Galloway hits out at OUCA
Galloway told The Oxford Student his booking to speak at OUCA was an 'administrative error'
"I never had any intention of speaking at OUCA… I have no interest in speaking to a society which stands in the tradition of Margaret Thatcher"
George Galloway, the controversial MP for Bethnal Green and Bow and jewel in the crown of the Oxford University Conservative Association’s termcard, has launched a blistering attack on the student organisation that invited him and provoked an extraordinary row in the normally benign world of Oxford politics.
The outspoken politician’s intervention comes after the University’s Conservative Association (OUCA) proctorised the rival Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) over a letter it wrote to this newspaper last week. In it, the Labour Club’s cochairs criticised Galloway’s decision to appear at an OUCA speaker event later this month and claimed that OUCA harboured anti-semitic and fascist sympathies.
The letter, and OUCA’s angry response, sparked off a war of words between OUCA and OULC that culminated in Galloway making an exclusive statement to The Oxford Student in which he denied ever intending to address OUCA and lambasted Oxford’s two biggest student political organisations.
Galloway, who is currently out of the country, communicated to this newspaper over the telephone that he had “no interest” in addressing OUCA and that his acceptance of an invitation to do so, which was heavily promoted by OUCA at this year’s Freshers’ Fair, was an administrative error. In a university where hardhitting political discussion is normally conducted over a glass of port and a cigar, the vehement comments made during the current debate have come as something of a surprise.
The spat began when Martin McCluskey and Jack Graves, co-chairs of OULC, learnt that Galloway was scheduled to speak at an OUCA event in mid-November. In an open letter to the MP published in this newspaper last week, they said: “We are writing to express our disgust at your acceptance of the invitation to address OUCA. We cannot understand why anyone who claims to be of progressive leftwing principles would want to associate themselves with this most reactionary of political societies.
“Perhaps you are unaware that even the Tory Party itself has in the past had to distance itself from OUCA due to the Association’s reputation for holding extreme and offensive views.” Christopher Ware, the OUCA President, was predictably incensed and quickly unleashed a press release dismissing OULC’s allegations. “It [is] frankly offensive and wrong to the many undergraduates who are members to suggest the Association has anything to do with fascism,” declaimed Ware.
“We find this view distasteful, and assume OULC are motivated by their insubstantial term card, lack of members and lack of general motivation.” He went on to describe the OULC letter as “completely untrue” and “nonesense [sic]” and announced: “As President, I have not sought to have any events with OULC due to their extreme left wing wings, which can only be described as verging on Communism.
OULC is little more than a small collection of far left gimps, it is a second rate student society, and OUCA would rather have nothing to do with it.” Ware concluded the withering criticism of his political rivals with the revelation that OUCA had submitted a formal complaint to the proctors regarding the “libellous” letter.
The complaint, which The Oxford Student has seen, was sent to the proctors on Friday and says of OULC’s letter: “Not only is it libellous, but also it brings the University into disrepute as other Oxford societies are directly intervening by contacting speakers.” However, the proctors told this newspaper that although they would reply to OUCA’s complaint in due course, they did not believe the letter was libellous.
OULC quickly hit back with a counter-statement insisting that there was firm evidence that OUCA had displayed fascist tendencies in the past. It included quotes from an alleged OUCA drinking song: “Dashing thro’ the Reich / In a black mercedes-benz / killing lots of kikes / Rat-a-tat-tat-tat / Mow the buggers down / Oh what fun it is to be / the SS in ze town.
It also made references to a report in 2001 that a former OUCA member had greeted students to the organisation’s freshers’ stall with the comment, “Welcome to OUCA - the biggest political group for young people since the Hitler Youth,” and to an incident last term when a member asked a Jewish student what his favourite concentration camp was.
The Labour Club also defended themselves against OUCA’s criticism of the quality of their speaker events, saying: “OULC have to contend with the fact the party to which we affiliate are busy running the country. We envisage this being a problem that we will have to face for many years to come, and would not wish it upon OUCA.” As the recriminations continued to fly back and forth, The Oxford Student learnt that Galloway would not be coming to Oxford at all.
In a statement (below), he criticised both OUCA and OULC, prompting the OUCA President to turn his wrath on his former speaker. “I’m absolutely furious… Galloway’s stupidity is astounding. I would simply put to him the same words he said to Saddam Hussein: ‘Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability.’ We have always encouraged free speech at OUCA which is why we offered him a platform.
He again denounced OULC’s role in the saga, saying: “It’s quite unprecedented for student societies to interfere with each other in this way. This whole affair is a rather desperate attempt by the OULC to distract attention away from the poor quality of their own termcard; quite frankly I’m shocked they don’t have better things to do. They are a discredited organisation and their allegations about OUCA are pathetic.
In an OULC statement, the organisation replied, “It is a pleasant surprise to see that George Galloway has not quite abandoned all of his principles… we stand by our criticism of the Conservative Association as an irrelevant, right-wing, reactionary group.” “Given the current state of the Tory party, I’m not surprised that OUCA keep throwing tantrums,” added a senior Labour Club member
3rd Nov 2005