Pembroke College’s JCR have passed a motion that stated its “disapproval” of the current government and its support for an “open and tolerant Britain”.
The motion also mandates the JCR to donate £300 to Open Britain, the official replacement of ‘Stronger In’, which campaigned for the ‘Remain’ campaign during the EU referendum.
The motion, proposed by JCR Treasurer Thomas Ash, accused the government of “undermining liberalism”. It called on the UK to “remain a bastion of tolerance, liberalism and openness in a world fraught with oppression and cruelty” as the government “seems to be heading towards a ‘hard brexit’ and various parochial polcies”.
Thomas Ash said that he had been “appalled by the rhetoric” of current members of the government.
He added that Theresa May’s comment was an example “of pure nationalism and xenophobia, especially when combined with other recent comments concerning foreign workers and immigration”, and that Open Britain are “one of the few organisations that exists specifi cally to get an open deal out of the Brexit negotiations”.
While 49 JCR members voted in favour of the motion, there was a small minority present at the meeting who disagreed.
Charlie McGrath, a History and English finalist, said, “it would have been much better, and certainly less political and divisive, if the money had been donated to a charity that genuinely does contribute to a more open and tolerant Britain, rather than one whose actions are clearly intended to nullify to the greatest extent possible the referendum result.
“The proposer of the motion, JCR Treasurer Tom Ash, made clear that he believed this motion should be divorced from the Brexit vote. Open Britain’s admission that it is a successor to Stronger In makes it clear that this is impossible”.
Daniel McAteer, who seconded the motion, said, “Any time our JCR supports an LGBT campaign, we are taking a political position: a position on what people should be able to do with their lives.”
While the motion denounced the government for policies that were “a violation of liberalism and cosmopolitanism”, McAteer also offered his view as to whether institutions, such as Oxford University itself, had ever shown instances of “pure nationalism and xenophobia” discussed in the motion.
He said,“I don’t think the institution is xenophobic. I haven’t seen any students act in a xenophobic way either, but who knows what dodgy mutterings you might find in the darkest corners of Christ Church, for example”.
Despite the motion being proposed early in Michaelmas, it is not the first time a college JCR has expressed its view on members of the government and its policies.
In 2011, St John’s JCR unanimously passed a motion of ‘No Confidence in the Minister of Higher Education’, David Willetts. On that occasion, the JCR’s motion joined the 177 academics in condemning Willets, which Cherwell reported had joined “students in calling for the University to formally ‘express dissatisfaction’ with government higher education policy.”
Pembroke’s JCR President, Hope Oloye, said, “I believe that my own personal views on this matter are irrelevant. As a JCR we’re committed to representing all of our members and promoting unity within the student body.
We get a large variety of motions submitted for discussion and none, including those of a more political nature, change this fundamental belief; neither do they affect any of the other services we provide.”
