The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Apr 3, 2020 11:20:05 GMT
Might be worth mentioning that Labour finished third here not just in the 1980s (the SDP made a major push for this seat in 1987 with Shirley Williams as their candidate) but also as recently as 2010. It was pretty hard to foresee the 2015 result then, never mind what has happened since.....
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Apr 3, 2020 11:28:57 GMT
Can I put in a(nother) plug for 'Camaraderie', the centenary history of Cambridge Labour Party published in 2012? A nice mix of serious history with anecdotes from the local party.
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Post by matureleft on Apr 3, 2020 11:34:16 GMT
Well done. I was waiting for this one. Actually Labour did win Market once (1988). There is an excellent detailed summary www.cambridgeelections.org.uk/It is a startling story. To an outsider the sustained annihilation of the Conservatives seems barely credible. As someone who tramped the city's streets seeking votes every year (as they elect by thirds) through the late 1970s and 1980s I think you underplay a little the local government platform of Labour (and Lib Dem) success. Labour won the key building blocks of parliamentary success through the organisational strength established in winning council seats and the credibility of both local representation and reasonably competent local government delivery. There has been demographic change, but not in the same way as many other areas. The university has always been huge and infuential and the student population large (although Anglia Ruskin is new and bigger the CCAT had a pretty substantial student base even in my day). The political attitude of that student base has probably changed. In my day the Conservatives were well-organised, powerful and socially influential. That way not now be true. The employment base of the city has radically altered. The S&T businesses (many of them pretty small, but with some big ones too) have drawn a highly-educated workforce that seems increasingly hostile to modern Conservatism. And the local Conservatives, in my view, failed to grasp what was happening. These bright and enterprising people could have been won over to a progressive Conservative offering but the local Tories failed to adapt (of course not helped by the national party context). |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Apr 3, 2020 11:49:49 GMT
Ah yes, I remember Rick Leggatt.
When he came up for re-election in 1992 someone in Botolph Lane put up one of his posters which read "Re-elect Rick Leggatt". After May they kept it up but wrote on it "All right then don't, see if I care".
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Post by spqr on Apr 3, 2020 12:32:40 GMT
I had forgotten about that solitary Labour win in Market, and will edit accordingly. While I was at King's, Shirley William's ex-husband, Prof Bernard Williams, was the Provost. I don't think he had particularly cordial relations with his ex-wife, and despite being obviously political compatible he took his time to join the SDP. His predecessor Sir Edmund Leach was a little more left-wing. King's was easily the most left-wing college at the time, and may well still be, although I was at college with Jeremy Lefroy who until recently was a (very nice) Tory MP. When I was at Cambridge King's wasn't conspicuously left-wing: the main political demographic was standard left-liberalism, for sure, but that was to be found in abundance at almost every college (if anything, those colleges with a reputation for being "nice" - such as Clare and Robinson - would probably have had even more of those kinds of lefties than King's did). There were certainly very, very few hard-leftists of any persuasion, and *lots* of Lib Dems (this was, alas, the late-Noughties - a doleful time in politics). Right-wingers were more concentrated in certain colleges, or at least that seemed to be the case - Caius in particular was a hotbed for CUCA types. It may be that those colleges with a "traditional" reputation (Peterhouse, Corpus, etc.) naturally attracted these sorts, or perhaps they just had the kind of atmosphere conducive to such views being heard over others. |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Apr 3, 2020 12:54:45 GMT
In the early 1990s King's was still the place to go if you were left-wing and political, although there were Labour students from almost everywhere except Magdalene. Emma had a pretty decent left element as did Catz (my own college, though I hadn't known that when I chose it). Trinity and Magdalene were the main Conservative ones. Peterhouse was just too small.
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Post by pl on Apr 3, 2020 13:09:19 GMT
In the early 1990s King's was still the place to go if you were left-wing and political, although there were Labour students from almost everywhere except Magdalene. Emma had a pretty decent left element as did Catz (my own college, though I hadn't known that when I chose it). Trinity and Magdalene were the main Conservative ones. Peterhouse was just too small. In the late 1990s/early 2000s, Peterhouse (despite being the smallest college) had the third highest membership in Cambridge University Conservative Association, and supplied a number of CUCA's Chairmen. Trinity always had a high membership, but few activists. After Easter 1996, the next Chairman from Trinity was Easter 2008. In that time five Chairman were from Peterhouse. Caius has been a stronghold of the University Conservative Association in recent years. |
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Post by spqr on Apr 3, 2020 13:17:14 GMT
In the early 1990s King's was still the place to go if you were left-wing and political, although there were Labour students from almost everywhere except Magdalene. Emma had a pretty decent left element as did Catz (my own college, though I hadn't known that when I chose it). Trinity and Magdalene were the main Conservative ones. Peterhouse was just too small. In the late 1990s/early 2000s, Peterhouse (despite being the smallest college) had the third highest membership in Cambridge University Conservative Association, and supplied a number of CUCA's Chairmen. Trinity always had a high membership, but few activists. After Easter 1996, the next Chairman from Trinity was Easter 2008. In that time five Chairman were from Peterhouse. Caius has been a stronghold of the University Conservative Association in recent years.Yes. CUCA elected something like four chairmen in a row from Caius when I was there. I've always had an aversion to that place, and not just because it was full of Tories - the first time I ever went to order a drink at the college bar I got thrown out! That snippet about Trinity is no surprise. For such a big college it never had much of a presence in university politics - I suspect because it was so self-evidently the top dog that many of the undergraduates there felt no need to go beyond its boundaries. One of the few notable political activists I can recall from Trinity, of any hue, is Tim Stanley, now a columnist for the Daily Telegraph but at that time a leading light in the CULC. I recall attending a debate as a fresher where I heard him describe ASBOs as a socialist innovation. |
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Post by pl on Apr 3, 2020 13:44:05 GMT
In the late 1990s/early 2000s, Peterhouse (despite being the smallest college) had the third highest membership in Cambridge University Conservative Association, and supplied a number of CUCA's Chairmen. Trinity always had a high membership, but few activists. After Easter 1996, the next Chairman from Trinity was Easter 2008. In that time five Chairman were from Peterhouse. Caius has been a stronghold of the University Conservative Association in recent years.Yes. CUCA elected something like four chairmen in a row from Caius when I was there. I've always had an aversion to that place, and not just because it was full of Tories - the first time I ever went to order a drink at the college bar I got thrown out! That snippet about Trinity is no surprise. For such a big college it never had much of a presence in university politics - I suspect because it was so self-evidently the top dog that many of the undergraduates there felt no need to go beyond its boundaries. One of the few notable political activists I can recall from Trinity, of any hue, is Tim Stanley, now a columnist for the Daily Telegraph but at that time a leading light in the CULC. I recall attending a debate as a fresher where I heard him describe ASBOs as a socialist innovation. To be fair to Caius, I think they only got to four out of five - with a Selwyn man in the middle! Oh Tim Stanley, I remember him well. He must have been in the year below me as an undergrad. I must say that the first time I saw him with a Telegraph article, I did have to double check it was the same person! I believe that Trinity did better in the Cambridge Union than in any of the political societies in the 1990s. |
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Post by spqr on Apr 3, 2020 14:32:58 GMT
Catz was neither right-wing nor left-wing in my day, perhaps it was just left of centre in college terms. Trinity was a bit more right-wing but did have some COLS members : Trinity Hall was slightly left of centre if anything. St John's seemed to be more right-wing than Trinity. I did know one Labour supporter at Magdalene but he was politically very lonely there. Very funny bloke. My moderate Tory friend who helped me (in terms of information) break up a private meeting with the then-fascist Chilean ambassador was at Magdalene : it was a private Monday Club meeting and he hated the Monday Club. I saw him on University Challenge : The Professionals a few years ago. Dr Lidington, I presume? |
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Post by matureleft on Apr 3, 2020 17:21:32 GMT
Catz was neither right-wing nor left-wing in my day, perhaps it was just left of centre in college terms. Trinity was a bit more right-wing but did have some COLS members : Trinity Hall was slightly left of centre if anything. St John's seemed to be more right-wing than Trinity. I did know one Labour supporter at Magdalene but he was politically very lonely there. Very funny bloke. My moderate Tory friend who helped me (in terms of information) break up a private meeting with the then-fascist Chilean ambassador was at Magdalene : it was a private Monday Club meeting and he hated the Monday Club. I saw him on University Challenge : The Professionals a few years ago. Dr Lidington, I presume? He did incredibly well on the comeback edition of University Challenge, as did his team. Not that it's really a test of brightness, but he is a bright guy.
My, we have a lot of Cambridge alumni on here with a lot of memories both of student and city politics!
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Post by pl on Apr 3, 2020 17:55:55 GMT
My, we have a lot of Cambridge alumni on here with a lot of memories both of student and city politics!
Indeed, and I know of quite a few more lurkers and occasional posters who I know of who went to Cambridge. I'm guessing it's more Cambridge than Oxford on this board! |
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Post by pl on Apr 3, 2020 18:02:36 GMT
In the late 1990s/early 2000s, Peterhouse (despite being the smallest college) had the third highest membership in Cambridge University Conservative Association, and supplied a number of CUCA's Chairmen. Trinity always had a high membership, but few activists. After Easter 1996, the next Chairman from Trinity was Easter 2008. In that time five Chairman were from Peterhouse. Caius has been a stronghold of the University Conservative Association in recent years.Yes. CUCA elected something like four chairmen in a row from Caius when I was there. I've always had an aversion to that place, and not just because it was full of Tories - the first time I ever went to order a drink at the college bar I got thrown out! My abiding memory of Caius was at formal hall. Stephen Hawkings was dining, and of course he needed help eating. His assistant had to feed him between courses, and since he was on High Table, this delayed matters somewhat. No-one could be served the next course until Hawkings had finished eating. This meant that hall was rather more alcoholic than any other college! The day after I dined in Caius, Hawkings nearly knocked me down in Market Square in his motorised wheelchair! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2020 22:33:04 GMT
Might be worth mentioning that Labour finished third here not just in the 1980s (the SDP made a major push for this seat in 1987 with Shirley Williams as their candidate) but also as recently as 2010. It was pretty hard to foresee the 2015 result then, never mind what has happened since..... Right, you’ve done Hove, Cambridge and Brighton Kemptown. Now do Bassetlaw, Mansfield and Blyth Valley next please. Would love reading yours thoughts on them.  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2020 22:35:10 GMT
My, we have a lot of Cambridge alumni on here with a lot of memories both of student and city politics!
Indeed, and I know of quite a few more lurkers and occasional posters who I know of who went to Cambridge. I'm guessing it's more Cambridge than Oxford on this board! I was at Oxford. |
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Post by Robert Waller on Apr 4, 2020 9:43:03 GMT
It really is interesting how Oxbridge colleges (and maybe universities as a whole) maintain distinct political stances over long periods.
I counted OUSU (Oxford University Student Union) elections for years, and one could almost have 'done an Almanac' on the various colleges ... Balliol and Wadham Left, Christ Church and Oriel 'deep South' Right, and so on.
It might be interesting to reflect why this happens - self-selection of applicants, political osmosis once there, anything else?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2020 10:26:24 GMT
It really is interesting how Oxbridge colleges (and maybe universities as a whole) maintain distinct political stances over long periods. I counted OUSU (Oxford University Student Union) elections for years, and one could almost have 'done an Almanac' on the various colleges ... Balliol and Wadham Left, Christ Church and Oriel 'deep South' Right, and so on. It might be interesting to reflect why this happens - self-selection of applicants, political osmosis once there, anything else? When I applied, my college (Trinity) had the highest proportion of private school students. The next OUSU President and current Oxford Union President are from Trinity. Oriel didn't have anyone elected to OUCA committee in my time. There were two Union Presidents from Oriel elected. |
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Post by bjornhattan on Apr 4, 2020 10:44:29 GMT
It really is interesting how Oxbridge colleges (and maybe universities as a whole) maintain distinct political stances over long periods. I counted OUSU (Oxford University Student Union) elections for years, and one could almost have 'done an Almanac' on the various colleges ... Balliol and Wadham Left, Christ Church and Oriel 'deep South' Right, and so on. It might be interesting to reflect why this happens - self-selection of applicants, political osmosis once there, anything else? Perhaps a degree of self-selection - I can't see much osmosis taking place. I'll use myself as an example - when I arrived at my college I was rather moderate and centrist, but I found the rather left wing self-righteousness common there so irritating that it actually shifted me to the right. This college wasn't my first choice, so there are no self-selection effects involved. Then again, I think a lot of the political trends between colleges are rather overblown - with the exception of perhaps Wadham, I've met people with all sorts of ideologies from most colleges. In contrast, I think there is a significant difference between the two universities in Oxford - anecdotally Brookes students are more Conservative and much less Lib Dem. But that is a discussion for the Oxford East thread! |
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The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Apr 4, 2020 10:49:40 GMT
Might be worth mentioning that Labour finished third here not just in the 1980s (the SDP made a major push for this seat in 1987 with Shirley Williams as their candidate) but also as recently as 2010. It was pretty hard to foresee the 2015 result then, never mind what has happened since..... Right, you’ve done Hove, Cambridge and Brighton Kemptown. Now do Bassetlaw, Mansfield and Blyth Valley next please. Would love reading yours thoughts on them. Well as already stated I hope to do profiles of Barrow and Copeland soon - that good enough for you? But just a suggestion in the meantime - I will comment on the seats that I want, and you comment on the seats that you want |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2020 10:54:05 GMT
Right, you’ve done Hove, Cambridge and Brighton Kemptown. Now do Bassetlaw, Mansfield and Blyth Valley next please. Would love reading yours thoughts on them. Well as already stated I hope to do profiles of Barrow and Copeland soon - that good enough for you? But just a suggestion in the meantime - I will comment on the seats that I want, and you comment on the seats that you want I found your choices highly amusing and very ‘On Brand’ but yes of course, you are perfectly entitled to choose where you post.. as am I. |
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