Showing posts with label Oxford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oxford. Show all posts

Friday, November 18, 2011

Oxford University Conservative Association: famous alumni

William Hague, Foreign Secretary, who is association's current Honorary President

William Hague is currently the association's Honorary President (Picture: PA)

Guy Hands, former Goldman Sachs trader, chairman of Terra Firma and a close friend of William Hague

Guy Hands (Picture: REUTERS)

Dominic Grieve, Attorney General

Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary

Jonathan Aitken, former Conservative MP jailed for perjury

Members:

Theresa May, the Home Secretary

Theresa May, the Home Secretary (Picture: AFP)

Ed Balls, Shadow Chancellor,

John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons

Sally Bercow was a member during her days at Oxford (Picture: AMELIA TROUTBRIDGE/ EVENING STANDARD)

Sally Bercow, the speaker's wife

Nick Robinson, BBC's political editor

Nick Robinson, the BBC's Political Editor, outside No 10 Downing St. (Picture: REX FEATURES)

Lord Rees-Mogg, former editor of The Times

Ed Vaizey, Culture minister

Courtney Love, the rock star made a non-executive officer for "rock 'n' roll" earlier this year

Courtney Love, pictured with Kate Moss in 2007 (Picture: REX FEATURES)

Earl of Dartmouth

Sir George Young, the Leader of the House

Andy Street, the managing director of John Lewis

Andy Street, the boss of John Lewis, was a member of the Association (Picture: PAUL GROVER)

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Oxford Tories' nights of port and Nazi songs

One officer claimed that members regularly sang a song which includes the words: “Dashing through the Reich…killing lots of kike (Jews).”

The Daily Telegraph has been shown a video of one of the members reciting the first line of the song before a friend silences him, saying, “No, no!”

Matters came to a head this week after a series of emails in which senior members express concerns about the “absolutely disgraceful” behaviour at meetings were leaked to The Oxford Student newspaper.

One officer told the newspaper that “lots of people were singing (the song) that night, and indeed on many other nights”.

Joe Cooke, who was president of OUCA during this year’s spring term, is one of the senior members who have decided to resign.

He told The Daily Telegraph he was quitting “because of the extent of the debauchery” at meetings, where the annual bill for port runs to £10,000, the equivalent of a third of a bottle per person per meeting.

“It has become more like a pub than a political association,” he said, likening the meetings to those of the Bullingdon Club, the drinking club once frequented by David Cameron.

“I am committed to the Conservative Party but this association has come to represent everything we’re supposed to stand against,” he added.

The students’ antics are a far cry from the days when the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath and Theresa May were members.

At one recent event, OUCA’s returning officer, Tom Hendriks, was photographed pouring alcohol into a pith helmet as another student drank through a hole in the top.

Another picture shows a fancy dress party in which one student is dressed as Baroness Thatcher, while another is dressed as a miner and a third is holding a sign saying “miners love shafting”.

Mr Cooke, 21, who is a former comprehensive school pupil from Barnsley, added that when he spoke at meetings after he first joined the Association “I was ridiculed for my accent…they would say things like ‘ee bah gum’ and create a culture of intimidation”.

OUCA has faced repeated accusations of racism in the past. In 2000 four members were expelled for making Nazi-style salutes and in 2009 Oxford University temporarily banned OUCA from using “Oxford University” in its name after two candidates made racist jokes at a hustings meeting.

James Lawson, a student at St Edmund Hall college and president of OUCA, said: “I haven't seen the video yet and we are investigating to find out whether this was a member of the Association.

"If it turns out this person is a member we will take immediate action to expel them from the Association. Racism has no place in the Association or our society.”

OUCA is the biggest single organisation within Conservative Future, the body for young Tories which is run from the party’s London headquarters.

A spokesman for the Conservative Party said: “Racism of any kind has absolutely no place in the Conservative Party, and we will look into any allegation against a party member as a matter of urgency.”

A spokesman for Oxford University said: “The University Proctors, who are responsible for discipline, have been made aware of the article and will be considering whether there are grounds for further investigation.”

Additional reporting by James Rothwell

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Oxford University Conservative Association: UK's leading student politics body

Oxford University Conservative Association: UK's leading student politics body John Bercow, the speaker, met his wife Sally through the association.?Photo: PA

The Oxford University Conservative Association is considered one of the leading student organisations for young members of the Tory party in Britain.

With two prime ministers, 13 cabinet ministers and three leaders of the Conservative Party among its high-profile alumni, it has become a conveyor belt for future leaders since it was founded in 1924.

The student body, whose patron is Baroness Thatcher, a former president, is considered one of the oldest, and biggest, youth political organisations in the country, with more than 650 members.

OUCA, whose honorary president is William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, uses its website to promote a public image of studious debate, with recent guest speakers including Sir John Major and Iain Duncan Smith.

It is the biggest single organisation within Conservative Future, the body for young Tories, which is run from the party’s London headquarters.

Among its famous members include John Bercow, the speak of the House of Commons and his wife Sally, Nick Robinson, the BBC’s Political Editor and Theresa May, the Home Secretary and Andy Street, the managing director of John Lewis.

Founded amid a rising of the Labour party, according to its history, the first recruitment notice declared its purpose was “to strengthen the Conservative cause among undergraduates and to ground that cause on its broadest foundations”.

“Today the Association continues to provide a Conservative voice within the University and communicate the ideas of its members to the Party,” its website adds.

But OUCA has been embroiled in controversy and faced repeated accusations of racism and sexism in the past that that has forced the Conservative party to distance itself from it.

In 2000, four members were expelled for making Nazi-style salutes, and in 2009 Oxford University temporarily banned OUCA from using “Oxford University” in its name after two candidates made racist jokes at a hustings meeting.

Last year it became embroiled in a sexism row amid claims a female speaker was told to “go back to washing the dishes”.

Both Oxford University and the Conservative Party said that racism had “no place” within their organisations.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Harry Potter star Emma Watson prepares for Oxford studies

Emma Watson is currently studying at Oxford University. ?Photo: emmawatson.com

Clutching books and dressed down in jeans, boots and an anorak, fellow students could be forgiving for not recognising the multi-millionaire actress and Burberry model.

The 21-year-old, known for her role as Harry Potter's friend Hermione, told fans they may not hear from her for a while as she prepared to knuckle down for some serious hard work at the ancient university this term.

Watson, who enrolled at America's Brown University, put her education on hold earlier this year as she focused on her acting career.

She is returning to her studies this autumn, at Oxford, before returning to Brown next year to complete her degree.

On her website, Watson wrote: "To Everyone who is starting a New School Year, (sorry those who have been at school for a while Oxford starts late).

"Just to say have a great term and good luck with all your work.

"You might not hear from me for a while because I will be really busy studying but I wanted to just say hi and bye."