The IWCA in Oxford shook the local Labour party to the core when it took three council seats in neighbouring wards in Oxford last night. It was a particular humiliation for Cabinet Minister Andrew Smith who had personally speardheaded the attempt to unseat the IWCA incumbent Stuart Craft.
As well as spreading malicious lies about the IWCA and Stuart on the doorstep, the Labour Party put out a two-sided A4 smear sheet on the night before and in the morning of the election devoted almost entirely to attacking Stuart and the IWCA record in Blackbirds Leys generally. Perhaps the most bizarre inference was that the IWCA was actually soft on Class A drug-dealing in the area. The sense of dismay felt by the local Labour Party, mostly callow students shipped in from elsewhere, was illustrated by the failure of two of the three Labour Councillors to attend the official announcement of the result.

Apart from the results the other striking aspect of the was that turnout in Northfield Brook/Blackbird Leys (which used to be one ward) which has been driven up from 12% in 2000 to 30% and 28% respectively as a result of the IWCA work on the ground.

Perhaps these statistcs help explain why Labour ran such an extremely negative campaign in Northfield Brook, which included them delivering leaflets saying Stuart was an ‘angry and confused’ candidate, who ‘uses foul language while canvassing’ the night before and on the election day itself, and more disgracefully were telling people on the doorsteps that the 'IWCA are a racist party'.

Pat Stannard, who lost the seat to the IWCA’s Lee Cole was the Lord Mayor of Oxford up until this election. It should also be added that the IWCA has been active in the Churchill ward for only just over a year.