A Brasenose student, Andrew Lomas, will run for Labour MP in the next general election.
Lomas, a Dphil student, will contest the Wycombe seat in Buckinghamshire – a constituency which has not had a Labour MP since 1951.
But Lomas said he is confident that the election will be a real contest. He said the majority held by his opponent, the Conservative Paul Goodman, is “by no means an easy number to overcome, but by no means a safe seat for the Tories.”
He added, “the next election will be one of the most interesting and tightly fought contests for a generation and I’m looking forward to the fight.”
Lomas commented that, although he would have to be in the constituency regularly, he wasn’t worried about his DPhil.
“I actually find being busier sorts out my schedule for me: it forces you to use your time more efficiently rather than wasting your mornings eating toast and watching Jeremy Kyle!”
He added, “beyond that, being able to make a real impact on people’s lives matters too.”
He commented that he had wanted to stand to be a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate because it gave him a chance to get involved with politics outside of Oxford.
“Oxford is a pretty conservative place: whilst this rarely manifests itself politically, it’s a huge cultural phenomenon and means that many people here only do things that reinforce their existing prejudices.”
Lomas is currently researching new ways of treating cancer. Earlier this month he was formally selected to be the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Labour Party in.
Lomas previously stood in the 2008 local election for Barton in North East Oxford but lost by four votes.
The current MP Paul Goodman has a majority of over seven thousand and is the Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government.
Eloise Morgan, a third year at Brasenose College, said that she was a student still at the college was getting involved in national politics.
“I’d say Brasenose has a tradition of fostering Prime Ministers, so I’m very excited about this student standing for election and consequently have high expectations of him.”
She added, “I expect to see his oil painting in Brasenose hall soon.”
