Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image description: an old car with “Tories Out” painted on the bonnet. Whenever I see someone wearing a “Never kissed a Tory” badge/T-shirt, or carrying a bag with that slogan emblazoned on one side, I think: “meh, join the queue”. There are a lot (some might even say the vast majority) of people who wouldn’t […]
Continue Reading
Image description: screen on truck reads “Holocaust deniers harboured by Labour”. Edited over the top is Jeremy Corbyn’s outline, over which is placed a prohibition symbol, as well as Boris Johnson’s outline, over which is placed a question mark. CW: discussion of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic tropes Finally, Labour has begun to tackle the anti-Semitism rife […]
Continue Reading
Image description: Boris Johnson standing at a podium Boris Johnson has had a pretty rough ride of it lately. Even The Telegraph had abandoned him, as his government struggled to pull together a cohesive strategy for COVID, as ministers refused to face Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain and as he recovered himself from what […]
Continue Reading
Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) has left in Cc the email addresses of all recipients of this week’s edition of its newsletter, sent out earlier today. The number of email addresses recipients can see reportedly differs, with some saying they have access to 86 names and addresses and others saying they can see around 200. […]
Continue Reading
The United Kingdom is currently experiencing a crisis of faith in democracy. Polling reveals deep-seated dissatisfaction with the leaders currently heading the main political parties and this year insurgent populism in the form of the Brexit Party briefly stormed to a lead in the polls. Three and a half years ago the United Kingdom voted […]
Continue Reading
Image description: Rory Stewart, Secretary of State for International Development. You and I probably have something in common. Something a bit embarrassing, something we’ve only realised about ourselves recently. Do you want to say it or- yes, OK, I’ll go first. Against my better judgement I…. I quite like Rory Stewart, Minister for International Development, […]
Continue Reading
Image description: Former Foreign Secretary and MP Boris Johnson with his brother Leo Johnson On the 24th May 2019, Theresa May, after much speculation, tearfully announced her resignation as the leader of the Conservative Party, firing the starting pistol in a race that looks to have a crowded field. Boris Johnson is the clear bookies’ […]
Continue Reading
The British railways have come to be one of the most blatantly obvious examples of where privatisation has failed. Commuters and tax payers are being ripped off by dividend collectors, while services deteriorate, prices climb much faster than wages, and incompetent Conservative ministers like Chris Grayling fumble around a problem they have no desire to […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: Brigade Piron Infighting within the Oxford University Conservative Association continues as President Ben Etty passes the contentious Bullingdon Club ban through the Senior Member, in a move which has been branded as “undemocratic”. The Bullingdon Club ban has caused divisions within in OUCA since it came to a head at the start of term. […]
Continue Reading
Image Credit: Brigade Piron In dramatic scenes at Wednesday night’s council meeting of the Oxford University Conservative Association, members attempted to resist President Ben Etty’s efforts to ban members of the Bullingdon Club from OUCA committee elections. Ordinary business passed without affair until ex-President Alex Bruce proposed a Standing Order amendment to ban the Bullingdon Club […]
Continue Reading
The NHS is like a sick dog. The doctor has told you that it could be time to say goodbye, but you cannot bring yourself to accept it. You keep reminding yourself about all the wonderful memories you shared together, and you’re certain that need not come to an end. You insist that you can […]
Continue Reading
Timid and cowering. Get in line or get out. A grave error. He has to go. When Philip Hammond voiced his hope that any changes in the UK’s relationship with the EU would be “very modest”, the reaction from the Conservative backbenches was anything but. The furious and wearisomely predictable responses to the Chancellor’s Davos […]
Continue Reading
Another week, another backbench revolt which threatens to topple Theresa May’s precarious minority government. At this point, it’s all a little stale; a month doesn’t go by without some kind of crisis befalling the current government, with Brexiteers in revolt over anything from the most minute policy differences to fundamental philosophical disagreements (this time sees […]
Continue Reading
Over the vacation, I took advantage of my free evenings and BBC license to catch up on David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II. Stories of the sea’s rich wildlife were intertwined with stark ecological warnings, and one night, as I watched a baby puffling’s parents clack beaks and kiss, I felt a sudden well of rage […]
Continue Reading
The recent leak of the Paradise Papers – thirteen million documents relating to the financial affairs of some of the world’s wealthiest people and corporations – is but another reminder of the distorting effect of wealth on our legal system and our politics. Among the many varied figures alleged to have been involved in tax […]
Continue Reading
A year ago, the Prime Minister was invincible. She was faced on the left by an ageing, seemingly out of touch, old socialist who was under constant assault from his own party on every possible issue. On the right was a slightly mad bloke from Liverpool who lied about his doctorate, whether he’d been at […]
Continue Reading
Much has been written about the electoral shock suffered by the Conservatives earlier this year, and how they might recover, if at all. Many proposals have been put forward, including a Conservative equivalent of Momentum and a ‘Tory Glastonbury’. The Conservatives, however, are never going to be cool or counter-cultural. The failure of Activate, which […]
Continue Reading
‘Strong and stable’ is fast becoming 2017’s equivalent of fake news: that phrase you hear every day which is driving everyone slowly insane. The Conservatives put forward a similar message in 2015, castigating Red Ed and his planned coalition of chaos, and urging voters to choose the long term economic plan instead. But seven years […]
Continue Reading
The ‘strongest possible mandate’ could damage the country and Britain’s exit from the EU. Whether we like it or not, this election will largely be fought over Brexit. May is arguing that she needs ‘the strongest possible hand’ and ‘the strongest possible mandate’ in order to negotiate with ‘our opponents’ who are ‘already seeking to […]
Continue Reading