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Lord Peter Mandelson officially announces candidacy for Oxford chancellorship

Lord Peter Mandelson has confirmed that he will be running for Chancellor of Oxford University, Cherwell can report.  This comes after Lord Christopher Patten announced his retirement from the role in February of this year. Mandelson now joins a small pool of frontrunners seeking to become the next Chancellor. A former Labour Party politician and life peer in the House of Lords, Mandelson has held several Cabinet positions during his career, including Secretary of State for Trade and Secretary of State...

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Features

Has Oxford made us hate reading?

"Ever felt like you were suffocating under a pile of books, making the idea of picking up yet another feel utterly daunting?"

The Tradwife phenomenon: homesick for subservience

If you’ve been on TikTok at all recently (or Instagram Reels, if you’re that way inclined), you will have noticed a vast array of videos featuring picture-perfect American wives competing in beauty pageants weeks...

General Election 2024: Cherwell’s Politics Hot Takes

Oxford is a notoriously strange place with a notoriously strange populace, one which includes Union hacks who desire nothing more than to rule the world, and scholarly types who get off on reading Schopenhauer...

Things can only get… worse? Why 2024 is no 1997 for the Labour Party

One of the characteristic features of the 1997 Labour Party general election campaign was their use of D:Ream’s song "Things Can Only Get Better" in their campaign video. This song was selected to conjure optimism following what many saw as eighteen years of Conservative failure which had left the...

The Art of Being Bored

Today, every corner of our lives seems to be filled with never-ending streams of information and vibrant entertainment. The concept of being bored has become almost extinct. Thanks to constant access to the internet and social media, fleeting moments of boredom are swiftly replaced with scrolling endlessly through feeds,...

The 2024 BNOC List

"Here it is! After three weeks of voting, the results are in. With slight adjustments made according to which BNOCs gave consent to be on the list and the addition of some whose fame strictly speaking surpasses that of BNOC-hood, the list is true to those initial nominations."

Profiles

In conversation with Moe Sbihi, the British rower ‘Stockholm Syndrome-d’ into Olympic gold 

Three-time Olympic medallist, World Champion rower, MBE, the first British Muslim Olympic flag bearer: the highly decorated Moe Sbihi seems to have done it all when it comes to having a successful rowing career. I spoke to him to find out more about where it all started, and how...

In conversation with Oli Dugmore, the mind behind PoliticsJOE

Oli Dugmore, known best as the mind behind PoliticsJOE, echoes many of the views young, disillusioned voters hold.

Culture

Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart review – “The prime minister we never had”

This is a marvellous book, a memoir of Rory Stewart’s nine years in Parliament, and its greatest flaw is that it is not long enough. The original draft was 220,000 words long, and included chapters on Yemen, Libya, Covid policy, populism, and ethics in politics, all of which have...

The Conservative Effect, 2010-2024 review: “Comprehensive and damning”

If you only read one book on British politics this year, make it this one. 

Life

What I wish I’d known before my year abroad 

For many students the year abroad had either been one huge disappointment or a life-changing rite of passage.

Reflections on the life of a mature student

I think we find ourselves in a particular state of searching after finishing secondary school. Even if we have an idea of what we want to do or who we want to be, the world is suddenly splayed out; enticingly undefined and filled with endless opportunities. And we –...

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