The Oxford Union’s Thursday debate came to a dramatic end when speaker Ray Williams announced his resignation as Chief of Staff of the Union and declared his support for the impeachment of Union Librarian Brendan McGrath in front of a packed chamber.
A motion of impeachment was immediately pinned up on the Union notice board after the debate. The motion states: “we the undersigned hearby wish to impeach the Officer Brendan McGrath (Librarian, Oriel College) on the following grounds: abuse of office, and the deliberate subvresion of the expressed will of the Membership and the Rules of the Society, for his own electoral benefit and contrary to the fundamental principles of democracy upon which the Oxford Union was founded”.
Internal disagreement within the Union has been ongoing since McGrath brought forward an attempt to return slates to Union elections which had been banned. The ban was pushed by Ray Williams.
Williams had been speaking against the motion “This House believes Margaret Thatcher was a working class hero”. As he approached the conclusion of his argument he condemned McGrath for trying to restore electoral pacts and accused McGrath of trying to “subvert the expressed will of Union members”.
The motion must now gather 150 signatures within 48 hours in order to trigger a vote. The vote for impeachment must have the support of two thirds of voter to carry.
Brendan McGrath did not immediately respond to request for comment.
