About Stephen

I was born in Epsom, Surrey, on 19th March, 1977, an anniversary I share - and so much else besides - with Bruce Willis, Ursula Andress and Wyatt Earp. I settled (via brief forays in Bristol and Cardiff) in Liverpool, aged eight, and this was my home-town for the next decade. I attended a state primary school in Crosby, before moving to St Margaret's CE High School, in Aigburth, where I was a pupil for seven years.

Aged 16, I was determined to become a socialist, and read everything Tony Benn had ever written. I joined the Labour Party before it was 'New', voted for Tony Blair to become leader in 1994, and gained work experience in Peter Kilfoyle's Walton constituency office.

I arrived in Oxford in 1995 to study Modern History at Mansfield College, where my tutor was David Rundle, now my Headington ward colleague on Oxford City Council. The personality-pettiness of most student politics delayed my active involvement. Instead I cheered from the sidelines as the Tories were swept from power, and a new dawn, well, dawned.

I became disenchanted with Labour, realising that their top-down, centralised approach to politics was only marginally better than the Tories'. My interest in local, pluralist decision-making - combined with my increasing dislike of Mr Blair's Daily Mail obsession - prompted me to quit Labour, and join the Liberal Democrats, in 1999. The next year I was elected for the first time to serve Headington, defeating the sitting Labour councillor. I chaired the ruling Lib Dem group during 2001-02, and then became the group's Deputy Leader (2002-03) having successfully defended Headington.

To pay the rent (and, later, a mortgage), I drifted into fund-raising after graduating in 1998. Via Worcester and Mansfield (again) Colleges, I was appointed Development Director at St Anne's College, in October 2001. I was elected to a Fellowship there in June 2004, a week after I was elected for the third time as councillor for Headington (having, ahem, won the highest vote and biggest majority in the city). Deciding my life was simply too free and easy, I became Chair of the City Council's Finance Scrutiny Committee. In March 2005, I was appointed the College's first head of strategy.

Following the Lib Dems' election successes in May 2006, we have formed a minority administration, the first time in 26 years Oxford has been ruled by a single party other than Labour. I was elected to serve on the City Council's Executive Board as the Portfolio Holder for Better Finances, in 2006-07, responsible for the City budget, for keeping Council Tax down, and for ensuring the residents of Oxford benefit from value-for-money services. In May 2007, I was elected Deputy Lord Mayor of Oxford for the next year.

I began stephentall.org.uk in January 2005 to give local people (and anyone else) a more rounded sense of what being an Oxford city councillor means. I was also fed up with the trite-and-testy Oxford Mail letters page, and wanted to substitute that kind of cheap political dialogue for something a bit more grown-up.

Election results in Headington Ward:

2004:

Stephen Tall, Liberal Democrat - 1,061 (61%) ELECTED

Conservative Party - 343 (20%)

Labour Party - 193 (11%)

Green Party - 150 (9%)

Lib Dem hold. Majority: 718.

Electorate: 3,964. Ballot papers: 1,753. % poll: 44.22%.

2002 (all-up elections on new ward boundaries):

David Rundle, Liberal Democrat - 637 ELECTED

Stephen Tall, Liberal Democrat - 597 ELECTED

Conservative Party 1 - 459

Conservative Party 2 - 427

Labour Party 1 - 312

Labour Party 2 - 306

Green Party 1 - 150

Green Party 2 - 112

Socialist Alliance - 64

2 Lib Dems elected.

Electorate: 4,210. Ballot papers: 1,591. Total votes cast: 3,064. % poll: 37.79%.

2000:

Stephen Tall, Liberal Democrat - 832 ELECTED

Labour Party - 582

Conservative Party - 372

Green Party - 86

Lib Dem gain from Labour. Majority 250. % poll: 29.35%.