Saturday, April 26, 2025
Blog Page 550

Food on Film

Joanna Lonergan
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Food on Film

Did you cringe watching Rocky down raw egg yolks, or Buddy the Elf dousing his spaghetti with maple syrup? If you’re honest, were you left with some form of emotional trauma after watching Miss Trunchbull force poor Bruce to eat that entire chocolate cake? Far from something to flesh out a scene or give characters something to do with idle hands, food is a subtle yet invaluable tool for filmmakers. Food is the medium through which feelings are given a flavour and through which the world of the audience merges with the world on-screen, anchoring even the most fantastic plot in reality.

The power of food to evoke feeling is well known. We all have a dish that takes us back; back to our childhood, a specific time or a specific place. For me, fish pie with ketchup reminds me of my Grandma, and slightly charred chipolatas, mashed potato and Bisto powder gravy instantly makes me think of Dad. Some of our most powerful memories revolve around food, and it’s the same on-screen. When Anton Ego took a bite of Remy’s ratatouille he was transported back to his childhood, his icy heart is melted and the audience can forgive him for being such a snob, and in Gilmore Girls, pop-tarts take Lorelai back in time to her rebellious teenage years. Characters’ personal connections to food injects emotion and humanity into them, allowing the audience to relate and immerse themselves further into their world.

Aside from the actual substance itself, food has an inherently social aspect to it. The dinner table can be set with tension, intimacy, even loneliness (the trope of a single woman coming home to an empty house, tucking in to a microwave meal is all too familiar). That famous scene in Lady and the Tramp (1955) both pulls on the heart-strings and is testament to the unifying potential of a shared meal. Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight (2016) is genius in the way it exploits food’s emotive potential. After drug-dealer Juan rescues ‘Little’ from bullies at a crackhouse, food is central to the development of their relationship. Juan and his girlfriend, Teresa, nourish Little with huge plates of food, eventually establishing enough trust for him to reveal his name is Chiron. Later in the film Chiron, now a young man, reunites with Kevin, his childhood romance. Again the dinner table becomes a bridge between the characters. Kevin prepares dinner for Chiron, and the cinematography of the cooking scene – shot in slow motion and set to a score – emphasises the love being poured in to the meal. When Chiron is hesitant to share any personal details of his life since they last met, Kevin says, “You know the deal: your ass eat, your ass speak”. Food, as well as an essential of life, becomes a vehicle of meaning, of underlying but intense emotion.

There are innumerable other ways food is used in film. In one of my favourites, The Hundred Foot Journey (2014), food’s centrality to culture is highlighted with the gulf between the two cuisines mirroring the the gulf between the two cultures. In Psycho, Norman watched on as Marion eats alone upon her arrival at Bates Motel, giving the scene an uncomfortable and ambiguous tone, hinting at what’s to come. And, who could forget Quentin Tarantino’s brilliant juxtaposition of aesthetic, nourishing food with intense, destructive violence. Often presented (intentionally) as insignificant, food gives film an emotional, and meaningful, core.

Freshers’ guide to the Oxford drama scene

Ellie Cooper and Pierce Jones
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Freshers’ guide to the Oxford drama scene

ELLIE – ON THE STAGE

Drama at Oxford is a vast, thriving scene with four main theatres putting on as many as two shows a week, garden plays in summer, tours to the Fringe, and short films too. There’s a wealth of productions to see or take part in; classics for your more serious dramaturges; devised comedies; large-scale musicals. OUDS – Oxford University Drama Society – provides funding for productions, advertises upcoming auditions and plays, and is there to answer all your questions about performing at Oxford.

It’s great to get involved with in first year because it provides a support network of friends. Performing in Anna Karenina last Michaelmas introduced me to second and third years who, as a nervous fresher, were invaluable helping me settle in during my first few months at Oxford. You can end up juggling plays, editing, sports, work – and thriving! Friends outside your college means you have people beyond your little bubble to go for a drink with – useful if you’re trying to escape any drama within college… Going to the Fringe this year with Redacted Arachnid was probably one of the best experiences of my life – seeing new, innovative theatre and performing every day in a gorgeous city is an amazing way to spend your summer.

So, how do you get involved? If you’re an actor, you can audition via the OUDS website – subscribe to their mailing list to hear about new auditions and then, if you see something you’d like to be involved in, sign up! Different shows have different ways of auditioning, but the most common is to prepare a short monologue. You can find monologues in most modern plays – although if you’re auditioning for Hamlet maybe stick with Shakespeare! Try to get friends to watch you perform it before you go – a bit of practice with an audience will boost your confidence (or be hilarious entertainment for non-thesp friends!).

This term I’m directing my first Oxford production – Things I Know to Be True in 4th Week, shameless plug – and it has definitely been a learning experience. Putting on a show requires assembling a production team, bidding for a theatre slot and then securing funding, marketing, hiring and designing set and lights – and that’s before even rehearsing your actors! If you’re keen to put on your own production, I’d recommend asking to shadow a producer or director first so you can see the process.

If you want to be involved in drama, go for it! There’s a really buzzing scene with absolutely loads to get involved in, but don’t be put off if you don’t manage to get in on your first try! It’s very normal to be nervous, but the majority of people are inclusive and lovely, and any bad experiences are few and far between. Keep pushing: if you work hard and are kind you will definitely find a way to be involved.

PIERCE – BEHIND THE SCENES 

Oxford’s drama scene involves so much more than acting, although unfortunately often the wide range of opportunities available goes under the radar. 

My experience lies within ‘behind-the-scenes’ production crew of a show – the team that make sure the actors have everything they need to put on a fantastic performance. If you’re a fan of theatre but have a bit of stage fright, have a passion for technical work or artistic design, or just love sending emails and making projects come to fruition, then perhaps this lesser known area of theatre could be exactly what you’re after.

Like most thespians, I began my journey with Drama Cuppers. Having already done a lot of acting at school and a bit of directing, Cuppers was such a great chance to work with a new group of friends and learn the ropes when putting on a show in student theatre, alongside getting my first taste of budgeting, ticket selling and marketing. It was great fun and would 100% recommend getting involved!

I then signed myself up to various mailing lists, including OUDS and TAFF, and liked Facebook pages advertising crew calls, such as the ‘OUDS Producers’ Network’ and ‘Graphic Designers of Oxford’. These are fantastic – anyone looking for a crew will begin here. If applying, try beginning with assistant roles to get some experience, but also to confirm you enjoy it. Some positions can be a large time commitment so it’s important to do something that excites you! Furthermore, some positions, like Sound or Costume Design, you might not have done before but are curious about. Assistant roles are a great way to experiment with new passions.

Once you gain more experience, you’ll probably find yourself in demand! Unfortunately, Oxford drama does suffer from nepotism. If you do well as part of a team, often a new director might pop up on Facebook with a job to save themselves the hassle of sifting through half-a-dozen application forms and interviews. It’s not ideal and can be elitist, but pages like OUDS are still frequently used- don’t be disheartened!

My first big role came as Marketing Director of Chicago, a fabulous and very famous musical set in crime-filled 1920s America, involving plenty of sex and scandal – watch out in 7th week! I bagged this after a good interview with minimal experience. 

A friend heard and asked me to market Crave, at the Piltch in 3rd Week, an extremely engaging exploration of love, born in the radical 90s with a morbid tone refreshing in a typically unadventurous Oxford drama scene. With this came further opportunities. I’m now Producer of the company GOYA, marketing three shows and producing another two. 

My advice: first, don’t wait for an opportunity to come your way. Hunt them. Second, hard work always goes noticed and will open doors. Third, although helpful, you don’t need lots of experience to do well, just good ideas and a lot of passion! 

Oh – and try not to forget your degree. 

A perfect fit: inside a course on lingerie making

Sophie Grapentin
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A perfect fit: inside a course on lingerie making

After years of loving lingerie, working in a high-end lingerie boutique and even basing my university thesis on it, it seemed only fitting to finally learn how to sew it. My at-home experiments had been unsuccessful, so I decided to get an expert to teach me. Here is what you can expect from taking an UAL summer short course in London.

To sum up the experience in a few sentences: The title of class was ‘Structured Bra-Making’. All bras are made in the size 34B. You’ll make three different styles and all materials are included in the course fee. You have to bring your own tools and if you sew quickly you can even make a pattern from your own bra so you’ll also have one in your size. The course went for five days with five-and-a-half hours of class every day and one hour lunch and a 30 min tea break. It took place in the University of the Arts London building in Mare Street.

As a complete beginner I was probably the least prepared person in the class. The other people there were almost all interested in starting their own lingerie brand or were already selling their own designs online. Some were fashion or design students interested in expanding their skill set.

The teacher, Linda Wing, is a lecturer at the London College of Fashion and also works as a designer and technician for lingerie brands. Linda introduced every bra by explaining the materials and presenting us with the patterns. We also got a written instruction and a beautiful technical drawing of the style we were making. Linda told us how the fabric should be positioned so that the softest possible side goes against the skin. Making a bra might be a highly specialised and technical undertaking but the end result is a sensuous and sensual garment after all! Considering the different skill levels of the students Linda made sure that her feedback was appropriate to their abilities. When a messed up wire casing meant my spirits were sinking, she cheered me up by pointing out how the inside of the cup had turned out nice and neat and how well-shaped it was. For more advanced students she had more criticism. For those aspiring to be business owners she made sure that their sewing was to a high retail standard.

With plenty of quick eating options around, I used the lunch break to get to know my fellow students. Karla* (*name changed by editorial staff) for example has come all the way from Mexico. Over green smoothie and olives we compared our respective countries’ attitudes to lingerie. Why do women wear it? Do men appreciate or even like the lingerie of their girlfriends? What styles are popular? We agreed that the reign of padded bras is generally over now. Karla has her own small lingerie business. She told me that her bestseller is a softcup triangle bralette. Another student, Elaisa* is working on creating a swimwear brand in Egypt after a successful career in advertising. Despite age and culture differences, conversation was flowing and topics ranged from lingerie designs to sexist politics. As we discussed the role of the right bra when making made-to-measure, Linda joined in and shared that bra fitting models at large retailers have to inform the pattern makers about their menstrual cycle as hormonal changes can change the size of their breasts. Ultimately, I did not just learn how to make lingerie. I also got a peak behind the scenes of the industry and a glimpse at lingerie through the eyes of cultures from places as distant as North Africa and Central America.

By the end of the five days, I had made 3 bras (though the last one is missing the straps after I miscalculated the time – oops): a lace soft cup with an underwire, a lightly padded 3-part cup with underwires and a wireless soft cup with a pretty lace trim. I tried them on the mannequin and am ecstatic that they fit.

Overall, the course left me with exactly what it had promised: the skills necessary to understand bra patterns, to cut parts correctly and sew them together. I was introduced to different industrial machines like one for wire casing, and had the chance to practice the techniques under the instruction of an expert. Am I now able to make my own bras? No, I am not. I can neither pattern grade nor design. But the class left me with a stable base to continue learning and even more respect for the designers and seamstresses creating the beautiful things I so adore.

W. G. Still: The Forgotten American Tchaikovsky

Kurien Parel
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W. G. Still: The Forgotten American Tchaikovsky

Even the most enthusiastic classical music listeners probably have never come across the composer William Grant Still, who was at one time considered among America’s leading composers. A Time cover story in 1940 on Disney’s rendition of the Rite of Spring casually lists Still in the same category as Hindemith and Prokofiev.

According to The Cambridge History of American Music, “No composer plummeted from authentic prominence to an eclipse more total than endured by William Grant Still.”

Referred to by some as “the Dean of Afro-American composers”, Still was arguably America’s most successful symphonist of his time. His first symphony (1930) was performed by 38 different orchestras in its first 20 years, making it, according to musicologist Edith Borroff, the most popular American symphony until the 1950s. On being shown a recording of the symphony, Sibelius simply remarked: “He has something to say.”

Portrait of Still by Carl Van Vechten

It was therefore not surprising that Still was awarded a commission by the League of Composers for a piece on a patriotic theme during World War II. According to Still, his “thoughts turned to the colored soldiers around the world.” Still himself had served in World War I in the US Navy and would have been cognisant of the particular challenges faced by black soldiers.

He titled his piece ‘In Memoriam, the Colored Soldiers who Died for Democracy’ emphasising the often-overlooked sacrifices of non-white soldiers in the war. The piece is solemn and is based on a black spiritual theme with a fanfare – a blend of Afro-American music with European classical idiom. The piece is not convolute but is, as Olin Downes of the New York Times reviewed it, “with simplicity and feeling.”

The US army at this time was segregated, with black soldiers relegated predominantly to menial roles and inferior facilities, subject to daily slights and injustices. Black American soldiers were at times even required to give up their seats to Nazi prisoners. Still would have been aware of the irony of black soldiers fighting and dying for the ideal of democracy when they themselves were denied basic freedoms. Like much of his music, the purpose of this piece was to dignify the marginalised.

The ‘In Memoriam’ piece was premiered by the New York Philharmonic in 1944 to much critical acclaim. A review in the New Yorker called it “one of the most successful works on war themes commissioned by the League of Composers.” John Briggs of the New York Post wrote: “Mr. Still may well become the American Tchaikovsky.”

WG Still’s fame as composer would reach its zenith at the end of the 1940s, when his opera with Langston Hughes’ libretto, Troubled Island, was produced by the New York City Opera – the first time an American work was performed by that opera company. Though awarded numerous honorary doctorates, “more than any other composer” according Boroff, he faced many difficulties as a classical composer in a hostile environment, and would, like the non-white soldiers he commemorated, be largely erased from the record.

You can listen to Still’s piece, ‘In Memoriam, The Colored Soldiers Who Died For Democracy’, here.

Extinction Rebellion at Oxford Museum of Natural History

Charlotte Moberly
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Extinction Rebellion at Oxford Museum of Natural History

Extinction Rebellion Oxford and the Oxford Museum of Natural history held a joint ‘Art-Science extravaganza’ yesterday to raise public awareness of the climate crisis.

The event involved the Extinction Rebellion talk ‘Heading for Extinction – and what to do about it’ as well as other talks, workshops and performance actions.

Members of the public were invited to engage with XR Oxford members, OUMNH staff, climate scientists and ecologists to learn more about the climate crisis.

A Masked Intervention was also performed by XR Youth, Student and School Strike members. Different students wore half-face masks representing endangered British species, in an act designed to ‘communicate ecological breakdown in the British countryside.’

Outside the museum, XR worked with the Sumatran Orangutan Society to stage multi-media performance actions which visitors saw as they arrived.

A variety of workshops aimed at different age groups were also on offer, including one on the events of the Oxford Citizens’ Assembly, which was launched at the Said Business school on Saturday.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Steve Dawe, from Extinction Rebellion Oxford, said: “We agreed together to have this arts and culture event to highlight in many different ways the issues with climate change.

“It was aimed at all different age groups, those with the knowledge about climate change and those without much knowledge on climate change, children and young adults, as well as older adults.

“It produced a considerable amount of interest.”

Review – Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve F*cked

Kate Whittington
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Review – Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve F*cked

I’m sure that some have sat down to watch this one-man show under the assumption that the title is merely figurative. After all, phrases like ‘men are pigs’ and ‘going at it like rabbits’, which figure in our everyday speech indicate clearly the connections we continue to make between our own sexual desires and those of animals. But the show is exactly as described in the title. It’s no surprise that some have been shocked – director Katharine Armitage recalls a night in Edinburgh where a third of the audience walked out – but there was no visible outrage in the BT studio.

The play is set for the most part in Bobby’s (played by Linus Karp) room, with the BT’s studio rendered stifling by the invisible walls imposed either side of the rumpled bed which becomes the centrepiece of Bobby’s interactions. There seems to be a proportional relationship through which Bobby’s proximity to the bed and to sex itself coaxes his eagerness closer to confidence. When he leaves the bed and is forced to confront the reality of offering his guest cat food, or an exit out of the window, that confidence wanes. Karp plays these moments beautifully, releasing himself and the audience from an involuntary engrossment in the charade that these animals might provide more than a night of companionship. 

The most painful reality for Bobby is that they will never talk back, yet there’s a constant tension that a goat may really manifest before us. This is due in part to the script itself, which Armitage describes as a series not of monologues but of “failed conversations” and to Karp’s strong sense of the animals as real figures on the stage. Bobby’s belief that a dog might speak is as foolish as my own nervy expectation that the same dog might appear on the pillow. 

Karp is a method actor who envisions the animals as people. I find the play most unsettling when the interactions veer closest to being human and to human acts of consent and coercion. Animals cannot give consent. Bobby’s awkward suggestions of shared business ventures or running away to the wilderness together made my skin crawl – proposed with earnestness but full of desperation and uncomfortably familiar in their assertion of the extension of a consent not given. 

Despite this, Bobby is far from contemptible. He is saved from the audience’s disgust by his self-deprecation, his quiet revealing of a painful past, his tentative jokes. His honesty. His loneliness. The choices he makes because of his solitude are atypical but the emotions that propel them are easily recognised.

On his Crowd-funder page Karp writes that amidst “Brexit chaos and a continued struggle over LGBTQIA+ rights, this production puts a queer European centre-stage for our audiences”. I ask him if the show has been popular with queer audiences. It has, and Karp highlights father figure relationships as a prevalent issue in the queer community, which is explored in the play, as well as citing queer audiences as often being open-minded enough to take a chance on the production. There is no equation between queer sex and sex with animals, but the queer experience is often recognised.

As the play progresses, it becomes clear that Bobby cannot keep his passion under control: he leaves a private book at his workplace after storming out and suggests that his computer will likely be taken by the police. The sirens outside his window blare louder and louder. In these moments of intrusion, the simplicity and scale of the set is most effective as our perception of Bobby’s room as an impenetrable space that exists outside of human laws is fractured. In the final scene, Bobby speaks to an animal which stands in the centre of the audience. The script lagged slightly here, losing some of its tension through a somewhat lost sense of direction. Still, without an imaginary space to focus on as the target of Bobby’s anxious affection, I found the intimacy of the one-sided conversation almost unbearable.

In an interview with the Guardian, Rob Hayes, the author commented “You’re always going to lose people, and I think I’ve lost quite a few friends over this play, but I’m at peace with that”. After the show, I ask Karp and Armitage if have lost any friends over the subject matter. The answer is no. Karp tells me that a typical question to be asked is ‘Why bestiality?’ It seems to me that that is a question of lesser interest. The play is not really about animals.

Scottish access initiative launched by Brasenose student

Fraser Maclean
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Scottish access initiative launched by Brasenose student

A second-year student at Brasenose, Michael McGrade, has founded a project aiming to increase the number of successful Oxbridge applications from Scottish state schools.

The Clydeside Project provides prospective Scottish applicants with ‘mentors’ – current Oxbridge students who can answer questions and give advice about the application process.

Students from Scottish state schools are heavily under-represented at the University of Oxford. A recent Freedom of Information request submitted by McGrade shows that in the 2018 Oxford intake only 16 students came from Scottish state schools. This means that in the same intake, there were 13 English private schools that each sent more children to Oxford than the entire Scottish state school system. Eton and Westminster sent more than double.

Students from Scottish state schools are heavily under-represented at the University of Oxford. A recent Freedom of Information request submitted by McGrade shows that in the 2018 Oxford intake only 16 students came from Scottish state schools. This means that in the same intake, there were 13 English private schools that each sent more children to Oxford than the entire Scottish state school system. Eton and Westminster sent more than double.

McGrade, who is studying History and Economics, told Cherwell: “Every year just a handful of English schools are sending ten times as many students to Oxford as Scotland’s entire state sector. These figures reflect the failings of the university’s outreach efforts. Scotland does not even have a link college with Oxford, unlike every region in England.

“Free tuition can only be held partly responsible for Scotland’s poor Oxbridge record. Applications rose in line with England after the trebling of fees in 2012. The universities and UK government have nonetheless badly miscommunicated the English student finance system. Few in Scotland know that graduates repay as they earn.

“The goal of The Clydeside Project is to make Oxbridge a serious option for the many hundreds of deserving Scots who currently do not apply. Mentoring, provided through Access Oxbridge, will help those without the financial resources or family connections to assist their application.”

The project is accepting registrations from students who are keen to mentor applicants – and it has beenemphasised that students of any nationality can register. Those studying sciences are particularly encouraged to sign up.

More details can be found on the project’s website.

A conference to remember

Simon Hunt
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A conference to remember

After all this week’s political turmoil, it’s easy to forget that there was a Labour Conference taking place. I have not forgotten though, as I was fortunate enough to get a press pass for Cherwell and spent the week there. Four days at my first ever party conference were made even more exciting with access to the press and broadcast rooms, where I was sitting alongside the nations most revered (and most reviled) political journalists, commentators and broadcasters. I don’t think I could have chosen a more eventful first conference to attend.

There were three tensions in this conference which had to be resolved. The first was to finally settle the party’s position on Brexit and bring an end to the shadow cabinet’s “constructive ambiguity” position which had been just about coherent enough to unite (most) of the shadow cabinet. The second was to safeguard the Corbyn legacy: there was a realisation among his acolytes that Jeremy Corbyn would not open next year’s party conference as leader of the opposition, and if he couldn’t open it as prime minister, then there had better be someone fashioned in his image to take the party forward. The third – a product of the first two – was the threat that Tom Watson posed to the success of the conference: the deputy leader both readily criticised the party position on Brexit and was a serious threat to the Corbyn project.

The first tension manifested itself in the form of two different motions on Brexit which were put before delegates to vote on. Both involved the promise of a second Brexit referendum, but one included a condition that the party and its leader automatically campaigned for remain. Jeremy Corbyn, already only a “seven out of ten” Europhile (but by some accounts a seven out of ten Eurosceptic) was not keen to commit himself automatically to remain, not least because it would alienate Labour from one in three of its voter base. In perhaps not a gleaming example of the party’s democratic process in action, it was decided by a show of hands that the non-remain position did not carry, before Jenny Formby, the party’s General Secretary, advised the chair that she thought it had done, and so, amid consternation and calls for votes to be formally counted, the motion was then carried. By a rather circuitous route, the first tension had been resolved – for now.

The second tension materialised at conference with a bang in the form of what looked to be a secret plot (or as Watson called it, a “drive-by shooting”) to oust Tom Watson by abolishing the position of deputy leader. A party structure with a leader but no deputy to undermine him would safeguard the longevity of the Corbyn project. The move seemed sinister and contrived and, successful or otherwise, if put to a vote could have caused a major rift in the parliamentary party. Jeremy Corbyn stepped in to declare that he instead wanted two deputy leader roles, one man and one woman, to guarantee greater representation in the party. The more innocuous proposal was just about enough to evade full-blown party warfare, but it’s fair to say not everyone was convinced of its benign motivations.

The third tension, which the second had done nothing to ease, would come to a head at Tom Watson’s speech on the penultimate day of conference. Here lay an opportunity, in front of all party delegates and the country’s media, for Watson to sully Corbyn’s reputation and ensure that the mood at conference would be downbeat and fractious when he would take to the podium for his leader’s speech, scheduled for the following day. It seemed only a miracle could get the party out of this quandary. And a miracle was what the party got. In a flash, on Tuesday the Supreme Court announced their verdict (I will never forget hearing the collective gasp amongst columnists in the press room, watching the live stream), parliament would sit the following day, Corbyn’s speech would have to be brought forward and Watson’s cancelled. Before Watson could even open his mouth to protest, broadcasters and commentators had packed their things to head for College Green, and the news cycle had moved on.

I think it’s fair to say that none of the three central pre-existing tensions had been resolved by conference. But I think Corbyn can stride back into parliament in high spirits: the conference was brimming with opportunities for disputes to erupt into dogfights, and yet marvellously none of them did.

“Better for Oxbridge students”: Oxbridge only grad employment scheme launches

Lois Heslop and Sam Millward
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“Better for Oxbridge students”: Oxbridge only grad employment scheme launches

A start-up careers service claims to fast-track applications from Oxbridge students to internships in FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies.

Dreaming Spires, founded by a recent Oxford graduate, claims to “streamline the job and internship application process for Oxbridge students”, and to be “better for Oxbridge students”. The new service, launched this week, also claims that students from Oxford and Cambridge can upload their CVs and be invited directly to interview, cutting out the application process and the “noise” from applicants at other universities.

The Dreaming Spires website states that “for many of us, we applied to Oxbridge for the love of our subject, but also because of the career boost. Dreaming Spires is now here to fast-track this.”

Dreaming Spires has recruited Student Advisors across the Oxford colleges to advertise the “exclusive” service to undergraduates, branded as being “better for employers” on JCR pages. Allegations of elitism have been made online against the company.

A recent study by the Sutton Trust, entitled “Elitist Britain 2019” found that of 5000 FTSE 350 executives, 39% had been privately educated, compared with 7% of the general population, and 31% of FTSE 100 CEOs have attended Oxbridge.

In politics, of Johnson’s cabinet, 64% are privately educated and 45% attended Oxford or Cambridge.

The team and list of firms involved has not yet been released.

Dreaming Spires have been contacted for comment.

Interview: Jacqui Smith

Simon Hunt
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Interview: Jacqui Smith

I meet Jacqui at the Big Tent Ideas Festival, a day of political debate and discussion with MPs, academics and journalists held in Mudchute in South London. The former Home Secretary was appointed chair of the Jo Cox Foundation in May 2019. As is customary at all political events these days, before entering the venue I have to pass through a thorough security check, where a metal detector is passed up and down me, the contents of my backpack emptied out , each item individually inspected – a reminder of how much effort is now needed just to ensure MPs are able to engage with the public in safety.

Jacqui is speaking at a panel discussion on the abuse facing those in public life, alongside Angela Eagle MP and Lord Jonathan Evans. Among the ideas discussed on the panel was  Eagle’s proposal for an outright ban on all anonymous social media accounts,  given that these are disproportionately responsible for the proliferation of abuse. I ask Jacqui whether that’s something she supports: She seems reticent to endorse a full ban on anonymity.

“There might be circumstances like whistleblowing where anonymity is justified,” the former Home Secretary says. “What is not justified is hiding behind anonymity to commit criminal acts.”

The volume of abuse directed at parliamentarians has ballooned in recent years. Research by Amnesty International on online abuse in 2017 revealed the full extent of the problem. In the period January to June 2017, 8,121 out of 140,057 of all tweets mentioning @HackneyAbbott, the Twitter Handle of Diane Abbott MP were classified as abusive. Women and minority MPs are disproportionately affected: the shadow Home Secretary receives almost half of all abusive tweets directed at women MPs.

Some  rudimentary Twitter research confirms that the problem persists. [mi3] Just in September 2019 I found hundreds of abusive Tweets directed at Diane Abbott, who was called a ‘traitor’ 104 times, ‘fat’ 27 times, ‘ugly’ 20 times, ‘cow’ 18 times, ‘twat’ 18 times, ‘bitch’ 14 times, ‘pig’ 10 times. I also found over 100 tweets in the last 3 days alone calling Diane ‘thick’. It’s quite shocking to see how brazenly people are prepared to issue insults and verbal attacks on their representatives – I’m minded not to quote several full length abusive tweets as Amnesty have done.

But, I ask Jacqui, while social media has given a platform to those who wish to abuse MPs online, what difference would it make to shut them down? The people would still exist, they would still hold and express the same views, only it would be less visible to the rest of us as they go underground.

“It’s not just that social media is what people say face-to-face. Social media radicalises: it develops the attitudes not just facilitates communication.” Smith tells me.

“There is considerable evidence of a growth in intimidation, death threats and abuse. The business model incentivises this – there is a premium for agitation.”

Jacqui tells me the visibility of abusive online messages is causing those who work or want to work in politics to reconsider.

“What shocks me is the way in which verbal and physical abuse is so prominent – I’m really worried about that. I’ve spoken to people who say they want to step down. People who changed their roles because of threats and intimidation. People say it prevents them from coming forward.”

“Everybody has the right to demonstrate and protest – that is a healthy thing but not when it undermines the democratic system. One of the things identified is a view that the democratic system is illegitimate.”

This narrative of an illegitimate democracy was arguably what motivated the murderer of Jo Cox, who is alleged to have shouted “this is for Britain” before carrying out his attack.

The murder, which took place days before the EU referendum, was a great shock to both the country and to the world. This was the first time in over 25 years that a sitting British MP had been killed. I ask Smith whether the murder was a freak occurrence, or evidence of a much wider phenomenon. “What happened to Jo Cox is not a one-off. There has already been a plot to murder Rosie Cooper MP earlier this year which was stopped by the police.” Jacqui refers to the plot by far-right extremist who purchased a sword online and researched how to cut the jugular artery before his plans were thwarted by an informant. Renshaw was sentenced to life in May 2019. It is especially chilling to think that there is a real risk of future attacks.

Does the severity of the risk call for strong legislative change to mitigate the risk of further violence? Smith is clear that the Jo Cox foundation is not in the business of lobbying for changes to the law, or to make party-political points: “We don’t want changes in legislation but rather a joint standard agreed between all parties. The Foundation has three objectives; local communities that are engaged, cohesive and able to contribute to what’s going on; a national politics that is lively but also respectful and developing a fairer world.” A message which I think few can disagree with.

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