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Articles by Will Dry
Will Dry: Small-c conservatism is the key to better disaster planning
Will Dry is a student from Chichester. Conservatives think so little about conservatism that they have failed to notice that a certain breed of it has performed remarkably well in the 21st Century, and will be increasingly required in the remainder of it. The breed can be summarised as two broad beliefs. First, that in the face of the immense epistemic limitations that both individuals and societies face, a key aim of governments should be to try and at least prevent catastrophically bad outcomes.
Redefining the Will of the People
We must always respect the will of the people – a people which debates, deliberates, and changes its mind. I voted to Leave the European Union. I was proud of that decision at the time, and I own that decision today. I am not a fundamentally different person now than I was two years ago, at age 18, because I still believe in the values I sought to express with my vote.
A custom-made deal for Britain?
Could Tory splits over the customs union give progressives the opportunity to set the agenda – and what would that look like? Conor Pope, Alison McGovern and Richard Angell discuss that – as well as the new LabourSay campaign to give members a say on Brexit at conference – with Wolverhampton North East MP Emma Reynolds. You can also download the episode on iTunes here.
The Last Word: centrists for Corbyn?
Labour will have to do better if it wants to be in government, writes Robert Philpot Despite the excitable claims of the massed ranks of Jeremy Corbyn’s Twitter armies, Labour’s local election performance last week was decidedly underwhelming. Leave aside the party’s chronic expectation-management failure. Despite a net gain in seats, and a tightening of its grip on London, Labour ended the night at a level-peg with the Tories in the projected national share of the vote.
Why we need a People’s Vote
For Brexit to be democratic, we must give the public a say on the final deal, writes Will Dry Having voted Leave, I was proud as dawn broke on Brexit Britain on the 24th June. Proud that my fellow citizens would bravely stand against the experts – the IMF, the Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Prime Minister, instead favouring their own intuitions.
Having our cake and eating it: why we need the customs union
It is time we faced up to the necessity of the customs union, writes Alison McGovern ‘Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!’ shouts the Wizard of Oz, after being exposed as a charlatan and snake-oil salesman. Given the current debate around leaving the customs union, he might as well have been played by Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, or any of the other duplicitous Brexit-cheerleaders.
Brexit will inflict untold damage on young people - join our campaign to stop it
The most tragic thing is that George Osborne was right. He was the wrong messenger, but he was right. The “blackhole” in the UK’s finances he warned looks set to become a reality. As the price tag of Brexit becomes clearer, and more definite, soft Leavers should think carefully about what they’re really doing: inflicting a more sustained, equally brutal, round of austerity on the next generation.
David Lammy: “You cannot describe Oxford as an inclusive environment”
Labour MP David Lammy tells Will Dry why he’s taking on Oxford’s “exclusive” application process, and how students should help David Lammy is a lighthouse in British politics: he seeks out rocky outcrops of injustice, where he sees the elite failing the people, and brings them into the light of public scrutiny. He labelled the Grenfell fire a “monstrous crime” and “corporate manslaughter” in the days after the tragedy.
“Do I think Oxford will be number one in 50 years’ time? No.”
“I’m not going to get myself… well I’ll get myself in trouble anyway.” Louise Richardson was thinking aloud in response to a question. It did not matter which question. She is not, and has never been, confined by societal limitations on what can and cannot be said. She will contravene convention by answering the question, not rewording it.
New Jesus fresher: Ex-Australian PM Kevin Rudd
A former Prime Minister of Australia will begin studying at Jesus College this term. Kevin Rudd was the Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010 and again in 2013, and will be reading for a DPhil on the worldview of the Xi Jinping, the President of China. He spoke to Cherwell earlier this week, while in Oxford to address the Oxford Union.
Drunk Tory official defaces church
An appointed committee member of the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) was suspended last term after an act of drunken vandalism. Following OUCA’s weekly Port and Policy event, at which the individual in question served port, he and two accomplices crossed St Giles’ road, climbed the flag pole of the Oratory Church, and tore down its papal flag. The incident has sparked allegations of prevalent anti-Catholicism within the Assocation.
Andrew Adonis: “Increasing tuition fees has made the Tories unbreakably toxic”
Photo: Michael Walter/Troika under the Creative Commons 2.0 licence.Tony Blair summed up his priorities in just three words – “education, education, education” – and entrusted his flagship revolution in Britain’s schools to just one man: Andrew Adonis.
Oxford’s vice-chancellor, Louise Richardson, has criticised “tawdry politicians” for linking high levels of pay for university vice-chancellors with tuition fees.
Richardson, who earns £350,000 a year, said that it wasn't her job to make students "feel comfortable" Louise Richardson, the vice-chancellor, has come under fire from Oxford SU for comments she made during the Times Higher Education Summit. Richardson, who also attacked “tawdry politicians” for the handling of the dispute around her pay level, suggested that students cannot be offended on University campuses.
We need a Second ReferendumWill Dry makes the case that governmental blunders necessitate a second crack for RemainPhoto: PxHere40 years of integration with our neighbours is about to be fundamentally reversed. Borders, custom checks, policing, nuclear, genetic – the beginnings of the negotiations have shone a penetrating light upon the previously nebulous picture of our relations with the EU.
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