The chancellor of the University of Oxford is elected by a vote of graduates, as is the University Poet. In 2015 my college’s senior tutor in English urged us to vote for Wole Soyinka as the next University Poet. I read a selection of poems by the candidates, who were: Simon Armitage, Ian Gregson, Seán Haldane, Wole Soyinka and A E Stallings. For me, the poet who stood head and shoulders above the others was Simon Armitage, so I voted for him. It seems I wasn’t alone, because he won. His next gig was Poet Laureate, so perhaps my taste in poetry isn’t that bad.
In 2024 Lord Patton announced his intention to stand down as chancellor. He had been an outstanding chancellor, and would be a tough act to follow. There were thirty-eight candidates who put themselves forward for election, including Lord Peter Mandelson. I read their statements of interest. There were many worthy candidates, and some not so worthy, like the man whose only qualification was that he was an Oxford tour guide. I remember dining in college after a golf day during the early stages of the election process. I had a conversation with an Old Etonian, staunchly conservative, who thought Peter Mandelson was the best candidate. He had met him in college, and it seemed he was very fond of St. Edmund Hall. Of course I was keen to have a chancellor who appreciated the value of our beloved college, but since BREXIT I look at almost everything through another prism. Who can best influence a move to rejoin the European Union? I chose Dominic Greave. He had been a staunch remainer, had called for a second referendum, and had vowed to support a vote of no confidence to bring down the Conservative government if that were the only way to block a disaterous hard Brexit. Sadly he was narrowly eliminated after the first stage of voting. I considered switching my allegiance to Peter Mandelson, but something inside me thought there really was something of the night about him. Instead I chose William Hague, and eventually he won. I am so glad that we didn’t have a best pal of Jeffrey Epstein as Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Imagine what an embarrassment that would be.