Death of Mark Whittow
/Please find below a statement on behalf of the Association:
If you would like to contribute to our blog, please get in touch with the Publications Editor.
This term’s BluePrint magazine can be found here. Physical copies are available at our events. Enjoy reading!
Copeland is no cause for complacency
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Ben Steward is a second year undergraduate at Lincoln College and is the Social Secretary
On Thursday 23rd February 2017, Trudy Harrison became the first Conservative MP for the Copeland constituency, and its predecessor, Whitehead, since 1935. The victory was also the first time in 35 years that a sitting government has taken a seat from its main opposition at a by-election.
Read MoreORF and the hypocrisy of the student left
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Edward McBarnet is the Publications Editor, and an undergraduate at Magdalen College
A storm has recently erupted on the Facebook page of my college’s JCR page, concerning its recent motion to fund Oxford Radical Forum. The event is playing host to such charming speakers as the infamous NUS president, Malia Bouattia, and several other controversial speakers.
Read MoreShould Bercow go?
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Jordan Bernstein is an undergraduate at Pembroke College
Bercow’s statements last week, if they show anything beyond a practised partiality and degradation of the office of the Speaker, confirm what has become the unuttered truth in our society: mainstream dissent from liberal values is no longer acceptable.
Read MoreFirst Brexit, Now Trump
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Branwen Phillips is a first year undergraduate at Lincoln College, and a member of Committee
First Brexit, now Trump. Common words said and posted prolifically in the last few days and months of 2016. Something I also said in frustration of the many bathetic moments this year as an outspoken Remainer and opponent of Trump. But are Brexit and Trump's electoral victory really comparable?
Read MoreSeason’s Greetings from the President
/As the weather compounds in unpleasantness, the reality of January collections begins to dawn, and the inauguration of one Donald J Trump draws nearer, there’s scarcely been a better time to knock back a mulled wine, scoff a mince pie or two (or three), and watch dreadful Hugh Grant films on endless repeat to coax one’s mind off of politics.
Read MoreTime to Take a Stand
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Redha Rubaie is Secretary of the Association and a second year PPEist at Corpus Christi
To say that I am not the greatest fan of Boris Johnson is probably a major understatement. To my mind, he took public service and turned it into a stand up sketch designed solely with the purpose of installing himself into Number 10. Yet now I find myself coming to his defence.
Read MoreA new empathetic politics to save the political nation
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Leo McGrath is an undergraduate reading History and Politics at Lady Margaret Hall.
Britain in 2016 is wracked by division, uncertainty and mistrust. Momentous events, identity politics and reliance on social media are opening up new fault lines and have revealed ugly and dangerous fissures. What we have seen over the past weeks and months has transcended the boundaries of ordinary political discourse and revealed the dark underside of our public politics.
Read MoreMinority Report: Ethnic minorities and the Conservative Party
/Richard Black (Ex-Publications Editor, Lincoln) is an undergraduate studying History.
Between December 2011 and April 2012, Lord Ashcroft commissioned a survey to explore the relationship between the Conservative Party and ethnic minority groups. Whilst it is well known that support for the Conservative Party among ethnic minorities is rather small, the demographic figures he provided are startling to say the least.
Read MoreOUCA's Trip to Westminster
/Jeff Vinall (Committee, Brasenose) is an undergraduate reading Jurisprudence
The elusive “great storm”-which-never-was set the backdrop for OUCA’s trip to Parliament, so it was under a surprisingly bright sunlit sky that we rendezvoused at Oxford train station. Predictably, despite the noticeable absence of the expected deluges, the rail system was in disarray. Whether to change at Reading or Thatcham, or go straight for Paddington, was therefore a contentious issue – before long, we had made our choices and splintered into several smallish groups.
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