vaccine against malaria is under way; I also dropped into Begbroke Science Park where groundbreaking research in many varied fields is flourishing.

EU funding is extremely important for the progression of these projects and for continuing Oxford’s history as a trailblazer in scientific research. I hope Oxford’s voters could also see that voting UKIP was a waste.

Their MEPs have a track-record of not bothering to turn up, when it is in Britain’s best interest to do so, a fact which their candidates have been only too happy to boast about.

I believe Oxford voters could see the lunacy in voting for someone who would willingly accept a salary they so publicly abhor while brazenly abrogating their responsibilities.

Unfortunately, while Oxford may not have flown the purple flag, other parts of the South-East did and we now have four UKIP MEPs out of the 10 for the whole region, and the UK as a whole now has 24 UKIP MEPs.

Though not regularly reported in the press, the UK has the third largest number of MEPs and this means we should have huge sway in EU policy making.

All this is set to change.

Britain’s new delegation now has fewer MEPs working in our interest which means important decisions may well be made by other countries’ MEPs. This will mean Britain’s voice will increasingly go unheard.

Our new weakened status saddens me, as it will many Oxford residents and businesses, trades, charities and those who recognise the benefits our EU membership brings.

From speaking to people on the doorsteps here, I know many people voted based on our proven track records. In the last parliament my Lib Dem colleagues and I were able to influence huge policy decisions which directly impact people in Oxford such as increasing carbon cutting targets, regulating bankers’ bonuses and fighting for consumers’ rights.

But fundamentally UKIP got it wrong in Oxford. I believe it was their xenophobic messages which jarred with the tolerant and informed views across Oxfordshire which ensured voters firmly closed the door in UKIP’s face on polling day.

We’re not a closed and insular county but an open and accepting one, which recognises the importance of remaining in the EU for economic, social, and cultural reasons.

It was a message of tolerance that local voters gave on polling day, and that’s something the people of Oxford can be very proud of.

Catherine Bearder is the Lib Dems’ only MEP for the South-East