Ben Bradshaw has been Exeter’s MP since 1997. Image credit: Niklas Rahmel
Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw is offering internships at his Westminster office to students from the University this summer.
The former Labour cabinet minister, who is seeking re-election in 2015, will give second year politics or international relations students duties including “policy casework, research, diary management and dealing with the press.”
The unpaid position is being run in conjunction with the College of Social Sciences, in an attempt to further student learning.
The two-month long placement will be offered between mid June and early September to students capable of working in a fast-paced environment with sensitive information, who are “sympathetic” to Labour Party values.
It is one of a number of initiative that Bradshaw runs, having been in the seat for nearly 16 years.
The 53-year-old said: “I try to offer short periods of work experience (not more than a week or two) to as many local school and college students as possible – in both my Exeter and London offices. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more demand than we have the capacity to manage.
It’s about the experience and insight gained by the students on the parliamentary placement scheme. We’ve had some very good and motivated Exeter undergraduates through the office on the scheme, who’ve made a useful contribution, but they’d probably admit that after just 2 months they’re still learning.”
Imogen Watson, a fourth year French and Politics student who has completed an internship in Bradshaw’s Westminster office said: “Spending a summer in Ben’s office was a fantastic eye-opener into the world of professional politics; I enjoyed every minute and would love to go back. Every day was a different set of challenges and Ben was incredibly accommodating, letting me shadow him and experience things I’d never have been able to otherwise.”
Though the University department will contribute towards travel and food, the position is officially unpaid, which raises some ethical questions given the controversy surrounding the ethics of unpaid internships.
Bradshaw is aware of such concerns and said: “I don’t use unpaid interns or people for longer than a couple of weeks unpaid as a matter of principle, unless, as is the case with the Exeter University scheme, they are placed with me as a formal part of their education or course, in which case we pay them what we can under the IPSA rules for food and travel on top of whatever help they get from their university.”
Those wishing to apply should contact Murray McKirdle via email (b.hill@exeter.ac.uk) by March 17. More information is detailed in the picture below.
During a recent trip to Exeter, Harrison Jones, Online News Editor met Chuka Umunna, Labour MP for Streatham and Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary. Here, he tells us all about it…
Image credits: The Guardian
Oddly located yet modern and bright, there is an obscure building on Streatham Campus called the Innovation Centre, and standing in the spacious lobby, deep in thought, is a man tipped by some as a future Prime Minister.
Chuka Umunna’s body language is open, his persona calm and head tilted to attention: he’s listening.
The Labour MP for Streatham certainly looks the part, but perhaps in somewhat unconventional fashion – The Daily Mail has labelled him the ‘Black Blair,’ others the ‘British Obama.’
Whilst Umunna tucks into a generous helping from the buffet laid on for the event, Exeter’s MP, Ben Bradshaw, is also the focus of some attention in the corner of the room, chatting away to various suited males who seem to think that they are important. The pair are here for an event with businesses from across the South West, with Shadow Business Secretary Umunna discussing how to return growth to the region.
As the two MPs interact it is striking that despite public cries of “they’re all the same,” these two politicians represent success stories for British minority groups. Sure, they are middle class and male, but Bradshaw is also one of very few openly homosexual MPs. Umunna, meanwhile, comes from a business/legal background and just like Bradshaw, is not Oxbridge-educated. Perhaps more importantly though, the 35-year-old hails from a multicultural background, being of Nigerian and Irish descent.
“We have a democratic crisis in this country,” he opens gravely, in a confident fashion belying his age.
“I believe people are more political than they have been for a long time – they’ve never felt so distant from politics and politicians. People like me need to get out more and talk to people, so I seek to do that.”
Hands clasped together, he laughs before casually swotting away the obvious question about any future leadership of the Labour party.
“You don’t go into politics for praise and adulation, you go into politics to change things. You don’t go into politics to get a particular role, you go into politics to effect some real, positive change for lots of people.”
Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw and Chuka Umunna, MP for Streatham and Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary Image credits: Harrison Jones
Its quickly becoming obvious that Umunna is a master of getting his pre-prepared message across no matter what the question and, with his assistant already twitchy about timings, that he is particularly talented at talking – seemingly ceaselessly.
“I campaigned really hard for my friend Ed Miliband to become the leader of our party,” he continues. Perhaps tellingly, he then subtly adds: “We can have hypothetical conversations about things in 20 years but what really matters is what happens now.”
Umunna’s narrative of the current climate is far from rosy, as he pays heed to Labour’s new economic criticism of the government which now centres around living standards.
“The British public are coming out of three years of flatlining growth – i.e., no growth – I don’t think they will be turning around and patting George Osborne on the back. The question is, you know, what is actually happening in people’s pay packets? And in 39 of the last 40 months, you’ve seen prices rising faster than wages, and on average British workers have sustained a £1,600 pay cut since the coalition have come to government.”
“The real question is: do people feel better off now than they did in 2010? And they don’t. They feel: ‘I’ve been working harder than ever before, I’m getting paid less, and things cost more.’”
Its a similar message to Ed Balls’, but the delivery is noticeably different. Informal and measured – yet still cutting – Umunna has a reflective quality to his speech, he pauses, he smiles, he’s expressive: when he speaks people listen. That is not evident in most politicians. And though it is a stretch to label him a ‘maverick,’ he manages to tick all the boxes whilst retaining a unique style.
Open to talking about things others avoid, Umunna – like his leader – is unafraid of using the ‘S’ word: “I’m quite happy to be described as a democratic socialist or a social democrat,” he says. Though when you consider that Tony Blair – perhaps the most right-wing Labour leader in history – was the first leader to call Labour a socialist party, the claim does not necessarily mean much.
Indeed, the ideological comparison with Blair has been noted by many. Umunna would not hesitate to send his children to private school, he values the market and says he is relaxed about “people getting filthy rich.” He even has a close relationship with the former prime minister, alongside the likes of Peter Mandelson and Michael Hesseltine.
Interesting then, that Ed Miliband – who has little in common with ‘New Labour’ values – would help Umunna to become an MP and then appoint him to the shadow cabinet, just 18 months after being elected.
But it is a sign of how much Umunna stands out, managing to balance the perception of a serious, thoughtful MP, with a relaxed and suave 30-something; whose accent slides between estuary English and polished private school tones. In an era when the perpetual cry of “they’re all the same” ring about a politically disenchanted public, Umunna’s appearance, name and background are refreshingly different, making him the perfect retort for that flawed statement.
Such credentials make him a prime candidate for Labour leadership – and possibly more. But whilst British politics needs change and Umunna represents people other MPs can not, it is his ideological similarity to some parliamentarians – namely Tony Blair – which could be far more ominous than those politicians who are “all the same.”
Protestors outside the Department of Health Image credits: 38 Degrees
During a recent homecoming, former Health Secretary and Exeter Alumnus Andrew Lansley spoke to James Roberts, Features Editor, about the Guild, government and a picture of his brain
Andrew Lansley is the former Health Secretary, who prescribed harsh treatment for the NHS and was duly struck off. After just over a year shrouded in the relative safety of a minor Cabinet position, Lansley’s name still inspires unrelenting rage in fogeyish surgeons and militant revolutionaries alike. As we sit in the Amory building awaiting his arrival, it’s clear from the hastily printed A4 flyers being thrust under the audience’s noses that many on campus have not forgotten the man that tried to ‘privatise the NHS’.
Despite the obvious pockets of ire, it’s immediately clear that he feels back on home turf at Exeter. “It has changed a lot since the late 1970s,” he observes, “but it’s nice to be back”. Lansley hasn’t visited as much as some of our other prominent alumni, but Exeter remains his political birthplace. “I was elected Guild President and won by 12 votes,” he recalls with a wistful air, “I won mainly because of a lack of appropriate candidates”. Perhaps less has changed than he might imagine. Indeed, in his time at Exeter, he may have had much in common with those currently stuffing Amory with anti-government WordArt. “I remember a sit-in protest that we did at Northcote House – I slept under the Vice-Chancellor’s desk,” Lansley chuckles. It might be only fitting then that the rebellious Guild President turned Conservative Health Secretary is given a taste of his own medicine.
Outside of his political activism, Lansley suggests he didn’t particularly shine as an undergraduate. “I was lucky to get in,” Lansley explains, “I didn’t get the grades but I got in anyway. I got C, D and E at A-Level, but (Professor of Political Theory then and now) Iain Hampshire Monk interviewed me and I got a place”. In spite of this, Lansley can’t help admitting that “political theory wasn’t so important, but my degree did teach me some good stuff about government and politics”. His degree did just that, taking Lansley all the way up the Civil Service food chain before his switch into politics. For many, it is his extensive time working behind the scenes which has given Lansley the eye for detail which has thrust him forward in frontline politics.
As a senior government bureaucrat, he decided to jump ship to work for the Conservative Party. “I was a civil servant,” he recounts, referencing revered political sitcom Yes Minister, “and I had to decide whether I wanted to be Sir Humphrey or Jim Hacker, and I wanted to be on the pitch playing the game rather than watching it from the stands”. Starting his new career playing political football, Lansley emerged from the tunnel to find himself facing the biggest match of his career, in the 1992 General Election. The stunning and undoubtedly unexpected Conservative victory rewarded Lansley with a place on the Tory A-list, a CBE and a minor stroke. “I was given a picture of my brain,” Lansley exclaims with alarming glee, “having pictures of your body parts is one of the weird parts of being a politician”.
While working for the Conservatives, Lansley remembers a young David Cameron working for him in his research department. Is it strange now to think that Cameron has asked Lansley to serve under him? “I can’t have been a bad boss then,” Lansley jests, with an almost uncomfortable chuckle. One cannot help but wonder if this extraordinary role reversal occurred to Lansley when Cameron replaced him with a new Health Secretary in late 2012.
Image credits: NHSE
Lansley’s time as Health Secretary has defined his place British politics. While Labour was in office, he spent six years shadowing the job yet lasted only two contentious years in government. “Politicians should do their jobs for a while and it makes sense for a shadow to do that job before they take it on in government,” he explains, at the same time noting of his own departure that “the ideas that one person could stay on as the Conservative health spokesman for a decade or more is ridiculous”. As the subject of scattered personal attacks, including the ‘Andrew Lansley rap’ and a relentless heckling from an elderly woman outside of Downing Street, hatred for the former Health Secretary has gone viral. Somewhat exasperatedly, he asserts that, “every Health Secretary has wanted to do what the same thing that I did”. His face slowly reddening, voice breaking into frustrated incredulity, he continues, “it is extremely irritating. Other Health Secretaries don’t get the ‘selling the NHS’ nonsense. If I’d done what other Health Secretaries have done, they’d be burning effigies of me!” Though Lansley has considerable knowledge of the symptoms and believes his reforms were exactly what the doctor ordered, the prognosis from the public was not positive.
As the only Permanent Secretary in the Civil Service to become a Cabinet Minister, and with the conscientious approach to match, does he resent his vilification in the media? “You have to be resilient,” he insists, “when you’re sitting round the Cabinet table, everyone has had this kind of attack. It’s not a matter of if, but when”. Unsurprisingly then, Lansley, himself going from Guild to government, is full of discouragement regarding a career in politics, warning simply, “Don’t do it. People go into politics for the celebrity aspect now, but people are used to having a go at celebrities”. While he’s no celebrity, Lansley has become regrettably accustomed to the chores of unending media attention and varying degrees of public venom, despite what we have found to be a decent, considered and mild manner. “Do politics because you believe in it, because you have the political virus,” the former Health Secretary pleads, “politics is not about self-interest, it’s about having inspirational ideas to try and make things better”. Lansley certainly understands those things better than most. For him, his attempted NHS reforms seem to be the culmination of a career founded in radicalism and guided by meticulous public service. Perhaps then, when our next Health Secretary is inevitably accused to trying to ‘sell off the NHS’, spare a thought for the former Health Secretary that was dead on arrival.
During the summer, Exeposé Online Features’ Editors Meg Lawrence and Imogen Watson video-interviewed Exeter’s Labour MP Ben Bradshaw in his office in Parliament (with a little technical help from XTV). Here, he tells Meg Lawrence what he thinks about students, schools, streetlights and much more.
You can watch the video interview at the bottom of the page.
Friendly, down-to-earth, well-humoured and approachable, Ben Bradshaw is not your stereotypical MP. Relatively unmoved by the trappings of power and privilege the politician, who has represented his Devon seat since 1997, is as proud of his political achievements as he is of his city.
Away from the West Country, Bradshaw’s Westminster office is also relaxed. His young team are chatty and enthusiastic, and clearly share their boss’s political vision.
That vision is a healthy mix of political ambition and a desire to improve the life of his constituents but it is tinged by the frustration that is an obvious hangover of opposition politics. Higher Education, he fears, is a typical casualty of a government that has forgotten to look out for young people.
‘In a global economy it’s going to be increasingly important in my view that people are qualified up to degree level. We saw a big expansion in higher education under the Labour government, I worry that this has stalled under this government,’ he admits. ‘It is becoming increasingly more difficult for people not least to be able to afford [higher education].’
Bradshaw still stands by Labour’s aim to get fifty per cent of young people in higher education. ‘If we’re to compete in the modern world in the future, in a globalised economy, we can either compete on the basis of low wages and low income… or on the basis of our knowledge and our skills,’ he says.
Bradshaw is against the recent increase in tuition fees and believes the Liberal Democrats have betrayed young people in a ‘direct deceit of the electorate’. He adds: ‘The Liberal Democrats made a clear pledge at the last election- you may remember Nick Clegg travelled around the country with his Liberal Democrat MPs holding up placards saying we will abolish tuition fees, and one of the first things the coalition did when they got into office was treble tuition fees.’
Given the chance of being in government, Bradshaw insists he would campaign to reduce tuition fees – although he doesn’t think it will ever return to being as low as £3,000 a year.
Image credits: Niklas Rahmel.
‘The current Labour policy is to reduce fees to £6,000 as an initial step, but I think we need to look at much more imaginative ways to make the funding of higher education fairer. We also need to address very urgently the trend we’ve seen in the last few years of people from middle and lower income families being put off going into higher education because of fears of getting into debt.’
Bradshaw believes it is a ‘terrible tragedy’ that people are put off going to university for fear of getting into debt and although this hasn’t been apparent in his home constituency, many universities are struggling to fill courses with a 6.6% drop in applicants to university nationwide.
But Bradshaw warns that universities like Exeter cannot afford to be complacent. ‘Exeter University has done a great job under its current Vice Chancellor [Steve Smith] over recent years in terms of expanding access. It has spent a lot of money on bursaries for students, and has also encouraged more people from the local area to go to university, but we absolutely do have to keep an eye on this, because it’s always going to be tempting for universities when they’re cash-strapped, to focus on those students who they feel will bring in the most cash.’
With its high entry levels and expensive rents, Exeter has a reputation for being a middle class student magnet but Bradshaw believes the situation is improving. He says: ‘Certainly in the years that I’ve been a Member of Parliament, I’ve seen a big change in the mix of the student body, and certainly at the Freshers’ Fair every year when I go up. You still get quite a strong contingent of young people from wealthy dependent schools but there’s also a much bigger cross-section, and also a much more international student body given the success that Exeter has had in attracting overseas students which again has helped it perform as a university, raised money and boosted the local economy.’ Those within the University seem to share Bradshaw’s opinion that opportunities are becoming more equally accessible. Hannah Barton, the Students’ Guild President, commented: ‘Is vital that universities continue to work towards equitable access to higher education for state school pupils. We have the Office of Fair Access that helps students from all backgrounds to access higher education, and there are targets set by HESA that help to incentivise this work.’
Attracting international students is no easy task given that they could end up paying as much as £35,000 for a year of study, in comparison with the £9,000 that British students now pay. But that, Bradshaw believes, is why they are so attractive as a source of income.
Bradshaw adds: ‘If you’re in a situation like Exeter University where you’re wanting to ensure that British youngsters who have got the talent and ability can go to university and not worry about the cost, and you want to provide bursaries and support for those people, and at the same time you’re facing government cuts, one of the ways that you can raise income is with foreign students, and don’t forget a lot of those foreign and overseas students will be coming on bursaries themselves from their home governments.’
Whether a home or international student, a common dilemma for any graduate is the growing prospect of unemployment. Bradshaw outlines the steps necessary to reduce unemployment: ‘The most important thing is to get the economy growing and get a proper industrial strategy in place where we’re investing in those areas – the environmental technologies, the creative industries and so forth, which will provide the well-paid graduate jobs for the future. That’s what the government needs to do.’
The issue of unemployment in recent years has stretched far beyond graduates. Between the months of May and July this year, 960,000 young people aged 16-24 were unemployed, and whilst overall unemployment may be dropping – which the Prime Minister calls ‘encouraging’ – youth unemployment is on the rise.
‘There’s a particular problem at the moment. The number of young people in long-term unemployment has trebled in the last three years. Many of these people are people who don’t have very good qualifications, they may come from families where there’s a history of unemployment going back generations, and governments need to focus on them and boosting their skills.’
Ironically, it may be these forgotten and often overlooked individuals who will eventually bring about change, Bradshaw believes. ‘Because young people have been bearing the brunt of this government’s austerity policies… there is a renewed interest of young people in politics; wanting to get involved and make a difference.
‘I’ve never bought this idea that young people these days are apathetic or they’re cynical or they’re turned off politics… Certainly whenever I go around schools in Exeter or to the College or the University I find young people not only engaged but actually much better informed and better educated than I think they’ve ever been. Young people don’t always necessarily see a vehicle for their political activism or idealism through political parties; they often feel more comfortable in channeling their energy into charity work or single-issue organizations. I think again that’s a natural progression and a lot of people come to party politics through individual campaigns.’
Online Features Editors Meg Lawrence and Imogen Watson with Ben Bradshaw. Image credits: Niklas Rahmel.
Exeter’s Students’ Guild President shares Bradshaw’s enthusiasm that young people are involved in politics. She says: ‘I think students are often engaged politically without even knowing it. Although they may not align themselves with a political party or political beliefs, by participating in any of the Guild’s democratic processes they are engaging in some way. I think this should be encouraged and we should continue to raise awareness of this so that students’ voices can be heard as much as possible.’
Certainly, Exeter University students don’t hesitate to be involved in campaigning and political organisation. The SOS (Save Our Streetlights) campaign has empowered students and raised awareness. On the issue, Bradshaw says: ‘I think the Devon County Council… needs to proceed very cautiously on this, and yes the students have run a very effective and I think justified campaign, not the least given some unfortunate incidents on women after dark which have happened on campus and off campus.
‘Good street lighting in areas where students are going to and from late at night is really important, not just for their safety but also for their sense of well-being. To be perfectly honest I cannot see that by switching off streetlights across Exeter that the County Council is going to be saving an awful lot of money, or an awful lot of carbon omissions. I can think of many better ways in which they can do that, so I hope they will listen to the concerns of students in Exeter and also listen to the concerns of Exeter City Council which is very worried about this.’
Ben Bradshaw’s interest in Exeter students is also apparent on a personal level. His internship scheme, open to Exeter students of politics and international relations, gives invaluable experience. He says: ‘I have been very lucky with the people who have come through the office… students have worked with me here in Westminster and also have shadowed me in the office in Exeter, getting an idea about what MPs do and how the political system works. I think they found that a valuable and worthwhile experience, and it’s always nice for me to have young people coming through the office. We tend to have volunteers and interns on a regular basis, and they’ve always got something new to bring.’
To contact Ben Bradshaw, or find out more about your local MP, follow this link.
As she visits Exeter to speak to the university’s Catholic Society, Exeposé Features’ Francesca Gillett talks to former MP Ann Widdecombe about the SSB, students and Catholicism in our society.
Since standing down as an MP in May 2010 after an astounding 23 years in politics, Ann Widdecombe has been enjoying herself. Perhaps surprising for an ex-politician notorious for her controversial and uncompromising views, since her retirement 65-year-old Widdecombe has transformed herself into a public entertainer. She’s appeared in pantomime, French-language opera, quiz shows and of course that 10-week stint on Strictly Come Dancing, during which she “galumphed like an elephant”, as she puts it.
Francesca Gillett and Chris Ivory chat to Ann Widdecombe about sex, student life and the Pope. Picture credits: Joshua Irwandi
It is this self-mockery and good humour which may initially seem at odds with Widdecombe’s strong traditionalist views and sometimes forceful tone. As well as enjoying regular walks across Dartmoor, writing best-selling novels and most recently hosting Sky Atlantic quiz show Cleverdicks, the former Shadow Home Secretary often tours the country as a speaker. Her theatrical persona and unashamed courage in holding controversial views – most notably her stances against gay marriage and abortion – is what makes her such a celebrated and sought-after guest. Fiery at the podium, she once said how former Conservative Party Chairman Michael Ancram “nearly laid an egg” when she decided to speak without notes at the Party Conference. It is as a seasoned speaker, arriving in Exeter for a talk entitled ‘Morality in Public Life’ organised by the University’s Catholic Society, where we meet her today.
It is timely that she is visiting Exeter after her recent condemnation of the Guild’s now-cancelled Safer Sex Ball, which she previously called “the height of irresponsibility to have a lot of people running about in their underwear.” Interesting then, that she agreed to appear on a primetime television show involving scantily-clad women performing racy dance moves, but Widdecombe ensured that her Strictly Come Dancing contract was ‘sex-proofed’ with no immodest or suggestive clothing. When questioned about the SSB, the veteran Tory MP remains disapproving. “It’s sending out the message that women are about one thing only, which of course they’re not. So of course it isn’t very surprising that women aren’t respected in the way they used to be, and largely because they don’t respect themselves anymore.” What would she say to Exeter’s female students who would ever consider attending such a ball? “I would say, don’t… if you respect yourself then you’re worth waiting for.”
Regarding society’s attitude to sex in general, the former MP is equally critical of the dominance of sex in the public sphere. “It’s ridiculous. When I was growing up it wasn’t talked about at all. And we’ve gone from that almost to making it compulsory; that if there isn’t sex in a play or sex in a book, or in an act or a dance then somehow it’s not worth having. The pendulum’s gone absolutely crazy. And it’s very bad.”
As a student at Birmingham University in the sixties, and then later going on to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford, she is well acquainted with student life. Despite the obvious changes in funding, she says that she doubts that student life has altered much from her day. “Students divide into two and they always did. There are the students who come here to work. And there are students who also regard university as a much rounder experience.” But she speaks contemptuously of the prevalence of binge-drinking in student culture, a phenomenon which she recently explored in a radio programme following a group of young female professionals on their night out. “You’ve got young women wearing virtually nothing staggering along on huge heels, falling off pavements because they are too plastered to know where they’re going. And of course they’re in danger.”
One of Britain’s most high-profile Catholics, former Anglican Widdecombe is clearly keen to talk about her faith. Unlike the traditional responses of contraception in Africa and the abuse scandal, Widdecombe cites attitudes towards Christianity in the Middle East as one of the most pressing issues that the next Pope will have to deal with. When asked about the position of Christians in Britain, she says that “we’ve regarded it as safe to ignore”. She says that she’d like to see a “very big gathering of Christians in central London where David Cameron can’t miss us, and if we can put 100,000 Christians on the streets of London I think we might actually be heard just a little bit more.” In spite of her retirement, it is clear that the former MP has lost none of her appetite for political action.
After a career in politics spanning more than the age of most Exeter undergraduates, it is perhaps surprising that Widdecombe’s contribution to public life has not yet been formally recognised in the form of a peerage. Just last month talk of a seat in the House of Lords was reignited when she was granted a Papal Honour by the Catholic Church making her Dame Ann of the Order of St. Gregory. Interestingly, in a letter sent to be read out at the ceremony, David Cameron wrote that the honour was “richly deserved.” Does she still see it as a snub that she hasn’t received a peerage? “It’s part and parcel of political life. It’s an occupational hazard. Cameron doesn’t like me, so there we go. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Perhaps her lack of peerage is due to her strong socially conservative views; after all, Widdecombe arguably does not quite fit the desired image of the modern day Conservative Party. Asked if she misses frontline politics, she is adamant that she does not. “If I’d gone any earlier I would have missed it, and if I’d gone later I think I would have been very jaded by now.” And what is her opinion on one of today’s most popular Conservative politicians, Boris Johnson? “Although he regularly acts like a buffoon, he’s got a brain like a laser.”
Speaking with Widdecombe, one is left with a sense of the passion that she has nurtured for politics, her Catholicism and now for her various projects in her retirement. What would she say to Exeter students keen to begin a career in the public eye? “Don’t do it immediately. Particularly politics. Go away, have a career, get yourself financially secure, have a family, then see if you still want to do it. And if you do, do it then.” It is this forthright appraisal of situations that has served her well throughout her time in politics and will surely continue to do so well into her retirement.
Harrison Jones reflects on his experience of meeting disgraced politician Chris Huhne and offers his sympathetic opinion.
Chris Huhne mobbed by photographers outside London Magistrates court after being charged. Picture credits: mcarthur j a
Eleven months ago, as the naïve editor of a college magazine, I knocked at a secreted, modest house in the heart of Eastleigh, and interviewed a charismatic, charming and (apparently) genuine, politician named Chris Huhne.
Tentatively raising the driving licence affair that blighted – and has now ended – an esteemed political career in rather undignified fashion, he quickly distanced himself from any wrongdoing.
“I’ve said very clearly that I’m innocent. I intend to fight this in the courts, and I’m confident that the jury will agree with me.” He lied, before lying again in court. It was wrong, it was illegal, but was it really anything out of the ordinary?
In reality, this scandal would never have come to part had he not been caught speeding – a common offence, frequently irritating the general public since 1896.
Yet after Huhne’s actions, public perception of politicians now rests at an increasingly dismal low, with many viewing them as cheats and liars. That is – of course – a sweeping generalisation, but arguably there are aspects of truth in it. You only have to look at the expenses scandal, which saw three Labour MPs and a Conservative peer imprisoned, to see that MPs are not always sincere.
Others highlight the list of broken Liberal Democrat pledges to show political corruption. Granted, there is a difference between manifesto pledges not being fulfilled in coalition, and perverting the course of justice. But nonetheless, it remains true that politics is not the most honest of professions, as exemplified by one of the most senior politicians in Britain, Nick Clegg. The deputy prime minister claimed expenses on business class air travel, despite flying in economy during his time as an MEP, but never faced significant repercussions.
Ultimately then, the fate of politicians can often come down to luck. Most have been evasive or misleading at some point, some just experience heavier consequences than others. Huhne had the disadvantage of contending with a revenge-driven ex-wife, on a crusade to bring down her former husband for an offence she was clearly party to.
When you consider what Huhne actually did, it is easy to feel a pang of sympathy. He was caught speeding – hardly the crime of the century. He then made two stupid decisions: to put the points on Vicky Pryce’s licence and then to stick with the lie, because he wanted to maintain his career.
Yet this all happened 10 years ago – it seems a little harsh to bring the issue back up now. But it is upon margins such as these that the modern political career hinges – the phantom factor of luck plays a huge part. If someone pressed into events 25 years ago, they might find Cameron’s activities less than impressive, in the morally-toxic Bullingdon club at Oxford University, infamous for ritually ‘trashing’ restaurants.
Ex-wife Vicky Pryce and Huhne exit London Magistrates Court. Picture credits: mcarthur j a
Huhne was perfectly equipped to go all the way in politics, having attended Westminster school, the University of Paris and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a first class degree in PPE.
Starting out as a journalist, he achieved quickly at The Independent and The Guardian, winning financial journalist of the year in 1989. The successes followed in politics, as his meteoric rise from MEP to leadership contestant in seven years saw him become a leading light in his party.
He also had a successful career in finance, becoming managing director of Fitch IBCA, and Vice-Chairman of Fitch Ratings. His economic CV then, ominously, is probably superior to that of the Chancellor, who reportedly dropped PPE because economics was “too hard.”
Yet, despite Huhne’s credentials, you can’t help but feel he’s underachieved in politics. Though his record as an MEP was excellent, six years seems too long for a man with such ambition. Though he achieved much in his position as environment secretary, he’s certainly got the temperament to go higher. And though he fought valiantly in two leadership contests, he lost twice.
His fateful speeding ticket has eliminated any chance of fulfilling his potential, after last week’s resignation. It leaves you wondering, for Huhne’s part, ‘what if?’
What if, had he remained a Labour supporter after graduating, would he have done under the Blair administration? What if, had he overcome the finest of margins and won the Liberal Democrat leadership, would the party’s fortunes have been under his stewardship? And most notably perhaps, what if, had he been the deputy prime minister in this coalition, would it’s fate have been?
Certainly, had he not been caught speeding and been in Clegg’s shoes, things would have been very different indeed, for the Liberal Democrats and perhaps even the country.
exeposedev 