Juan Dávila (Social Secretary) is a first year reading Engineering Science at St. John’s College

The lazy civil servant has often served as a boogeyman for the right, after all every election we claim that we will lower taxes and restrain spending by reducing waste i.e. improving efficiency. We almost require that there be a bloated civil service so that we can get elected. When we do, we inevitably hack and slash, in what I am sure is a genuine attempt at fiscal responsibility. I will however argue for the opposite approach, that we should increase the pay of many of the top public officials and reform the payment structure.

William Atkinson is a second year reading History at Christ Church

Both here in Britain and across the Atlantic, we are blessed to be led by Renaissance Men. They may not strut about in tights and ruffs, have predilections for beheading heretics or enjoy marrying their cousins, but both Boris Johnson and Donald Trump are polymaths of many talents. They are far from just politicians. They are business magnates, magazine editors and reality TV stars. Not for them the stolid world of PPE, the Spado-cracy and the long, hard climb up the greasy pole so beloved of some of our friends in the Union. The Prime Minister and President have instead made their names in the public spheres. They have won their fame and fortune first and foremost among the ordinary man and woman, not the droids of SW1. We know them as characters: entertainers, lovers and possessors of interesting hair.

Aurora Guerrini (Communications Director) is a DPhil student reading Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at Worcester College

Bespectacled and dressed in the traditional Tory blue, Edwina Currie burst onto our screens with a brilliant smile and a cheerful laugh as she joined OUCA for a virtual Speaker Event in the second week of this term. Over the course of ninety-five brilliant minutes, Currie explored topics ranging from feminism to her now very active, and quite amusing, Twitter account.

Edward McLaren is a first year reading English at Keble College

One can remember his life by imagining it painted, and, depending on the content of each frame, render himself either the proudest or the most ashamed of its public witnesses.

Adam James (Secretary, Ex-Political Officer, Ex-Whip) is a second year reading Jurisprudence at Hertford College

Anyone else remember the meme at the beginning of lockdown? Panicking consumers bought toilet paper as if it were gold dust. Now, of course, as the public slowly realised that the supply chain had not been interrupted to the extent that they initially feared, there is once more toilet paper in my local supermarket, and in most others across the country. But what did this initial panic tell us about the trust that the public has in the capitalist system?

Toby Morrison (Ex-President) is a final year PPEist at Magdalen College

Lockdown has had a funny effect on all of us. I for one seem to be struggling to find my sense of humour. This could be something to do with sitting next to a dog all evening who does nothing but sigh. We’ve all been stuck at home for almost two months and I’m beginning to wander what has happened to us.

Juan Dávila (Social Secretary) is a first year reading Engineering Science at St. John’s College

As I write this is seems like the world has changed. For those reading close to the time of publication this must look like a rather obvious fact. We are bound indoors, the economy has stopped, and it what seems but the blink of an eye we all discuss “flattening the curve”, “The R0 value” and containment strategies like the Doctors in epidemiology that we are, never mind that a month ago this would be foreign to most of us. However, in one thing I take solace: I was right all along.

Stanislaw Szelag is a first year reading Theology and Religion at St. John’s College

If one was to summarise the intellectual flavour of the first twenty years of this newest century in one word, it would be: ‘disarmament’. What one saw in the last two decades (at least theoretically speaking - my fully-fledged consciousness was not around for almost half of the period) was a final and definite surrender by the intellectual layers of the society of their authority, and ability to introduce discipline to social and individual life. By the awkward-sounding ‘intellectual layers’, I mean not the ‘upper classes’ but a much broader, generationally-determined group of ‘the older ones’.

Aurora Guerrini (Communications Director) is a DPhil student reading Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at Worcester College

As we all find ourselves stuck at home, most of us have been beset by periods of intense boredom. Now, I may be speaking for myself when I say that there are few activities that I find more fulfilling and enjoyable than reading a book.

Maddy Ross (Committee Member) is a first year PPEist at Balliol College

I have been a member of Amnesty International since I was eleven. In my school, it was the only real option for those looking to get into politics; supported by the Principal, we held frequent fundraisers, and my English teacher, whom I idolised, talked us through human rights abuses that occur throughout the world. I was impassioned and angry; I spent a lot of time reflecting on how lucky I was and how I could try to make things better. I took myself very seriously when I was in year seven, in the way that only pre-teens can. However, one thing always puzzled me. In modern conservatism, a respect for individual rights is paramount, and so it makes a lot of sense for a conservative to support human rights organisations such as Amnesty International. What makes less sense is why there are so few conservatives in these movements. Why do these charities, that campaign on global and local issues, not seek to widen their support base to include more conservatives, who are naturally inclined to embrace their values? Instead, in many cases they actively reject our support.