Friday 18th July 2025
Blog Page 1013

What now? The post-Brexit situation

Arun Dawson
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What now? The post-Brexit situation

‘Tomorrow morning, Britain will wake up to a verdict, a verdict to remain within the EU.’

Those were my words in the dying hours of Thursday’s referendum. How wrong I was. How wrong the world was.

Such was the confidence of ‘establishment elites’ in a Remain vote, the Pound gained on the Dollar to a 2016 high just as polls closed. However, as the results from the North East came in, the ill-founded beliefs of the financial markets became apparent. The Pound reached the biggest drop on record as a consequence of the upset of Britain saying “No” to Europe; a big two fingers up to the elite. No matter how many experts, world leaders and ‘independent’ bodies said otherwise, the majority of the public issued an instruction to Westminster: It’s time we did politics differently. It’s time we celebrated our Independence Day.

And it is this initial shock to the system we are seeing now, rather than any long term forecast of a post-Brexit world. The markets have already begun to stabilise, supported by safeguards offered under the Bank of England’s contingency plans. £250 billion will now be made available by the central bank to ensure the markets do not take an irrecoverable tumble as many economists have predicted. The certainty of Prime Minister Cameron’s position has also helped somewhat in securing a continuation of the status quo until at least the autumn.

But aside from these immediate ‘hysterical reactions’ as Donald Tusk described, what other issues have emerged? Within hours of the official announcement, David Cameron proclaimed his resignation despite the loyalties of some 80 Brexit rebels. Thus, the hype and preoccupation of a Tory leadership contest is well underway. Among the leading contenders is Boris Johnson, Cameron’s old Etonian and Oxford rival. MP Chris Grayling also skirted around the question about his own intentions and Michael Gove may well make a run for it. There have also been some expressions of support for Theresa May: a Remain campaigner but not as publically committed as the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have been.

Concurrently, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been unambiguous in her intentions to hold a re-run of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. Sturgeon has claimed a referendum is ‘highly likely,’ already beginning the process of drafting the legislation required to reverse the ‘democratically unacceptable’ prospect of Scotland leaving. This presents a significant constitutional crisis and to avoid the potential catastrophe, Vote Leave needs to coronate a pro-Brexit Prime Minister soon, consolidating the mandate they have received overnight and restoring strong, national leadership. Whilst this will not quell the issue entirely, the integrity of the union is at stake.

Ahead of a Brussels meeting next week, Eurocrats and world leaders alike have expressed their ‘regret’ over the ‘sad’ choice Britain has made. German Chancellor Merkel has appealed for people to be ‘calm and composed.’ Triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is the legally recognised way of exiting the single market, but would also set a two year time limit on the negotiations. Cameron has made the right call in deciding to pursue informal discussions first before formally giving notice, preferring instead to delay this decision to his successor. However, the David versus Goliath saga continues, now with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker disagreeing over this postponement of Article 50. It is hardly surprising therefore, that the verdict the British people gave last night was a reflection of this sentiment, that Brussels has its own interests at heart. It is very easy to interpret the stance the EU has taken over this as an attempt to rush proceedings thus leading to a chaotic or unresolved situation in two years’ time.

The European Project is defended by the Brussels elite with such vigour that they are determined beyond all costs to avoid a so called ‘contagion effect.’ They are resolute in their attitude that this divorce must appear painful for Britain, irrelevant of how this may damage the domestic, European or world economy. On the decision, Parliament President Martin Schulz exclaimed ‘that’ll have consequences and I don’t believe other countries will be encouraged to follow that dangerous path.’

Blinkered by their EU bubble, Eurocrats are failing to take the hint. If they do not change their strategy now, the trigger that is Britain’s decision will go down in history as the Franz Ferdinand assassination of the EU project. Deconstruction is inevitable. It’s only a matter of time.

Oxford reacts to Brexit

Tony Diver
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Oxford reacts to Brexit

Yesterday morning, 24th June, the BBC announced that the UK had voted to leave the European Union in a referendum which will shape the political landscape for years to come.

Oxford residents, on the other hand, voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU, with 70.3% in favour of remaining. The turnout in the city was 72.3%.

After relentless campaigning for both sides in the city before the vote, the announcement that the UK will invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and begin negotiations to formally withdraw from the Union has ricocheted around the city.

“This can represent a great opportunity for us to work with our friends in Europe and the rest of the world,” said a spokesperson for Oxford Students for Britain, a pro-Brexit campaign group. “We would also like to express the utmost respect for the campaigners on the other side who have been committed to their cause and maintained a high quality of debate on our campus.”

“We remain students, contemporaries, and friends together regardless of the outcome.”

Oxford University itself released a statement today on its website.  “UK membership of the EU has supported our broader vision for Oxford as a global hub for intellectual engagement,” it read, “however, the University recognised that individuals held differing views, and encouraged open debate on the issues.”

“A democratic decision has been made and Oxford will continue as one of the world’s outstanding universities, playing a leading role in shaping the UK’s future.”

A number of colleges have also sent emails to their members, reassuring them that they will continue their commitment to social diversity and calling on them to support one another in this transition period.

Jan Nedvidek, ex-President of OUCA, said  that “whatever our views on Brexit might be, we now have to make sure Britain gets the best deal possible, and that we continue to cooperate closely with our European allies.”

“Understandably, people are upset, but we have to keep going.”

Oxford Students For Europe have been contacted for comment.

The EU Referendum: We must not forget the 48.1 per cent

Freddie Hopkinson
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The EU Referendum: We must not forget the 48.1 per cent

Nigel Farage sees today’s result as a victory for “ordinary and decent” people. Democracy has had its say and, unfortunately, it now seems that we are set on a course to leave the EU. We must respect the peoples’ choice.

My plea is that we don’t forget the voices of the 48.1 per cent of voters that didn’t want this to happen. We need to remember that millions of “ordinary and decent” people chose to stick with what they rightly saw as the hugely positive values of European Union, understanding and collaboration. We need to acknowledge that this was no great landslide of Brexiteer fervour, but an issue that deeply divided the nation. Most importantly, whatever you voted, we all need to come together again and appreciate the pivotal importance of our nation’s role as an outgoing, productive partner to our continental neighbours- not an isolated “little Britain”.

Oxford voted overwhelmingly in favour of staying in the European Union. Everyone in Oxford who campaigned for staying in Europe should be very proud of this, despite the national result. I can understand why frustrated pro-Europeans in Oxford might blame the ignorance of the rest of the country – I have seen Facebook posts of this sort already. Yet, we need to move on. We need to respect the electorate’s choices, but also we need to continue to campaign for the best possible future for Britain. For us students, it may be all too easy to resign in exasperation from the politics of the months ahead, much harder to push for our voices to be heard in the making of what will be our future.

In the months ahead, we Oxford students will be spread out across the country, not to mention the world. The summer break means that for once most of us will not be stuck in the ‘Oxford bubble’. The chances are that most of us will come into daily contact with the majority of voters that chose to leave. Instead of patronising them, or simply mourning the loss of the referendum, we need to listen to them. We need to understand why people made the choices they did yesterday, but also we need to carry on telling them why integration with the outside world still matters. It is still so vital for us to push for a settlement in the next few years that values genuinely popular sentiments of respect for elements of the European project. The referendum has shown that we still have a way to go to make these views acceptable to much of the population, but it doesn’t mean that we should stop now.

One of my best friends at Oxford is what I would have previously described as a firmly Unionist Scot. This morning, his views had changed drastically. When Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to stay in the European Union, how are we supposed to expect them to stay in a national union that is on the verge of leaving it? UKIP’s victory today, could well turn out to be a victory for English nationalism. If we value our now endangered United Kingdom, what happens next will be crucial. As much as we need to campaign to protect the cosmopolitan characteristics of our home nations, our advocacy of an outward looking Britain needs to be seen as part of a wider discussion on the future of our country as a whole.

As I write, the Prime Minister has announced that he will be standing down. The likes of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove will no doubt soon be vying for the leadership. More than anything, we need to continue campaigning for a pro-European outlook to make sure whoever runs our country in the next few years continues to hear our voices. In spite of the referendum result, we need to prove that we are a progressive people by calling for wider toleration, trade, and communication alongside our European neighbours. Instead of giving in to assumptions of xenophobia and uncertainty, we need to build on our collective history of respect for our neighbours. Britain may well be set to leave the European Union, but that doesn’t mean that we should leave its values behind too.

In the political turmoil of the months ahead there will be a need for pro-European students at Oxford to unite in their campaigning. Please like the Oxford Europhile Forum on Facebook to get the campaign underway.

Student protests against All Souls’ Codrington

Tony Diver
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Student protests against All Souls’ Codrington

Oluwafemi Nylander, a prominent member of Rhodes Must Fall Oxford and campaigner against colonial commemoration at Oxford, today stood outside All Souls College in protest against the Codrington Library and commemoration of its founder, Christopher Codrington.

He stood shirtless outside the High Street entrance to the college, with a chain around his neck and ‘All Slaves College’ painted on his chest in red paint, which was intended to resemble blood.

Speaking to Cherwell, Nylander described his attempts, apparently on behalf of Rhodes Must Fall, to remove the commemoration of Christopher Codrington within the college.

Codrington Lib
The Codrington Library

“When we complained about the statue and the plaque to the college their response was that the statue was a fact of history which like the history of slavery itself cannot be changed. I thought I would remind them what the history of slavery was.”

The Codrington Library was founded in 1751 by Christopher Codrington, a fellow of the college who amassed a considerable fortune through plantation slavery. His £10,000 currency donation in the eighteenth century is worth approximately £1.2m in modern terms.

A statue, in which Codrington is dressed as a Roman, stands in the library, above a plaque that acknowledges (in Latin) “Christopher Codrington, who built this library and enriched the books out of his will”.

The statue of Christopher Codrington inside the library
The statue of Christopher Codrington inside the library

In a blog post for the online magazine Consented, Nylander attacked the “soulless” “moral relativism” of University Vice Chancellor Louise Richardson in defending the Codrington Library, and All Souls’ failure to “show humility, regret and sensitivity to this flagrant dismissal of the histories and experiences of black students”.

Nylander’s article claims that, in a statement to Rhodes Must Fall Oxford, Fellow Sir John Vickers said “the Library exists for students and researchers. Its name and statues reflect facts of history which, like the history of slavery itself, cannot be changed”.

All Souls College has been contacted for comment.

Oxford’s Exam Relaxation Spots

Francesca Nicholls
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Oxford’s Exam Relaxation Spots

Oxford stands silent in memory of Jo Cox MP

Tony Diver
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Oxford stands silent in memory of Jo Cox MP

Hundreds of students and townspeople of Oxford stood in a vigil in Radcliffe Square on the 18th June in memory of Jo Cox MP, who was shot and stabbed in her Yorkshire constituency on Thursday.

The vigil, which brought a crowd of around 250 people, was organised in association with Oxford University Labour Club. In a statement, a spokesperson for OULC said that its members were “deeply shocked and saddened” to hear of her death.

She was described as a “hardworking, passionate and dedicated Member of Parliament” who “died whilst doing her public duty”.

Mrs Cox, who was attending a constituency surgery at the time of her attack, was rushed to hospital on Thursday afternoon, where she later died.

Thomas Mair, who was today charged with murder at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, gave his name to the court as “Death to traitors, freedom to Britain”. He was driven away and remanded in custody.

Oxford’s vigil was addressed by speakers from Oxford’s Labour community and members of other political parties, who gave their tribute to her life and work: “Jo was fearless, or at least appeared fearless at the times that it really mattered.”

“Jo loved love. Her politics were inspired by love”.

Speaking at the event, OULC co-Chair David Parton described his reaction of “overwhelming happiness to see the coming together of people at this awful occasion”.

“It means so much to see everyone here, and you can see the community in Radcliffe Square tonight”.

The vigil took place for around thirty minutes, after which a collection was taken.

OUSU releases its annual Impact Report 2015-16

Katherine Pye
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OUSU releases its annual Impact Report 2015-16

Oxford University Student Union has released its annual report on their work this year, including what they have achieved and the reflections of the Sabbatical Officers Becky Howe, Cat Jones, Emily Silcock, Nick Cooper, Lucy Delaney and Alasdair Lennon.

The team highlighted four key areas for improvement. They reported a disparity in student experience between colleges with regards to “suspension, student welfare and workload”. The team also expressed concerns about neglect of graduates, who represent 47% of Oxford’s students and rising; an increase in graduate student numbers should only come with a “commensurate increased in crucial provisions”. The needs of trans and non-binary students, OUSU claim, need more attention, and Oxford University should ensure its impact on the wider oxford community is positive.

OUSU set out three main targets for the next academic year; firstly, to ensure welfare is a key priority across colleges, secondly, to encourage successors to continue setting out campaigning priorities in ‘Visions’ to OUSU’s main areas of work, and thirdly, to continue improving engagement and representation of graduates, who have “less college involvement and fewer safety nets.”

The team highlighted the achievement of the OUSU Student Advice Service; 2016 saw an increase of 90% in the students supported, and an online web chat service was launched. Attendance of drop in sessions has also increased by 33% and the Service gave out Living Out talks to 20 colleges reaching 1,000 students.

For the first time OUSU created an online Alternative Prospectus with 30,000 flyers advertising the website distributed to 6,000 state schools. 15,000 were also circulated at University events.

OUSU also reported it has have secured the provision of lecture recording technology for all departments, to be centrally funded, from Michaelmas 2016, through their network of 623 course representatives.

In Freshers’ Week 2015 sexual consent workshops were available in 30 JCRs, and available in 20 MCRs, compulsory in 10. OUSU trained over 450 students to facilitate the workshops.

Becky Howe, the outgoing president of OUSU told Cherwell, “’I’m really proud of everything OUSU has achieved for students this year. We’ve written a report on student welfare, mental health and support, based on our survey which 5,900 of you took. It will inform policy for the uni on mental health, workload and much more. We’ve won lecture recording, which will be centrally funded and available for all departments from Michaelmas. We’ve trained hundreds of students to facilitate consent workshops, to run their common rooms, and to be course reps.”

“Our campaigns have done great things this year – particular shout out to our newest campaign, SusCam – and we’ve totally changed the structure of OUSU so that from Hilary term next year, campaigns and common room reps will be the executive committee of OUSU. This is just a snapshot of what we’ve done: it’s been an amazing year and its been such an honour to be president.”

The Oxonian Dandy: Accessories

Dante OKeefe
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The Oxonian Dandy: Accessories

This week, I have been mentally straining myself in an attempt to send you off, fellow dandies, with something profound and wise. Your weekly copy of Cherwell taken away, who knows where progressive and avant-garde fashion advice can be found? I could, perhaps, recommend some other trendy fashion writers, yet I do not think there is any other who could satiate that Oxonian lust for clothing of the variety I would brand as ‘experimental traditionalism’. Those of you who know me, can, of course, email my nexus if you have any wardrobe queries over the long vac – just the standard ‘dante.okeefe’. However, for this issue, I shall address accessories. You now know the staples, the basics, but how are you really going to demonstrate and spread the concept of the Oxonian Dandy this summer, wherever you end up? It’ll be with the finer details.

There’s a never-ending list of accessory categories, and I’d thoroughly advise trying to master as many as you can, and perhaps make some more yourself. Has anyone yet thought of personalising sandals by removing the straps and replacing them with neon shoelaces, thus creating an individual and glow-in-the-dark look? No. Nor have I seen reverse-polarised sunglasses that reflect inwards rather than out. Accessories do not need to be functional: they ought to be stylish.

I am also a great believer in the school of thought, first put forth in the late 80s (a great era of pioneering fashion!), that the key to an accessory’s successful employment, is, as so often is the way, to use it in a suitably inappropriate fitting. One might think that a plaited belt might be best used on the waistband of a pair of trousers or shorts, however, it could also be successfully employed as a garter. Many adapt their handkerchief to form bandanas – summer festival favourites – but how about using it as a cravat? A scarf could easily transgress its winter confines by tying it round the waist, resplendent in a pseudo-piratical knot.

I hope, then, that I have thus shown that there’s a high likelihood that with a little imagination the accessory draw can be frequently opened, in any season, on any occasion. I shall now divulge some of my personal favourites that you’ll often see me don around town. I’m a firm advocate of the pocket-square, and have a collection whose fabric could line an entire room. They’re a classic Christmas present, and often can be purchased in sales at vastly reduced prices. While if you’re after something flamboyant, such as my blue and white dogtooth number, you’d want to get a silk pocket-square, if you want something stiffer you’d be best with cotton. White handkerchiefs should always be Irish linen. I also rarely put on a shirt without first looping my shark-tooth necklace over my slender neck. A man in the village pub sold it to me: it had been pulled out of a fisherman’s leg on the river Itchen after a violent maiming at the hands of a wild trout – I never knew they grew so large! I’m sure similar alternatives could be found online.

The accessory is often a fantastic finishing touch for an outfit. Whatever you do this summer, make sure you match your dandy personality with your dandy fashion.

Playlists and procrastination: soundtracking exam season

Sophie Jordan
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Playlists and procrastination: soundtracking exam season

Sit down and open a few books, type an essay title, play around with an introduction and – give up.

This sadly well-known routine doesn’t sound like it has anything to do with music, yet it very quickly becomes associated with the couple of beats we switch between until eventually settling for a random selection.

The fact that this music mostly goes unnoticed is representative of its purpose: to slide past our ears and blend into the background, just present enough to discourage us from seeking additional distraction.

In order to simply become a reassuring part of the dull scenery our college rooms offer, ‘essay music’ needs to be something we can’t sing along to, something which won’t get us excited enough to attempt writing while on a moonwalk roll, nor kick off a few hours of meditation on how our doubts are growing faster than the word count. For once in our lives, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ just won’t do.

The moment we default to YouTube is crucial. With a little inspiration, our ears can be graced with a long-forgotten oldie or last year’s obscure indie crush, or even go straight to good old Ludwig for a couple of 70 minute-long symphonies saving us the stress of having to think of the next tune. That is, until the flamboyant ‘Ode to Joy’ emerges three quarters of the way through ‘Symphony no.9’, sending cold sweats down our shoulders while we anxiously glance at the calendar.

The risk here is falling into compulsive repeat-button-pressing after rediscovering a favourite. Maybe Portishead’s ‘Threads’ is not a song that should be listened to more than five times in a row, and hearing Beth Gibbons’ quivering “I’m worn, tired of my mind / I’m worn out, thinking of why I’m always so unsure” over the obsessive leitmotiv of a gloomy bass, certainly won’t make an essay any easier to write. Luckily for us, beyond the failures of personally picked essay music and just around the corner of the desperate search for “random chill music” on YouTube, lie its wonders.

If the tempting option of looping Imagine Dragons’ ‘Warriors’ and the yet dafter prospect of working exclusively to ‘Taking the Hobbits to Isengard’ tend not to last as long as the songs’ original duration, surrendering to Youtube’s guidance and powers can still be worthwhile. Among the platform’s strange mass of options and creeping undead dubstep, Canadian folk band Leahy stands out to provide the most adequately mindless music to work with.

Sound volume unassumingly low, paragraphs slowly start to take shape on the page as the epileptic but somehow comfortable racing violin slots into the bored part of my brain. Had I the ability to tap dance, I would be out on the quad and clacking along with the perfectly synchronised, surprisingly musical group of siblings. Equally mindless, Com Truise essentially offers the electronic version of Leahy. This artist’s familiar-sounding yet disorienting pseudonym is like his music: the tracks on In Decay (2012) barely qualify as either original or even music, relying on little more than a gradually evolving rhythm and bubbly synths to exist and entertain.

Whether a safe choice or an entirely free venture into the big world of random beats, the music which accompanies us in our struggle to work efficiently gives us something to hang onto for comfort, and in turn tends to stick to our ears and unexpectedly become a regular listen. After all, the odd bit of synthwave will only send us straight back into the arms of classic alt-rock once the essay has been sent.

Pledge2Reg campaign sees almost 1800 participants

Sophie Jordan
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Pledge2Reg campaign sees almost 1800 participants

OUSU Vice-President for Charities and Community Emily Silcock has announced the final results of the Pledge2Reg campaign, with almost 1800 participants from all colleges.

Encouraging students to register to vote in the referendum on Britain’s European Union (EU) membership, Pledge2Reg promised a free visit from an ice cream van to the college that had the most members share their registration confirmation. This prize was won by St Hilda’s at the beginning of the month, with Hertford and Oriel also being rewarded for the high number of pledges in the last week and 24 hours of the competition.

The number of Facebook pledges per college ranged from 1 at Christ Church and Wolfson, to St Hilda’s 357, with the majority between 20 and 80. 306 of Hertford’s total 345 pledges were made in the last week of the competition.

Ultimately, a total of 24 colleges had over half their student bodies registered to vote in the EU referendum, with Hertford reaching 77 per cent and runner-up Merton 73 per cent. These numbers were confirmed by the City Council, although the council counted only those whose registered address was the college itself. As a result, students living out for the year or who registered to vote at home are not included in these statistics.

The data shows a large increase in the number of students registered per college since the beginning of term. Jesus College saw the largest increase at 26 per cent, while five other colleges also saw growth of over 20 per cent.

Pledge2Reg was organised in response to the fear that low student turnout would impact the results of the EU referendum.

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