Oxford is a privileged and wealthy city.  For some it is in the Midlands, for others in the south east, but in truth it is very much a satellite of London.

Oxford is at heart a university, hospital, voluntary sector and local government town.  The notable absentees, of course, are business and industry.

Oxford University is internationally competitive, and has strengths in areas such as Life Sciences for example its Biochemistry Department and Botnar Research Centre. The recently founded Said Business School illustrates that it retains its historical openness to the sources of its funding.

Oxford Brookes University was previously a leading polytechnic.  It continues to delivery excellent vocational degrees, for example through its School of Built Environment.

Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, and so hosts the central administration of Oxfordshire County Council.  Despite the fervid and misplaced efforts of Oxford City Council, local residents have been spared a unitary authority.

Many voluntary sector organisations are based in Oxford.  While most of course are convinced there is virtue in deciding how the cake is split while heaping opprobium on those who make the cake in the first place, some at least look internationally.  Oxfam for example have their headquarters in Oxford, as do the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.

Oxford is also a popular destination for tourists, who admire the honey stoned colleges forgetting the inequality on which they were built. Oxford Visitors’ Information and the Visit Oxford website are just two examples of the many resources available to visitors.