With Oxford United failing to get back into the Football League, Didcot Town could soon be the county’s top soccer team – and it’s all down to one man.

Promoted to the British Gas Premier Division via the play-offs, the Railwaymen are now just two divisions below United.

Ed Vaizey, the Tory MP for Wantage and Didcot Town FC President, said: “I got involved with the club when they won the FA Vase in 2005. “It was great for Didcot, with thousands turning up to cheer the team at White Hart Lane, and then for the homecoming parade. “I tabled an Early Day Motion (my first) to celebrate and wore a Didcot Town tie for my maiden speech.

“But I like to think I played a minor role in Didcot’s success this season. “A few months ago, I sat next to former player Andy Parrott. “We got talking and he said he would like to play for Didcot again. The club got in touch and asked Andy to play, even though he had not played for nine months."”

Mr Vaizey joked: “Sure enough, Didcot have won every game he has played in since. So it’s nice, as a politician, to take complete credit for Didcot Town’s success.”

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What?! Andrew Smith, the Labour MP for Oxford East, rebelling. Surely not.

Frequently taunted by his political opponents for being a staunch Blair and Brown loyalist and rarely voting against the Government, we noticed Mr Smith defied the Government’s recent three-line whip and voted to give all Gurkhas equal rights of residence in the UK.

Mr Smith, who has the slenderest of majorities (963) in his constituency, said: “I believe this is the right thing to do for Gurkhas who have given and continue to give distinguished service to this country. It is to Labour’s credit that ours is the first British Government to recognise that retired Gurkhas should have rights of settlement, but the guidelines the Government issued did not go nearly far enough.”

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Horrifying frankness from Stephen Tall, 32, the former Liberal Democrat city councillor for Headington and now editor of the Lib Dem Voice website.

In a list of “25 random things” on his blog he probably declares rather more than he should.

He said: “My favourite film of all time is Love Actually, actually. I’ve watched it more times than is healthy.” Oh dear.

And he added: “I would be happy only ever dressing in frock coats. Preferably made of velvet.” Oh dear, oh dear.

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We like to think of ourselves as ahead of the game here at Insider Towers. As the New Labour project painfully and publicly grinds to a halt – and with a General Election a little over a year away – it’s time for a little trumpet-blowing.

Amid a few raised eyebrows, it was this column back in the early summer of 2005 that predicted David Cameron would win the Tory leadership by a two-to-one majority over David Davis – and with it probably become the first Conservative Prime Minister since John Major.