Oxford University Conservative Association

Oxford University Conservative Association

File:OUCA1.jpg
Founded	1924
Patron	Baroness Thatcher, Somerville College
Honorary President	William Hague MP, Magdalen College
Dean	The Rev Father David Johnson, Selwyn College, Cambridge
Senior officers of the association, Trinity Term 2011
President	Joe Cooke, Oriel College
President-Elect	James Lawson, St Edmund Hall
Treasurer	Peter Day-Milne, Trinity College
Treasurer-Elect	Nikhil Mukherjee, Church Church
Secretary	Miles Coates, Worcester College
Political Officer	Peter Edwards, Balliol College
Junior officers of the association, Trinity Term 2011
Junior Officer TBC	James Price, Worcester College
Junior Officer TBC	Michael Towers, Christ Church
Junior Officer TBC	Tristan Honeyborne, Magdalen College
Council-Elected Junior Officer	Joey Faulkner Wadham College
Returning Officer	Matthew Thomson-Ryder, Corpus Christi College
Home page	http: //www.ouca.org.uk/

The Oxford University Conservative Association, or OUCA (until recently it had been briefly the Oxford Conservative Association, or OCA) is a student political organisation founded in 1924 whose members are drawn from the University of Oxford. Since October 2009, OUCA has been affiliated to Conservative Future, the Conservative Party youth wing.

Amongst the OUCA alumni are many significant Conservative Party figures, including former Prime Ministers and Cabinet Ministers. Three past Presidents currently serve in the Cabinet: William Hague, Jeremy Hunt, and Dominic Grieve and two others, the Home Secretary, Theresa May and Leader of the House of Commons Sir George Young served on the association's committee whilst undergraduates. Unsurprisingly, OUCA has traditionally been thought of in Conservative Party circles as a training ground for future leading Party figures, with many of the murky skills of student politics being directly related to the skills needed to rise in a major political party.

Past Presidents of OUCA also include Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath, Jonathan Aitken, Lord Rees-Mogg, Daniel Hannan and Nick Robinson. Other prominent political figures known to be former OUCA committee members or officers include Ann Widdecombe, Ed Vaizey and the Earl of Dartmouth. (Ed Balls, a former Labour Party Cabinet minister, is also an OUCA alumnus, as well as former Labour Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant.)

The Patron of the association is Margaret Thatcher and the Honorary President is William Hague.

Standing with the national Conservative Party

OUCA was, until recently, an independent organisation which was not part of the national Conservative Party or Conservative Future. Historically, relations between OUCA and the national party have been weak, for example OUCA (together with CUCA) were automatically treated as organisations separate to Conservative Future when it was founded in 1998, and after various unflattering stories in the national press, Conservative Party Central Office has traditionally been quick to distance itself from OUCA.

However, as of 6 October 2009, the Association officially voted to affiliate to the Conservative Party, and is now an official representative branch of Conservative Future. New members of the Association will now automatically become members of the Conservative Party and Conservative Future.

In March 2010, an Association event in support of the Oxford West parliamentary candidate, Nicola Blackwood was used to launch Conservative Future's national 'Time to Get Involved Campaign' and the association was praised by the party for its campaigning efforts

OUCA members are often asked to stand for election to Oxford City Council. Most recently, Alex Stafford (President, Michaelmas 2007) stood unsuccessfully for Holywell Ward in the 2008 Oxford City Council Election achieving an 8.2% swing for the Conservatives - his brother, Gregory Stafford, now a Councillor in the London Borough of Ealing, stood in the same ward in 2004 for OUCA.

Committee

OUCA is run by its officers and committee, who are elected each term.

In addition, there is a Returning Officer, responsible for the elections and for administering OUCA's internal disciplinary procedures, and from time to time, there may also be appointed non-executive officers, such as a Press Officer.

OUCA Events

OUCA events and activities vary dramatically, depending on the President and committee. However, all activities broadly follow four main routes; Port and Policy, speaker meetings, campaigning and social events. Michaelmas Term is always the strongest term with more debates and speakers, as well as many socials, whilst Trinity Term leans more heavily on the social side due to exams.

Port and Policy

OUCA policy discussion has long been connected with high alcoholic consumption, as evidenced by OUCA's 1949 policy pamphlet whose sponsors were Harvey's sherry, G.T. Jones (wine merchants), Dry Fly sherry, Hankey Bannister whisky, James Brown wine and spirit merchants, and Usher’s Export Ale.

OUCA's most popular regular event is Port and Policy, where political discussion is helped along by fortified wine. Started in Trinity Term 1994, Port and Policy is usually held six times a term on Sunday evenings in the Oxford Union. Although the format is up to the President and the Political Officer, it generally follows the lines of a set debate to start with followed by a debate with topics from the floor. This is all done in a relaxed environment with unlimited amounts of port. In May 2007 OUCA's port and Policy featured in a documentary produced for Channel 4 titled Make Me a Tory. In recent terms Port and Policy has been sponsored by The Spectator, who provide numerous complimentary copies of their publication, and Dow's Port who provide discounted Port. The growth in attendance at Port and Policy was featured in the Financial Times as evidence of growing popularity for the Conservatives among students.

Speaker Meetings

One of OUCA's most high profile elements is its speaker meetings. Recently OUCA has been visited by figures such as Margaret Thatcher (November 2002), John Major (April 2010), David Cameron (May 2008), Michael Howard (February 2007 and June 2008) , Michael Ancram, Edward Leigh , George Osborne, Alan Duncan, John Redwood, Ann Widdecombe, the Earl of Onslow, Iain Duncan Smith, David Willetts, Oliver Letwin and Lord Patten.

The President of the Association is responsible for inviting guest speakers and organising his term's events.

Campaigning

OUCA often campaigns in local and general elections in other constituencies.

Both The Times and The Oxford Student reported OUCA's 2004 campaigning tour of southern England, led by then President Oliver Pepys (Oriel). The stories centred on the fact that the group stayed with married Tory MPs Virginia and Peter Bottomley, and woke them up in the early hours of the morning by singing Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe under their bedroom window.

During the last General Election, OUCA campaigned in Oxford West and Abingdon, where the Conservative candidate, Nicola Blackwood, overturned the Liberal Democrat MP, Evan Harris with a small majority.

Social events

Although the arrangements are left to the discretion of the President and the Social Secretary, they usually include a party, a garden party in Trinity term, and trips to London to visit Parliament, the theatre or gentlemans' clubs. In Trinity term there are occasionally sporting fixtures against the Oxford Union and Cambridge University Conservative Association.

From time to the time the association also hosts events with Conservative think tanks and pressure groups, recently including the Freedom Association, the Army Benevolent Fund and the Adam Smith Institute.

Breakaway group

Julian Critchley described OUCA on his arrival at Pembroke in 1951 – despite its 2,000 members, "It was dominated by a patrician clique who preserved their power by preventing the membership at large from electing officers of the Association. These were chosen by the Committee which, although directly elected, was easily open to manipulation." – Critchley and Michael Heseltine, defeated in their bids for OUCA office, set up a rival Conservative society, the Blue Ribbon Club.

Dissolution and Merger of the Oxford University Tory Reform Group

In 1965 a group of OUCA members formed the Oxford University Tory Reform Group, pre-dating the national Tory Reform Group organisation. The OUTRG acted as a One Nation Conservative pressure group in Oxford, although had a substantially smaller membership than OUCA. However due to decline in interest, the national Party's shift towards a more moderate conservatism, and the decline of faction in OUCA the OUTRG voted to disband and merge with OUCA during Michaelmas term 2007.

In an email to OUTRG members, its President Luke Connoly reported that an extraordinary general meeting held at the Lamb and Flag public house at 3pm on 18 November 2008 unanimously voted to dissolve the OUTRG as of midday Saturday 8th week (1 December 2007) and to merge with OUCA. He cited falling attendance and a belief that OUCA had "genuinely become more liberal". He added that "Being a broad political society as it is, and containing all wings of conservative political thought as it does, there will always be OUCA members to the ‘right’ of the political spectrum, but there will also always be OUCA members on the TRG side of the political spectrum. Being as they will be now within one organisation, it will make debate between wings of the party much easier and more productive."

Later in the year, Douglas Hurd, a patron of the national TRG move lamented the disbanding of the Oxford Branch, saying that "Is very important that the One Nation view is powerfully represented."

OUCA in the Media

A Channel 4 documentary entitled Make Me a Tory aired on Sunday May 13, 2007 and produced by Daniel Cormack included footage from one of OUCA's Port and Policy meetings. The programme also included an interview with party leader David Cameron and was described by its promotional material as 'an accessible and genuinely revealing look at the political movers and shakers who form the future of the Conservative party'

In Trinity Term 2010 just over a week before the 2010 General Election, the Oxford Mail reported John Major's visit to the association. The Daily Mail newspaper subsequently reported the event and criticised the Oxford Student newspaper for their 'anti-Tory' coverage.

In Hilary Term 2011, Courtney Love attended a Port and Policy event. In the course of the evening she contributed to the debate, joined the association and the President appointed her Non-Executive Officer for Rock and Roll.

Controversy

Racism

In 2000 four OUCA members were expelled from a meeting 'for making "Nazi-style salutes."'

It was reported by the New Statesman that a member of the OUCA committee at the University's 2001 Fresher's Fair greeted new students by saying:

"Welcome to OUCA - the biggest political group for young people since the Hitler Youth."

Another senior member of the group was thrown off OUSU's executive for 'marching up and down doing a Nazi salute.'

An ex-treasurer of the association was found guilty of bringing OUCA into disrepute 'after posting "offensive" comments about India in a newsletter'

There was condemnation from two senior OUCA members following an incident in 2007 where a drunken member gave a Nazi-salute at a meeting attended by a former Tory MP.

The most damaging incident came in 2009 following an OUCA hustings where two candidates made racist jokes following encouragement from some other members in attendance. The incident led to national media coverage and an investigation by the University. This resulted in Oxford University severing links with the association, banning it from using the university's name in it's title. This led to OUCA temporarily becoming 'OCA' (Oxford Conservative Association). As a result of the incident, two members were expelled from the national Conservative party and the Oxford Union temporarily banned OUCA from using its premises for hustings

Accusation of sexism

In 2008 OUCA was accused of using 'sexist publicity material' by the Cherwell and was criticised by a member of the OUSU executive. The poster in question depicted 'an attractive young woman above the caption "Life is better under a Conservative".'

Recent Presidents

For a complete list of Presidents dating back to 1924, see Former Presidents of Oxford University Conservative Association

Year	Term	President	College
2009	Hilary	Niall Gallagher	Worcester College
2009	Trinity	Anthony Boutall	St Edmund Hall
2009	Michaelmas	Alexander Elias	Pembroke College
2010	Hilary	Oliver Harvey	Christ Church
2010	Trinity	Natalie Shina	St. Peter's College
2010	Michaelmas	Andrew Mason	University College
2011	Hilary	Henry Evans	Corpus Christi College

See also

• Cambridge University Conservative Association

General references

• Anthony Berry and Douglas Wilson (eds.) with a foreword by the Rt. Hon. Anthony Eden, Conservative Oxford (Oxford University Conservative Association, Oxford, 1949) OCLC: 67886997
• Martin Ceadel, "The 'King and Country' Debate, 1933: Student Politics, Pacifism and the Dictators The Historical Journal, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Jun., 1979), pp. 397–422 Jstor link

External links

• Official website
• Groupspaces Page
• Facebook Page