The Issue

The Heythrop Hunt moves off from the Fox pub in Chipping Norton after its Boxing Day meet

17

The Issue: Should fox hunting be consigned to history or has it still got a valid role?

Resolution time: Fireworks bring in the New Year on the South Bank in London

Resolution time: Fireworks bring in the New Year on the South Bank in London

The Issue: Is making New Year Resolutions just a waste of time, or a very good idea?

The Issue: Should the voting age for all people in Britain be lowered from 18 to 16?

The Issue: Should the voting age for all people in Britain be lowered from 18 to 16?

7

The Issue: Should the voting age for all people in Britain be lowered from 18 to 16?

Vision: An artist’s impression of the refurbished Plowman tower block

Vision: An artist’s impression of the refurbished Plowman tower block

5

The Issue: Can a £60,000 bill for tower blocks refurbishment ever be affordable?

Call for support: Junior doctor Karthick Darma speaks to shoppers about planned industrial action and reasons for striking in Oxford last month

Call for support: Junior doctor Karthick Darma speaks to shoppers about planned industrial action and reasons for striking in Oxford last month

8

The Issue: Are junior doctors right to have suggested going out on strike?

Service: A train at the new Oxford Parkway railway station providing a new commuter link to London Marylebone

Service: A train at the new Oxford Parkway railway station providing a new commuter link to London Marylebone

5

The Issue: Has the opening of Oxford Parkway got county’s rail revolution on track?

Right of way: A cyclist and a car negotiate Frideswide Square outside the railway station, currently being reconfigured as a shared space for traffic, cyclists and pedestrians

Right of way: A cyclist and a car negotiate Frideswide Square outside the railway station, currently being reconfigured as a shared space for traffic, cyclists and pedestrians

26

The Issue: Is Oxford really a good place to be a cyclist?

Under pressure: County Council leader Ian Hudspeth outside county hall where he spoke to parents protesting about proposed cuts to children’s centre

Under pressure: County Council leader Ian Hudspeth outside county hall where he spoke to parents protesting about proposed cuts to children’s centre

2

The Issue: Should we all be prepared to pay more council tax to save under threat services?

The Issue: Should Oxford bring in a sugar tax?

The Issue: Should Oxford bring in a sugar tax?

8

The Issue: Should Oxford bring in a sugar tax?

Going: The Environment Agency plans to remove ladders and fire extinguishers from locks, including Osney, above, in Oxford as a staff health and safety measure

Going: The Environment Agency plans to remove ladders and fire extinguishers from locks, including Osney, above, in Oxford as a staff health and safety measure

7

The Issue: Will taking equipment from Thames locks compromise safety of boaters?

Workload: Should GP surgeries be open seven days a week, as the Government is proposing, would it be the final straw for many hard-pressed doctors?

Workload: Should GP surgeries be open seven days a week, as the Government is proposing, would it be the final straw for many hard-pressed doctors?

7

The Issue: Would it be a good idea for doctors’ surgeries to open seven days a week?

Slow going: Traffic queues up on the A40 earlier this month on the outskirts of Oxford

Slow going: Traffic queues up on the A40 earlier this month on the outskirts of Oxford

9

The Issue: Is making the A40 dual carriageway the best way to ease the traffic jams?

An estimated 2,000 people took part in the Refugees Welcome demonstration in Broad Street, Oxford, on September 6

An estimated 2,000 people took part in the Refugees Welcome demonstration in Broad Street, Oxford, on September 6

24

The Issue: Should Britain agree to accept more refugees in line with the EU quotas?

Gone: The city centre pub, Far From the Madding Crowd, which landlord Charles Eld closed in January, saying it was no longer viable

Gone: The city centre pub, Far From the Madding Crowd, which landlord Charles Eld closed in January, saying it was no longer viable

6

The Issue: Do pubs have a bright future or are their days well and truly numbered?

Big match: England’s Danny Grewcock, left, and South Africa’s Jannie de Beer in action during the 1999 Rugby World Cup

Big match: England’s Danny Grewcock, left, and South Africa’s Jannie de Beer in action during the 1999 Rugby World Cup

1

The Issue: Should employers offer flexi-time so staff can see the Rugby World Cup?

Vapour: Should e-cigarettes be supplied on prescription by the NHS, like nicotine patches and chewing gum, to help people stop smoking?

Vapour: Should e-cigarettes be supplied on prescription by the NHS, like nicotine patches and chewing gum, to help people stop smoking?

12

The Issue: Should smokers get free e-cigarettes on the NHS to help them to give up?

Constraints: The green setting of Oxford’s dreaming spires makes building badly-needed new homes a thorny issue

Constraints: The green setting of Oxford’s dreaming spires makes building badly-needed new homes a thorny issue

6

The Issue: Should the Vale suggest Green Belt sites to ease Oxford’s housing crisis?

Picture perfect: Punting on the Cam past the famous Kings College Chapel and Clare College, but how does Cambridge measure up against Oxford as a place to live?

Picture perfect: Punting on the Cam past the famous Kings College Chapel and Clare College, but how does Cambridge measure up against Oxford as a place to live?

4

The Issue: Does Oxford have the edge over its historical rival town of Cambridge?

The Issue: Should Oxford’s High Street bus gate be taken down or at least removed?

The Issue: Should Oxford’s High Street bus gate be taken down or at least removed?

15

The Issue: Should Oxford’s High Street bus gate be taken down or at least removed?

Unsafe? The towpath on the River Thames at Donnington Bridge. Another drowning tragedy has prompted calls for riverbank safety to be looked at again

Unsafe? The towpath on the River Thames at Donnington Bridge. Another drowning tragedy has prompted calls for riverbank safety to be looked at again

4

The Issue: Do we need more safety barriers to protect people on city’s riverbanks?

Sell-off: Tenants in Oxford City Council properties like Windrush Tower, above, have the right to buy their homes, a right that is set to be extended to housing association tenants

Sell-off: Tenants in Oxford City Council properties like Windrush Tower, above, have the right to buy their homes, a right that is set to be extended to housing association tenants

9

The Issue: Should Right to Buy be extended to the tenants of housing associations?

Keep on trucking: Music lovers soak up the atmosphere at Truck Festival in Steventon last July

Keep on trucking: Music lovers soak up the atmosphere at Truck Festival in Steventon last July

3

The Issue: Is the Oxfordshire market for music festivals completely saturated now?

Energy: Solar panels at Oxfordshire’s biggest solar farm in East Hanney, near Wantage

Energy: Solar panels at Oxfordshire’s biggest solar farm in East Hanney, near Wantage

3

The Issue: Are the benefits of solar panel farms worth their impact on the landscape?

Totting up: The cost of allowances divides opinions after Oxfordshire county and South Oxfordshire district councillors gave themselves big increases

Totting up: The cost of allowances divides opinions after Oxfordshire county and South Oxfordshire district councillors gave themselves big increases

The Issue: Should allowance system change after councillors gave themselves big hikes?

New entry: From left, Andy McKay, Liam Durkin, Anja Meinhardt, Ian Hunter and Colin Pearson at OUP which made ‘Hashtag’ its word of the year

New entry: From left, Andy McKay, Liam Durkin, Anja Meinhardt, Ian Hunter and Colin Pearson at OUP which made ‘Hashtag’ its word of the year

1

The Issue: Are words like ‘hashtag’ destroying the English language for youngsters?

Outcry: Buskers in Cornmarket Street protest at the proposed ‘Public Spaces Protection Orders’ which would impact on the activities of buskers

Outcry: Buskers in Cornmarket Street protest at the proposed ‘Public Spaces Protection Orders’ which would impact on the activities of buskers

3

The Issue - Should busking regulations be part of the city’s new protection orders?

Way ahead: Manchester boasts a well-established and popular network of trams

Way ahead: Manchester boasts a well-established and popular network of trams

22

The Issue: Would trams provide the solution to Oxford’s chronic traffic congestion?

Chaos: Kathmandu’s landmark Bhimsen Tower was reduced to rubble by the massive earthquake which has devastated the impoverished Himalayan kingdom

Chaos: Kathmandu’s landmark Bhimsen Tower was reduced to rubble by the massive earthquake which has devastated the impoverished Himalayan kingdom

8

The Issue - After the devastating earthquake in Nepal, should we slash foreign aid?

Would expanding services available at Oxford Airport be good for us all?

Would expanding services available at Oxford Airport be good for us all?

23

Would expanding services available at Oxford Airport be good for us all?

Chancellor George Osborne answers questions from an audience of entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and local businesses earlier this week

Chancellor George Osborne answers questions from an audience of entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and local businesses earlier this week

1

Analysing the pre-election Budget: a good deal for the county’s residents?

Cars parked at Thornhill Park and Ride off the A40 at Cutteslowe. Picture: Jon Lewis

Cars parked at Thornhill Park and Ride off the A40 at Cutteslowe. Picture: Jon Lewis

6

The Issue debate: Should the county council consider imposing a workplace parking levy? + your vote

Allotments in Botley Road, Oxford, were hit hard during last year’s floods. Picture: Lee Ingram/www.airexperiences.co.uk

Allotments in Botley Road, Oxford, were hit hard during last year’s floods. Picture: Lee Ingram/www.airexperiences.co.uk

5

Should private businesses contribute to the cost of the flood relief channel?

COSTS: Oxford is officially the most unaffordable city in the UK, with 80 per cent unable to afford to buy a house

COSTS: Oxford is officially the most unaffordable city in the UK, with 80 per cent unable to afford to buy a house

15

Should all businesses in Oxford be forced to pay the living wage?

Debate: Health Minister Jane Ellison speaks in the House of Commons before the controversial vote

Debate: Health Minister Jane Ellison speaks in the House of Commons before the controversial vote

Were MPs right to approve 'three-person' babies?

The Issue: Should we introduce plain cigarette packaging before the General Election?

The Issue: Should we introduce plain cigarette packaging before the General Election?

5

The Issue: Should we introduce plain cigarette packaging before the General Election?

A protest against stocking Charlie Hebdo last Friday

A protest against stocking Charlie Hebdo last Friday

17

THE ISSUE: Should any of our city newsagents be selling copies of Charlie Hebdo?

Steve Briggs, watch manager at Bicester Fire Station, with an oxygen mask

Steve Briggs, watch manager at Bicester Fire Station, with an oxygen mask

1

Is using fire crews in medical call-outs a solution to paramedic response times?

Shoppers pictured hitting the Boxing Day sales in Cornmarket Street, Oxford

Shoppers pictured hitting the Boxing Day sales in Cornmarket Street, Oxford

17

Should shops shut on public holidays or should we keep on bargain hunting?

Andrew Ingram, pictured in Christmas Common, near Watlington

Andrew Ingram, pictured in Christmas Common, near Watlington

3

Superfast broadband will beat our rural life in the slow lane

Andy Beal, pictured with a copy of the Oxford Mail from December 10, asked councillors about their allowance increase and got replies asking him for his own pension and income

Andy Beal, pictured with a copy of the Oxford Mail from December 10, asked councillors about their allowance increase and got replies asking him for his own pension and income

9

THE ISSUE: Should Oxfordshire County Council look at a bigger rise in council tax?

Allowances for all Oxfordshire County councillors should rise by 19 per cent next year, an independent panel has said

Allowances for all Oxfordshire County councillors should rise by 19 per cent next year, an independent panel has said

2

Debate: Should Oxfordshire County Council consider increasing its members’ allowances?

Should governments use more muscle to control what happens on the web?

Should governments use more muscle to control what happens on the web?

Should governments use more muscle to control what happens on the web?

The Issue: Should we go ahead with plans for a £123m Oxford flood relief channel?

The Issue: Should we go ahead with plans for a £123m Oxford flood relief channel?

4

The Issue: Should we go ahead with plans for a £123m Oxford flood relief channel?

Should England lower its drink-drive limit like Scotland has?

Should England lower its drink-drive limit like Scotland has?

12

Should England lower its drink-drive limit like Scotland?

Members of Oxford Brookes Student Union picket a student house party event run by lettings agents in 2012, arguing they are being pressured into signing up for housing far too early

Members of Oxford Brookes Student Union picket a student house party event run by lettings agents in 2012, arguing they are being pressured into signing up for housing far too early

8

Is it right students have to confirm next year’s tenancies 11 weeks into contract?

13

THE ISSUE: Is a tunnel under North Oxford the best way to solve traffic problems?

The Magdalen Road area is now covered by a CPZ

The Magdalen Road area is now covered by a CPZ

7

Could more controlled parking zones be the solution to Oxford's parking problems?

King's College, Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge

3

The Issue: Should Oxford do more to copy Cambridge's success?

Tattoo artist Andreas Moore says he would never tattoo anyone’s hands, face or neck

Tattoo artist Andreas Moore says he would never tattoo anyone’s hands, face or neck

2

Should employers be more relaxed about tattoos?

Should fluoride be put in water to prevent tooth decay?

Should fluoride be put in water to prevent tooth decay?

33

Should fluoride be put in water to prevent tooth decay?

How can couples find their 'happy ever after'

How can couples find their 'happy ever after'

How can couples find their 'happy ever after'

Students at the The Cherwell School, North Oxford, celebrate their results last week

Students at the The Cherwell School, North Oxford, celebrate their results last week

Will Michael Gove’s GCSE education overhaul work?

A cylist negotiates The Plain roundabout

A cylist negotiates The Plain roundabout

9

Does the city council take cyclists into account when designing infrastructure?

The boarded-up Castle Mill Boatyard in Jericho

The boarded-up Castle Mill Boatyard in Jericho

2

Should boatyard redevelopment be subject to affordable housing policy?

Read more articles