Tatiana Quintavalle is a first-year reading Classics at Christ Church.

The UK government response to the coronavirus outbreak has turned conventional life on its head. Social life, travel, and even education are no longer able to continue in the way they once did; the dramatic change which the world has undergone sometimes seems dystopian. In his Republic, Plato details an ideal world which, if examined just a year ago, would not have seemed remotely achievable in practice; now, though still far from being totally Platonic, ideals which he focused his Republic around seem more prominent in our own society.

Darian Murray-Griffiths is a first year reading History and Politics at Christ Church.

The past week has seen much occur, most notably the Chancellor’s Budget for a recovery from Covid, the ongoing Salmond-Sturgeon debacle, and the Oprah-Harry-Meghan interview. All have seen a clash of idealism and realism, in which institutions, parties and public figures have tussled over truth and what the future should look like. Yet these numerous incidents have also revealed how many in our commentariat, in our political nation have been held hostage by an idealism which makes them reluctant or averse to the demands of realism. Some believe that some principles are timeless, inflexible and should prevail over whatever fluctuations and vicissitudes dominate the moment. We saw this with the Budget raising taxes, this from the historic party of low taxes. Yet we also saw that this was a direct clash with another, even older economic liberal shibboleth: sound finance.

Chloe Dobbs (NEO for OCA Liaison, Ex-NEO for Legal, Ex-Publications Editor) is a second year reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Pembroke College.

The British, on all sides of the political spectrum, love the NHS. It is a source of national pride. Even most of the proponents of free enterprise - ‘dry’ Tories included - look across the pond to America and conclude that the National Health Service is exceptional. They conclude that it is one of the few things that would be disastrous in the hands of private enterprise. But in doing so, they are drawing a false dichotomy between the healthcare options of the UK and the US. When I ask people “have you heard of social health insurance?”, they look at me as if I’ve just spoken another language.

Chloe Chan (Committee Member) is a first-year reading Chemistry at Keble College.

Social conservatism is dead. Gone. Kaput. Trying to carry that dead weight around will get the Tories nowhere. The 2018 abortion referendum in Ireland was the final nail in their coffin, proving once and for all that any appetite for social conservatism is satiated and gone. The party needs to modernise, or unfortunately, it will be next on the menu.

Henrik Tiemroth (Publications Editor) is a first-year MPhil student reading Politics at Hertford College.

Throughout her career, Margaret Thatcher made a name for herself as one of the most outspoken leaders of all time. One of her lesser-known stances is often forgotten, yet no less important: the need to protect our environment. Speaking to the Royal Society in 1988, she became one of the first major world politicians to suggest that human economic activity may be contributing to rising global temperatures and helped legitimise green concerns in Britain.

Darian Murray-Griffiths is a first-year reading History and Politics at Christ Church.

The world is a complex place, full of our hopes and fears intermingling seamlessly, where dangers effortlessly meet shining opportunities. Depending on one’s station in life, one’s vantage point, the world can appear monotonous or a shocking ensemble of many different shades. Indeed, to many of us, whomever and wherever we may be, the great unpredictability and uncertainty of life is one that calls into question our very own being and safety. To what institutions, what certainties, what hopes can we cling?

Chloe Dobbs (NEO for OCA Liaison, Ex-NEO for Legal, Ex-Publications Editor) is a second year reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Pembroke College.

Throughout this pandemic, the polling has shown the public to have been largely in favour of lockdowns. But public opinion of lockdowns and hence of Boris may well change if - and when - in a few years’ time damning reports emerge exposing the disastrous short and long-term impacts of lockdown. People will also feel the long-term economic impacts in their day-to-day lives, and Boris will risk going down in the bad books of history. That is opposed to being remembered as a suitably Churchillian leader who guided us through the pandemic and got Brexit done.

Henrik Tiemroth (Publications Editor) is a first-year MPhil student reading Politics at Hertford College.

This week, the Prime Minister laid out for the very first time what all of us around the world have been waiting for: a concrete plan to get us out of the nightmare of lockdown and back towards something resembling what we remember as normal life. Nonetheless, even if all goes according to plan, we must not think that the painful sacrifices people have made over the course of this crisis will suddenly disappear on June 21st. The post-pandemic world will need vision and ambition from all sectors of society to rebuild.

Kamran Ali (Secretary) is a third-year reading French and Russian at Christ Church.

The vast majority of the people in a democratic and well-structured society vote to make their voices heard. Some people argue that those who are normally in the minority in most societies and who do not vote most of the time, for some reason or other, are wrong to do so. Is voting a right, a responsibility, or a privilege?