Every emotion was on show as candidates went through the highs and lows of the democratic process in Oxfordshire.

Labour suffered humiliating defeats as Tony Blair was sent his clearest warning yet that voters were unhappy. The Prime Minister will look closely at the results in Oxfordshire, where:

**Labour lost control of Oxford City Council for the first time in 20 years, leaving a hung council;

**The party's leader on the council lost to the Greens;

**Labour was virtually wiped out in West Oxfordshire and suffered a "disappointing" result in Cherwell.

Oxford was one of the first Labour defeats in the country, with ousted leader John Tanner saying he would now be "spending time at my allotment" after his defeat by the Greens' Deborah Glass. Labour defector Bob Hoyle hung on to his Temple Cowley seat after switching to the Lib Dems earlier this year.

Tories regained control of Cherwell after winning seven seats. Labour admitted the Conservatives were just too strong for them and former Bicester Mayor John Hanna was among the casualties.

Conservatives took 11 of the 17 seats in West Oxfordshire, including Lesley Semaine, who gained Witney South from Labour.