September 08, 2019

Boris is juggling chainsaws – what could possibly go wrong?

September 08, 2019/ Guest User

George Wright (Political Officer, Ex-Secretary, Former Deputy Returning Officer, Ex-Treasurer, Ex-Whip, Ex-Committee Member, St John’s College) is an undergraduate in his second year of studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

Earlier this week, the President submitted a contribution to this blog in which he explained some concerns about the government’s handling of the past few days. They were the words of a man deprived for too long of alcoholic libations, exuding the sort of misery and pessimism to be expected by a mind engulfed by sobriety. Fortunately, though, I am not in Trumpland, so the prospect of a gin and tonic is never more than a few minutes away. Let me, then, pick up where the President left off by taking a gentle perambulation through the events of the past week in politics, albeit without the distraction of a brain preoccupied by an incessant yearning for beer.

September 04, 2019

Musings from afar

September 04, 2019/ Guest User

Toby Morrison (President, Ex-Political Officer, Ex-Publications Editor, Magdalen College) is an undergraduate in his second year of studying Politics, Philosophy, and Economics.

Well folks, here I am trying to enjoy my holiday. Or rather, about as much as one can enjoy a holiday in America under the age of 21. I have never been able to remember quite so much of the previous couple weeks in so much clarity. Oh, how I yearn for a splitting headache in the morning.

September 01, 2019

Forget the rules, let’s liberate language

September 01, 2019/ Guest User

George Wright (Political Officer, Ex-Secretary, Former Deputy Returning Officer, Ex-Treasurer, Ex-Whip, Ex-Committee Member, St John’s College) is an undergraduate in his second year of studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

The challenge of identifying the origins of language is one that has never been resolved by mankind – we possess insufficient evidence or methods of analysis to conclusively explain why I’m writing this using the spelling, words and grammar patterns which are universally recognised as English. Yes, we know that English has been influenced by the Romans, the French and the Saxons to name but a few and going further back, we are aware that most European languages trace their roots to something called Proto-Indo European before branching into their modern families, but no matter how far we attempt to follow the linguistic generations, a definite comprehension of where it all came from will probably remain an unsolved mystery for eternity.

August 28, 2019

The Belt and Road: China’s Path to Power in Asia

August 28, 2019/ Guest User

Sam Ruaux (Committee Member, St. Hugh's College) is an undergraduate in his first year of studying Archaeology and Anthropology.

“If a country cannot provide help for developing countries, [they] should at least refrain from obstructing others from assisting these developing countries.”

This is the response of Ambassador Hou Yanqi, to international criticism of the extension of the BRI (Belt and Road initiative) into Nepal. Of course, there is truth to Yanqi’s words; Nepal suffers from a difficult geography, with significant issues caused by water-flow from mountain glaciers, monsoon waters and rough, mountainous terrain. The complexities caused by these issues are a significant hindrance to the development of Nepalese economic power. Furthermore, the cost of dealing with these issues, in making resilient infrastructure, building bridges and constructing tunnels, compounds these issues. As a consequence, Nepal needs a high level of capital in order to be able to overcome these challenges. Capital which is now being offered to them by the Chinese.

August 25, 2019

Come on! Speed up!

August 25, 2019/ Guest User

George Wright (Political Officer, Ex-Secretary, Former Deputy Returning Officer, Ex-Treasurer, Ex-Whip, Ex-Committee Member, St John’s College) is an undergraduate in his second year of studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

The summer is long and sometimes, rain happens. Sadly, rain has happened with depressing frequency in days of recent, so I have become divorced from the usual array of outdoor pursuits and am instead slumped miserably in my office. One of the by-products of being entrapped by sogginess though has been my rediscovery of the internet – more specifically, the worrying entertainment experienced by perusing a Twitter feed called ‘People Selling Mirrors.’

August 18, 2019

I’ve saved the world

August 18, 2019/ Guest User

George Wright (Political Officer, Ex-Secretary, Former Deputy Returning Officer, Ex-Treasurer, Ex-Whip, Ex-Committee Member, St John’s College) is an undergraduate in his second year of studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

Just before Christmas in 2008, Gordon Brown gave us all an early present by claiming to have “saved the world” at Prime Minister’s Questions. Sadly, he had tripped over his tongue. Instead, the then PM confirmed that it was the international banking sector which had been safeguarded by his programme of recapitalisation, rather than the entirety of civilisation. Disappointing. But now, a decade on from his infamous slip-up, I believe I can asseverate to have succeeded where Gordon fell short: I have saved the world.

August 14, 2019

Requiescat in pace, not in tax

August 14, 2019/ Guest User

Alex Honey (non-university member) is an undergraduate in his second year at Exeter University, and Chairman of the Exeter University Conservative Association.

“This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed." Well if Patrick Henry had lived in the 21st century Britain, HMRC would probably demand 40% of it. Perhaps settling for the Father and a dabble of the Holy Spirit. We currently live in a state bigger than Thatcher's 1983 majority. We must shrink it, beginning with the tax on dying.

All views expressed are Alex’s own, and not necessarily reflective of the views of the association nor its office holders.

August 11, 2019

Ticket to nowhere? Sure, that’ll be £60 billion, Sir

August 11, 2019/ Guest User

George Wright (Political Officer, Ex-Secretary, Former Deputy Returning Officer, Ex-Treasurer, Ex-Whip, Ex-Committee Member, St John’s College) is an undergraduate in his second year of studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

In the not too distant past, I found myself on a flight to Berlin. The plane landed at Schönefeld airport, taxied to its terminal before a few hundred excitable Brits flowed briskly onto German soil. Predictably, the airport was orderly and well signposted, so within a matter of minutes, I arrived at the border, was greeted with a stern ‘Willkommen’ by a slightly disgruntled official and commanded to move along with a Tinder-ish swipe of the fingers. It was all eerily German.

August 04, 2019

Britain is in decline; we have stopped worshipping feet

August 04, 2019/ Guest User

George Wright (Ex-Secretary, Former Deputy Returning Officer, Ex-Treasurer, Ex-Whip, Ex-Committee Member, St John’s College) is an undergraduate in his second year of studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

A few weeks ago, I rode a bicycle through the impeccably delightful countryside of East Anglia. It was an experience which reminded me of two things: one, I’ve become helplessly unfit and two, quaint rural road signs demarcating distances in miles are so much more pleasurable to behold than those measuring in kilometres. Not only in length, but in capacity and mass too do we see the peculiarity and specificity of the imperial system far outshining the dull mundanity of Napoleon’s autocratic metric potion. And metric measurements are exactly that: autocratic. They emanate from the same mindset which adores order, control and standardisation – the evisceration of unique quirkiness is supplanted by a Germanic obsession with neatness and divisibility by ten.

July 31, 2019

The Bitter Nature of the Sugar Tax

July 31, 2019/ Guest User

Alex Honey (non-university member) is an undergraduate in his first year at Exeter University, and Chairman of the Exeter University Conservative Association.

Bojo recently got into trouble for proposing we scrap the Sugar Tax on fizzy drinks, however I must say on this issue I like the cut of his gib. "The law will never make men free it is men who must make the law free". These are words Thoreau would never have thought would apply to sugary drinks (Coca Cola was still Cocaine based at this point). However they are poignant in the debate today.

All views expressed are Alex’s own, and not necessarily reflective of the views of the association nor its office holders.

Blog