Juan Davila (The Political Officer, Ex-Treasurer, Ex-Political Officer, Ex-Social Sec, Ex-International Rep) is a third year reading Engineering Science at St. John’s College

An adaptation of A Visit From St. Nick, by Clark Moore, adapted for the OUCA blog.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when in Number 10;

A creature awakened: it was the PM.

A year of toiling, and going from here to there,

In hopes that at some point the voter would care.

Chloe Dobbs (the Treasurer, Ex-Political Officer, Ex-NEO for OECA Liaison, Ex-NEO for Legal, and Ex-Publications Editor) is a third year reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Pembroke College.

Lockdown measures in an attempt to fix one crisis have created another: a mental health crisis. Lockdowns, stripping us of our basic needs like social interaction and simultaneously limiting access to mental health services, have caused the mental health of the nation to plunge. Almost all of us have experienced a hit to our mental health over the course of the pandemic, even if we are not diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Data from the ONS has shown the proportion of UK adults reporting symptoms of depression nearly doubled between the year before March 2020 and June 2020 (before and after the first lockdown). This time of crisis is an opportunity to rethink our approach to mental health: Boris’ post-pandemic ‘Build Back Better’ strategy should focus just as much on regaining mental health prosperity as it should economic prosperity. A focus on sport might just provide the answer: we are made to move.

Archie Batra is an MSt student reading Late Antique and Byzantine Studies at Christ Church.

Thus, when forced to talk about the Coronavirus pandemic, I invoke the life of Canute the Great, one of England’s most august medieval kings. Smothered by cloying and grovelling courtiers who believed him to be all-powerful, Canute sought to teach them a lesson in rulership. Placing his throne at the sea’s edge, he commanded the tide to retreat, and not to flow over his land, nor presume to wet his feet and robes. It’s easy to dismiss this as the general madness of pre-modern rulers: after all, the emperor Caligula decided to declare war on Poseidon, and king Xerxes ‘punished’ the Hellespont by ordering it to be attacked with whips and brands. Canute was cleverer than this, however. “Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings” he proclaimed, as the tide dashed over his feet. In doing so he gave his subjects a bitter but inviolable truth: there is a limit to what the government can, and, indeed, should do.

Josh Wallace (Ex-Committee) is a second-year reading PPE at Jesus College.

This last week has seen the screening of that explosive interview between the Sussexes and Oprah across the world, the fallout being almost as severe as could have been imagined. Following an almost equally explosive episode of Good Morning Britain on Monday morning and then a major strop on Tuesday’s edition, the infamous Piers Morgan has stepped down from his role as a presenter on the show. It is clear that this is a move we should all be celebrating, one that enhances our democracy and draws on larger questions of the role of the media in our society and how it conducts itself with relation to the nature of discourse in the political sphere.

Tatiana Quintavalle is a first-year reading Classics at Christ Church.

The UK government response to the coronavirus outbreak has turned conventional life on its head. Social life, travel, and even education are no longer able to continue in the way they once did; the dramatic change which the world has undergone sometimes seems dystopian. In his Republic, Plato details an ideal world which, if examined just a year ago, would not have seemed remotely achievable in practice; now, though still far from being totally Platonic, ideals which he focused his Republic around seem more prominent in our own society.

Darian Murray-Griffiths is a first year reading History and Politics at Christ Church.

The past week has seen much occur, most notably the Chancellor’s Budget for a recovery from Covid, the ongoing Salmond-Sturgeon debacle, and the Oprah-Harry-Meghan interview. All have seen a clash of idealism and realism, in which institutions, parties and public figures have tussled over truth and what the future should look like. Yet these numerous incidents have also revealed how many in our commentariat, in our political nation have been held hostage by an idealism which makes them reluctant or averse to the demands of realism. Some believe that some principles are timeless, inflexible and should prevail over whatever fluctuations and vicissitudes dominate the moment. We saw this with the Budget raising taxes, this from the historic party of low taxes. Yet we also saw that this was a direct clash with another, even older economic liberal shibboleth: sound finance.

Chloe Dobbs (NEO for OCA Liaison, Ex-NEO for Legal, Ex-Publications Editor) is a second year reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Pembroke College.

The British, on all sides of the political spectrum, love the NHS. It is a source of national pride. Even most of the proponents of free enterprise - ‘dry’ Tories included - look across the pond to America and conclude that the National Health Service is exceptional. They conclude that it is one of the few things that would be disastrous in the hands of private enterprise. But in doing so, they are drawing a false dichotomy between the healthcare options of the UK and the US. When I ask people “have you heard of social health insurance?”, they look at me as if I’ve just spoken another language.

Chloe Chan (Committee Member) is a first-year reading Chemistry at Keble College.

Social conservatism is dead. Gone. Kaput. Trying to carry that dead weight around will get the Tories nowhere. The 2018 abortion referendum in Ireland was the final nail in their coffin, proving once and for all that any appetite for social conservatism is satiated and gone. The party needs to modernise, or unfortunately, it will be next on the menu.

Henrik Tiemroth (Publications Editor) is a first-year MPhil student reading Politics at Hertford College.

Throughout her career, Margaret Thatcher made a name for herself as one of the most outspoken leaders of all time. One of her lesser-known stances is often forgotten, yet no less important: the need to protect our environment. Speaking to the Royal Society in 1988, she became one of the first major world politicians to suggest that human economic activity may be contributing to rising global temperatures and helped legitimise green concerns in Britain.