President-Elect cleared of electoral malpractice allegations
Oxford Union President-Elect Hannah Edwards has been cleared of electoral malpractice allegations after an election tribunal held yesterday found there was no case against her. The tribunal also disqualified several candidates from election to Secretary’s Committee after they failed to sign down.
The election tribunal was held online via Zoom, open to all Union members. The complainant alleged Edwards had breached rules 33(a)(i)(7), 33(a)(i)(8) and 33(a)(i)(32) by spending money on publicising a prospective candidature, engaging in organised treating, and attempting to engage in organised treating. However, the tribunal found no case to answer on all counts.
The tribunal then moved to consider whether the complainant had breached Rule 33(a)(i)(33) by bringing an unfounded and malicious or manifestly unreasonable allegation, but found the complainant not guilty.
Edwards told Cherwell: “The complaint against me was, frankly, completely ridiculous. There was no evidence at all of electoral malpractice and so I was not surprised that the Tribunal found there was no case to answer.
“In my opinion, the allegation was mean-spirited and exactly the kind of behaviour I stand against as a senior member of the Union.
“Thank you to everyone who voted for me – I look forward to taking up the role of President-Elect and working hard to deliver a fantastic Hilary 2024 termcard that all members can enjoy.”
Succession for the President-Elect will remain suspended for at least 48 hours following the release of the Tribunal’s report last night to allow time for any appeals to be submitted, as required by Rule 33(h). However, the tribunal has ruled that Edwards should take up the powers of President-Elect in the interim.
The tribunal disqualified Caleb van Ryneveld, Immy Broome, Jakov Mlinarević, Lilian Chen and Jim Smith from election to Secretary’s Committee after they failed to ‘sign down’. Rule 33(c)(ix) requires all candidates to report to the RO or General Office following an election to check if their attendance is required at an election tribunal, and if they do not the tribunal can disqualify them. There will be a recount of the election to Secretary’s Committee excluding the disqualified candidates.
The tribunal’s report also mentioned an allegation of electoral malpractice brought against another individual which was then withdrawn.
The art of being silly
At the end of term, you can walk the streets of Oxford and see a certain look in the eyes of all the students you meet; the fatigue of eight weeks of work mixed with a vacancy that can only be seen in someone who has experienced too many Bridge Thursdays. With each new term your hopes rise. This is the one, you think, that will turn out perfectly. Then reality sets in by week five at the latest. Rinse and repeat. But what can you do to keep yourself sane when you have to stay in the library for the third night in a row? Or if you have to bail on a hangout because you still haven’t finished a presentation due tomorrow? The only thing that can really work is to go off the rails a little. As a treat. Most of the people here go a little crazy from the general world anyways, so why not lean into it?
I’ve been told countless times about the importance of a work/life balance, but maybe the real metric we must measure ourselves against is the stillness/silliness balance. Stillness is necessary for your silliness. Taking moments to enjoy the quiet of life makes the loud moments more interesting. What’s the point of coming to what might be one of the most ‘serious’ institutions in the world and letting that go unchallenged? Of course, being silly is more than just a mere feeling – it’s a mindset. You could be silly every now and then, but there is joy to be obtained from committing to silliness even in your most serious moments. In your tutorials you may know everything you need to, but sometimes the best memories are the times when you could laugh with your tutors about a topic.
Possibly the best way to make friends is by being silly. I do many a silly thing with my friends (the silliness of that sentence is not lost on me), including a termly week seven cat maid bar crawl (which has previously been erroneously labelled the ‘animaid society’). Big or small, these actions make us who we are and bring us together into groups, each with its own quirks. Whilst sharing the same sense of humour and doing frivolous things together for the sake of it can be a bonding activity, silliness is also a way of creating your own individual identity. Self-expression often comes from the ‘silly’ in life, whether it’s the whimsical application of neon eyeliner in the morning, or dancing randomly on Cornmarket Street with your friends to scare the tourists.
So, at least once before the end of this summer term, give yourself license to do something stupidly silly and sillily stupid while you’re still here. Go crazy! Be your truest self. Have fun in the sun. Use lots of inane mental health slogans in your daily vocabulary. Keeping yourself upright amidst the wave of work that comes each week is no easy feat. Let yourself be silly in as many little ways as possible.
Gees – Mediterranean dishes at a British price point
Gees is easy to miss, there’s no doubt about that, but behind the conservatory just next to North Parade on Banbury Road is the Mediterranean outpost in the eclectic Oxford Collection. A revamp last year has enhanced this continental image even more with garden dining matching the fresh dishes across the menu.
Chatting with the team at Gees, it really is clear just how much the history of this place matters to them. The current recognisable conservatory was built in 1897 and in 1985, Raymond Blanc opened his first ever ‘Petit Blanc’ here. That chain would go on to morph into the now famed ‘Brasserie Blanc’ and perhaps that is where that drive to create a Mediterranean atmosphere comes from.
That revamp last year wasn’t just to Gees. As well as adding the Gees Gallery room here for private dining of up to 40 guests, the entirety of The Oxford Collection underwent a rebrand back in 2020 with more cohesive marketing and branding. That group is home to Quod, Parsonage Grill, and both of their respective hotels. It is fascinating then to reflect on just where Gees fits into that picture overall. The price point is similar, with mains ranging from £18 to £32, but Gees strikes me as a more laid-back lunch spot than its compatriots. The only problem there of course is that prices that high are more reminiscent of high-level nighttime dining.
As always, I wanted to let the staff guide me through their favourite dishes and to start we went for the Asparagus Vinaigrette, Grilled Orkney Scallops, and a soft shell crab dish. Without a doubt, the fresh asparagus was a good recommendation. Locally sourced and in season, they were served with a light vinaigrette that gave the vegetable room to shine itself.
Soft-shell crab is a difficult thing to find in the UK so I was really excited to see it make an appearance. The crab itself was full of flavour and the paired aioli full of flavour — my only suggestion would be for a lighter batter, if you are to have one at all. Soft-shell has such a refined taste all on its own that it is a shame to cloud it with that batter, however ‘dusted’ it might be.
Scallops were definitely the pick of the starters. Dill, capers, and brown butter within the shell enhanced the distinct flavour and the scallops themselves were perfectly grilled. £15 though? That might be a bit steep for some.
Pastas, and in particular the duck ragu, are very much a signature but owing to the 27-degree temperatures we steered clear. Instead, the fish of the day (a whole grilled seabass), and burrata beetroot dish arrived in earnest. These are two vastly different dishes but both are absolutely superb in their own right.
The bass came alongside a pleasingly light mixed tomato salsa and lettuce salad. As regular readers know, I’m more than a fan of fish when served whole and this is a prime example of why. Kept brilliantly simple, it is baked with slices of lemon and rosemary. As a result, the fish itself takes centre stage and the light sides complement it perfectly.
The burrata and beetroot dish was far more complex and brilliantly constructed. Vegetarian dishes often force chefs to think more about what they are putting together and this is no exception. Varying beetroots are chopped alongside chicory and blood orange before being topped with burrata and a fennel pangratto. The creaminess of the cheese complements the punchy beets and blood orange perfectly and the balance of flavours is bang on. At £17.50, this is for me by far the best value dish on the menu.
We kept things classic on the dessert front with Tiramisu and Pedro Ximenez affogato. Here, things were a little disappointing. The tiramisu was fine but just fine — it may well be personal taste but I am always a fan of less sponge and a boozier tiramisu.
Affogato is such a treat and, in my opinion, one of the great desserts — that is even more the case when served with Pedro Ximenez in place of coffee. Somewhat tragically, the restaurant had no vanilla and the stracciatella substitute simply didn’t pair as well as the classic. As well as that, much of the ice cream had already melted when it arrived at the table — a problem easily resolved by pouring the shot tableside.
All in all, Gees is no doubt a refreshing presence on the Oxford food scene. The refurbishment has only further enhanced its offering. The private dining space is a brilliant and novel edition and the new garden a no-brainer for summer afternoons. Dishes are generally very well thought-out and constructed and the ingredients are of the highest quality. The only thing holding it back is the price point. Very much at the high-end, this strikes me as a place to come with the parents, not somewhere to treat yourself with a friend on a weekend afternoon.
Why British politics hates the young
As Jeremy Hunt ushered in a new era of austerity, it seemed like nothing was immune to the chancellor’s axe. Taxes were to rise, spending on public services reduced, the energy price cap reined in. As the principle of ‘sound money’ reared its head once more, nothing was off the table in a desperate attempt to get spending under control.
Nothing, that is, apart from pensions. For the poor, children, and disabled, the treasury door was firmly shut; but just as he was taking food off the tables of the hungry, Hunt was busy lavishing riches upon the elderly. Not only is the pension ‘triple lock’ to remain in place – guaranteeing a 10% rise in pensions, year on year, costing the treasury tens, if not hundreds of billions – but the limit on pensions savings has been scrapped, costing the treasury a further £2.75 billion in the next five years.
This is despite the fact that are few groups in British society who need extra government help less than pensioners. A quarter of pensioners are millionaires, many more than are in poverty (indeed, poverty among pensioners is around half as common as among children); since 2010 pension funds have doubled, while wages have remained nearly static. Unlike millennials or generation Zers, ‘boomers’ also had the luxury of growing up in a world where nearly everyone could afford a house, and where one job was good enough for life.
Not only is investment in pensions at the cost of everything else unfair, however, it’s economically illiterate. Spending on education, childcare and infrastructure is an investment that guarantees a brighter, richer future; while pensions are of course necessary to prevent the old falling into poverty, increased spending on them offers no long-term economic benefits.
Pensions, however, are only one manifestation of a problem that runs throughout British political life. Virtually every single major political event over the past decade can only be understood with reference to the complete dominance of the elderly over the debate. Brexit, for instance, will be completely disastrous for young people: it will reduce long-term GDP by as much as 10%, while devastating academic research and reducing opportunities for immigration. For the old, however, Brexit means less immigrants and an easier time holding onto a nostalgic concept of British exceptionalism; the only real downside is a little more bureaucracy when going on holiday.
Time and time again, the interests of a youthful many have been neglected in favour of an elderly few. What the young need more than anything else is a growing economy; but for the old economic growth is difficult and disturbing – it means noisy construction projects, radical, worrying change and increased immigration – with most of them never to enjoy its positive effects. Almost every economically irrational decision taken by subsequent Tory governments – Brexit, the lack of spending on infrastructure, a refusal to reform planning laws – is in fact supremely rational when viewed through the lens of strengthening their elderly voting base.
It is clear, therefore, that British politics increasingly resembles a gerontocracy – rule by the old. What is less clear is how to fix it. The most important step is to increase voting turnout among the young. The reason government after government neglects the interest of anyone of working age is because, politically, it’s far less beneficial; in 2019, over 75 year olds had a turnout not far off twice that of 18-24 year olds. Also crucial is to give the old a stake in an expanding economy. The triple-lock, while a brilliant piece of rhetoric, is a misnomer; our current pension system instead resembles a skeleton key, wielded by the old to raid the country’s coffers at every opportunity. A solution first proposed by the Economist, so perfect as to practically be genius, is to link pension growth directly to economic growth. Many would’ve been more hesitant to opt for Brexit if it meant potentially seeing their pensions shrink by thousands of pounds.
British politics, therefore, is captive to a special interest group of doddling old grandmas and zimmer frame wielding grandads. Until this group’s undue influence is weeded out, Britain’s status will remain the same; a declining power, destined to end up as the ‘Sick Man of Europe’ once again.
Image Credit: Surprising_Shots via Pixabay
Union bans “digital campaigning” in future elections
The Oxford Union has passed a new amendment to Rule 33 which will ban all forms of online campaigning except for one-on-one messages and the posting of plain text manifestos.
Previously, candidates and their slates were allowed to create Instagram accounts and Facebook profiles with their campaign promises. These were often elaborately designed with custom layouts and photography. Under the changed rules, these forms of online campaigning will be banned. The motion would also ban group “hacking” or soliciting votes in any form of social media or messaging platform. Individual private messages, however, will still be allowed.
Chris Collins, who proposed this motion, hopes it will be “an antidote to the needless toxicity of Union politics”. He added, “it will make elections more meritocratic and manifesto-based, stop the mudslinging and popularity politics, and cut down on all the Union spam that floods Members’ timelines in 7th Week”.
After being postponed from 5th week, the motion was originally passed on Thursday of 7th week. However, a petition had been posted calling for it to be postponed again, and it was later established that this had acquired the requisite number of signatories within the necessary timeframe. The motion therefore had to be brought again on Thursday of 8th week, where it was passed again by a verbal vote with only one vote against. The new rule will take effect in Hilary 2024.
This article was updated at 9:15am on 16/06/2023.
Former Australian PM Scott Morrison to speak at Oxford Union this Thursday
The Former Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, will give a talk at the Oxford Union this Thursday at 5pm.
The talk is part of a larger UK trip which included visits to think tanks and other speaker events. The AUKUS submarine deal is another focus of this trip. Morrison told The Financial Review that “these events will provide further opportunities to promote AUKUS in the UK” and emphasised the close links between Australia and the UK.
Morrison was PM from 2018-2022. His time in power was characterised by major flooding and forest fires in Australia, the COVID-19 pandemic and his support for Ukraine.
Outgoing Union President, Matthew Dick, told Cherwell “I am really excited to be bringing the members another brilliant opportunity to hear from and question a former leader of a commonwealth state. It’s a brilliant way to end the term”. The talk will take place in the Union chamber at 5pm this Thursday 15 June.
Freemasonry: Oxford’s not-so-secret secret society
Breeches and brotherhood … the secret world of freemasonry is something largely obscure and unknown to the uninitiated. After spending some time among the brethren of Apollo University Lodge, this is what Cherwell found.
What is Freemasonry and what is Apollo University Lodge?
Freemasonry is one of the world’s largest non-religious, non-political, and charitable organisations. Its roots can be traced back to medieval stonemasons and Cathedral builders. It is founded upon the three principles of “Brotherly love”, “Relief” and “Truth”. Today, there are approximately 250,000 members under the United Grand Lodge of England and 6 million around the world.
Apollo University Lodge – a “Lodge” being a local group of freemasons – represents the freemasons who have matriculated at the University of Oxford. It held its first meeting on 10th February 1819. Now, meetings are held six times a year, with two ceremonies typically performed at each meeting.
At Apollo, the traditional attire of white or black tie is commonly worn at meetings and dinners. At the dinners, charitable collections are made in support of University and local charities. Additionally, Apollo funds seven grants of £1,100 each which are then awarded by the University.
Like any Masonic Lodge, the process for becoming a full member at Apollo University Lodge incorporates three distinct “degrees” relating to the values of Freemasonry. Symbolically, these degrees, namely Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason encompass the development of the three stages of life: youth, manhood, and maturity.
History
“A medal be cast to be worn by each member suspended by a piece of blue riband, and be stamped on one side with an Apollo,” ran the resolution of a meeting of freemasons in Brasenose College in 1818, with a view to founding Apollo University Lodge.
From the outset, charity work was a constituent of lodge life. Records show an agreement of the first Apollo members to give a guinea annually to “the Charity for Female Children and the Institution for Clothing, as well as the Sons of Ingredient and Deceased Masons.”
It is possible that members of Apollo were mainly concerned with activities other than charitable aid. The Lodge records show that a short lecture was given to members of the Apollo by the elder statesman of Oxford masonry concerning “behaviour outside the Lodge” and “warning the Brethren to be particularly cautious in all their conduct.”
Conflict between Apollo and the Grand Lodge was not uncommon in the early years. The Grand Secretaries of English Freemasonry took issue with the too rapid initiation of members into Apollo, which they considered to contravene the Masonic constitution. Apollo was forced to “petition the Grand Lodge for their forgiveness”, expressing their “regret at having, as inexperienced freemasons, acted improperly”, further pleading that “the Book of Constitutions was being revised and therefore they had no copy”, when the Lodge had been constituted. Eventually, Apollo petitioned the Grand Master to permit the initiation of “gentlemen under 21 years of age”, promising that those proposed for initiation would be selected as eligible according to their “character and rank”.
The Lodge grew steadily through the 19th century and enjoyed a period of social extravagance in the latter part of the 19th century. Royal affiliations were strong, with the Lodge organising a ball in celebration of the wedding of Edward Prince of Wales in 1863. Queen Victoria’s youngest son Leopold was installed as master of Apollo in 1876.
The records suggest that the 20th Century and the war years were more testing for Apollo. Aside from an influx of ex-servicemen after the first world war, annual initiations declined to on average below 20. The government requested that the Lodge’s meetings be suspended following the outbreak of war in 1939. Whilst Lodge activity resumed in 1945, these years were more mundane than the pre-war heyday.
Joining Apollo
In Cherwell’s conversations with Apollo members, we were intrigued to uncover the variety of routes that led people to join the organisation. Whilst the secretive nature is intriguing for some, others are drawn in because they have close friends who are part of Apollo, or even have freemasonry running in the family.
Chris Noon, Apollo University Lodge Secretary, told Cherwell about his path: “I knew about freemasonry because my dad joined when I was about twelve. He didn’t tell me much about it at the time, but he took my family to a couple of open guest dinners, and we met some really great people. I had thought I’d join his Lodge when I turned 21, but then I had a chance encounter with someone who turned out to be a member of Apollo, who told me that I could join it younger because it’s a University Lodge (I was 19 at the time). I asked my dad whether he thought I should do this, or wait to join his Lodge, and he said he thought I’d get more out of it if I joined at University, where there would be more young people (and people who lived near me). And he was right!”
Currently, the qualifying age to join freemasonry is 18. Apollo’s current membership is around 300 and is made up of roughly 100 members of the University and its departments, as well as alumni.
Like most lodges, Apollo does not recruit its members. Instead, it operates through a three-tiered application process. This begins with those who are interested in contacting the Lodge through its website. Once someone has got in touch, a two-stage interview process follows; the first being an informal chat with one of the Officers of Apollo University Lodge, with no preparation or detailed knowledge of freemasonry being expected. The second interview is more formal, and candidates are expected to have dived into Freemasonry and reflected on the initial meeting.
The current Master, Alexander Yen, gave Cherwell insight into the specific questions asked in the interviews. In essence, interviewers want to know what the appeal of freemasonry is to the applicants. Yen told Cherwell: “We ask for an understanding of the three grand principles, what brotherly love means, what relief means, what truth means. Often, we try and ask them to link to personal experience; is there something that in their life that they have done? Have they been involved in charity before?”
Yen highlighted that the Lodge takes into account the different personal circumstances of prospective members. He stressed that the interviewers are keen to expose any of the applicant’s political ambitions. This is particularly crucial as discussion of politics and religion is forbidden among members. He said that an applicant might be asked: “Are you planning to be politically involved, and likely to cause political controversies for the Lodge?” Yen added that they “try and ensure people who are politically involved join after any ambitions are extinguished.”
It is a condition of membership that an applicant has belief in a Supreme Being or “Grand Architect of the Universe”. Crucially, this does not mean a subscription to religion.
Whilst a freemason’s commitment to brotherly loyalty may appear to have the potential for scheming and corruption in professional spheres, Noon emphasised that applicants should not wish to join Apollo University Lodge as a networking society: “Anyone who is thinking about joining to make business connections would be told that this isn’t what Freemasonry is about and that there are other societies one could join for this purpose, like Rotary… or, well, LinkedIn!”
Data suggests that the total number of initiates in 2023 will be roughly between 20-25. Over the last decade (2012 – 2022), Apollo University Lodge averaged about 19 Initiates a year. Figures include the pandemic but exclude members initiated at other lodges.
Graph showing annual intake of Apollo University Lodge between 2012-2022
Image problems
If any at all, the image Freemasonry has come to cultivate is a slightly blurry, non-transparent one. Secretive, male-only Oxford dining societies tend to court bad press. The perception that Oxford freemasonry represents something elitist and outdated came to the forefront in Michaelmas 2022. Timetabling issues at the Oxford Union led to Freemason drinks clashing with a state school-oriented access social event. Cherwell reported that the Freemasons’ “appearance in white tie caused particular upset” among attendees at the Union event.
Chris Noon suggested that perceptions of Freemasonry as exclusive and elitist were misguided. He himself attended a state school and felt that it was patronising to suggest that aspects of Masonic convention such as a dress code consisting of white tie and breeches might alienate those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. When asked about the intake for this year, he admitted that the Lodge does not collect demographic data, but said that “these people are of a number of different nationalities and socioeconomic backgrounds.”
It is notable that accusations pertaining to the potentially exclusive and collusive nature of freemasonry have courted press attention beyond Oxford in recent years. In 2017, the outgoing chair of the Policing Federation Steven White alleged that progressive policing reforms intending to support women and officers from black and ethnic minority backgrounds were being blocked by freemasons within the police.
David Staples, erstwhile Chief Executive of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), responded in a letter to the press saying that “the idea that reform within the Police Federation or anywhere else is being thwarted by an organised body of freemasons is laughable”, and underlining the “organisational values of integrity and service to the community” shared by police officers and freemasons.
When interviewed, some members of Apollo University Lodge expressed irritation at what they viewed as unfair publicity in a press that largely disregards their charity work. One member, who was initiated into Apollo in 1968 and has since been active in various London Masonic lodges, mentioned the 210-foot ladder which freemason donations had funded for the London Fire Brigade, as well as the £3 million pledge made to the London Air Ambulance charity to help towards a fleet of two new helicopters costing £15 million in total.
The member complained that there was little news coverage of these activities. When asked about the secretive Masonic image, he referred to the war years, suggesting that Freemasonry “became more sensitive to what people thought of it because of Nazi persecution.” There is little doubt that Freemasonry became the target of Nazi propaganda linking Jews and Freemasons, particularly before the war.
Others have suggested that secrecy is an integral part of Freemasonry. Guardian journalist Iain Cobain wrote in 2018: “Freemasonry could not abandon its last vestiges of secrecy, even if individual masons wished to, because it is key to the future of the brotherhood. Men continue to join in order to discover what is being hidden from them.”
Moving Forward
Staples, who was Chief Executive Officer of UGLE for five years. He told Cherwell that the position of CEO was created with him at the helm as part of a broader effort to modernise and open up the Masonic community.
In 2018, the Guardian reported that Staples said that the perception of freemasonry as a secretive organisation is changing. He added: “We have a greater resolve to put forward a case – and it is a positive argument – to highlight that we are driven by integrity, by a desire to help those less fortunate than us, and to stem the flow of negative perceptions which has unfairly dominated public perception.”
Notable recent developments include the 2007 establishment of the Universities Scheme. This programme intends to broaden the appeal of freemasonry to a younger audience beyond Oxbridge. Noon said: “The Universities’ Scheme was set up to give students at more universities the opportunity to learn about and join freemasonry while they are still students.” He noted the success and popularity of Apollo and the Isaac Newton Lodge at Cambridge, suggesting that the lower age of 18 at which one can become initiated into University lodges “gives it a chance to become a part of your life before you have career or family commitments.”
Whilst Apollo University Lodge remains a lodge exclusively for men, other lodges accept women. This follows in a tradition of women’s freemasonry beginning with the exclusion of men from the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Masonry in the early 1920s. In Cherwell’s discussions with Apollo members, there were whisperings about the potential for an Oxford University women’s lodge. In the meantime, Noon told Cherwell that women who enquire about Apollo in Oxford are referred to the two women’s grand lodges in England, Freemasonry for Women and Order of Women Freemasons. Indeed, Noon was quick to reassure that “there are a few of these a year, too!”