Shirley Our of Race
Shirley Williams, the Lib Dem leader in the Lords, has announced that she "will not let her candidacy go forward" for the post of Oxford Chancellor, in protest at the government's plans for higher education funding.
The former Labour firebrand claimed that she would face an "irreconcilable conflict of interests" if, in the capacity of Chancellor, she had to argue for top-up fees to which she is opposed.
"Oxford deserves and needs a Chancellor who will advocate the best possible outcome for the university in the new structure of higher education funding," she explained.
Her belief that "admission to university should be based on merit not means", and the fact that she "could not support a system in which the student's means become a factor in admission" apparently meant that she would be in fundamental disagreement with both government and, more importantly, University policy.
"The higher cost of courses that are more expensive because of duration or exceptional quality should be met from pooled funds. In my view most of that should come from public funds financed by a modest tax on higher incomes", she expanded.
The withdrawal of Baroness Williams has been seen as an indictment not only of the government's proposals but also of the role of the Chancellor itself and has been met with dismay by senior OUSU personnel.
It is astonishing that the University Gazette makes it clear that any future Chancellor "must be sensitive... to the concerns of current students" but that Williams, who was thought to share most closely the views of the students, does not think she can run.
OUSU VP (AcAff), Sonia Sodha, expressed her regret that Williams did not think it possible to "use the influence of the Chancellorship to argue her political point."
23rd Jan 2003