M ICHAELMA S 2011

O XFORD U NIVERSITY C ONSERVATIVE A SSOCIATION

Patron: The Rt Hon. Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, LG, OM, PC, FRS Hon. President: The Rt Hon. William Hague, MP

OUCA is the leading political society in Oxford, supporting the Conservative cause across its broadest foundations. Prime Ministers, Cabinet members and other leading figures visit regularly. Our Sunday Port & Policy is the week's highlight, and we host legendary social events and dinners, along with serious debates, training and campaigning. Weve had a wonderful start to the year with over 500 new members joining at the Freshers Fair alone, an excellent reception with Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary at the Carlton Club, and the Freshers Party. I look forward to building upon this success over the term, and hope that this term card has much of interest to offer all our new members, as well as our more seasoned OUCA supporters. Were very lucky to be hearing from some very prominent speakers, and to have one of the greatest Chancellors, Lord Lawson of Blaby, as our guest of honour and speaker at the Termly Dinner. Organising all of this has been very time consuming and could not have been done without the help of OUCAs officers and committee. Im extremely grateful for their support, and confident that OUCA will continue to go from strength to strength with their guidance. I hope to see many of you soon! Kindest regards, James

James Lawson President St Edmund Hall

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SPEAKERS
Douglas Carswell MP
Tuesday, 25th October, 7PM, Oxford Union
Douglas Carswell is a leading advocate for increased transparency in Parliament and led the first successful campaign to eject a speaker of the House of Commons in 300 years. For his efforts, he was named Spectators Parliamentarian of the Year. He is well known for his independent mind and was also the only Conservative MP returned at the 2010 general election to have openly advocated proportional representation. He has led the localist agenda with Daniel Hannan, having co-authored The Plan: Twelve months to Renew Britain.

Stuart Wheeler
Tuesday, 1st November, 8PM, Oxford Union
Stuart was a successful entrepreneur, making a fortune as founder of the spread betting firm, IG Index. In 2001, he gained political fame, after giving the largest single donation ever made in UK politics to the Conservatives. He is very critical of the European Union, and has now become the Treasurer of UKIP (having been removed from the Conservatives). At the 2010 election he formed and stood for the Trust Party, advocating a parliamentary court with the power to jail MPs who commit fraud, ending MPs' second-home allowances, 'exposure of false claims' about global warming, promoting marriage, improving treatment of wounded soldiers, reducing the power of the EU and preventing torture of suspected terrorists. In his personal life, Stuart is an avid gambler, taking a keen interest in card and risk games and having played bridge with Lord Lucan two days before his disappearance, and with Omar Sharif, as well as entering the World Poker Championships.

Steve Baker MP
Friday, 11th November, 8PM, Oxford Union
Steve was elected for Wycombe in 2010. He is a founding member of the Cobden Centre, a charity that promotes the return of sound money, and argues that 'peace will come to earth when the people have more to do with each other and governments less. He was nominated as Newcomer of the Year on ConservativeHome, and is rated as one of most rebellious MPs of the new intake.

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David Davis MP
Wednesday, 17th November, 8PM, Oxford Union
David Davis was a Minister of State at the Foreign Office from July 1994 to April 1997. Between 2003 and 2008 he was the Shadow Home Secretary in the shadow cabinet. He ran for the leadership in 2005, coming second to David Cameron. On 12th June 2008, in a surprise move, David announced his reisignation as an MP, provoking a public debate about the erosion of civil liberties, prior to being re-elected in the resulting by-election. He has since refused to take a cabinet role, though he is a favourite to do so.

Oliver Letwin MP
Tuesday, 22nd November, Oxford Union (Time TBC)
Oliver Letwin is currently the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office and Chairman of the Conservative Research Department. In the cabinet, he helps craft Conservative Party policy, and he was described as the Gandalf of the partys development before the election.

Jonathan Isaby
Wednesday, 23rd November, 8PM, Oxford Union
Jonathan Isaby is the Political Director of the TaxPayers Alliance. Before taking on this role, he worked for the Daily Telegraph, before moving to the blogosphere as co-editor of ConservativeHome.com. He published Boris v Ken: How Boris Won London in 2008.

Graham Brady MP
TBC
Graham Brady MP served as a shadow minister for Europe under four Conservative leaders before resigning in 2007 in protest at David Cameron's opposition to grammar schools. He succeeded Sir Michael Spicer as chairman of the 1922 Committee on 26 May 2010. He was voted "Backbencher of the Year" by The Spectator at their annual parliamentary awards.

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TERMLY DINNER
Lord Lawson of Blaby
Monday, 28th November, St Edmund Hall, from 7PM
We are very lucky to be able to host Lord Lawson at our termly dinner this term. Nigel Lawson served as Secretary of State for Energy before becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer in Thatchers government from June 1983 to October 1992. He was associated with tax cuts, taking basic rate income tax down to 25% and top rate to 40%. His tenure as Chancellor was longer than any other since David Lloyd George. Since retiring from politics, he has remained a keen commentator on economics and global warming. Most recently, he wrote, An appeal to reason: a cool look at global warming.

Tickets are available from Nina Fischer at 50 for OUCA members. Please post cash or cheques (written to Oxford University Conservative Association) to her at Corpus, or purchase a ticket online at http://lordlawson.eventbrite.com. Please let Nina know if you have any dietary requirements.

BLUEPRINT
OUCA is a leading contributor to debate. Every term we publish a policy document. We are looking for concise contributions between 300 and 1000 words.

If you are interested in writing an article this term, please get in touch with our Publications Editor at jonathan.smith@lmh.ox.ac.uk

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CAMPAIGNING & TRAINING

OUCA is a campaigning force, holding regular events in cooperation with the local associations. We will also be hosting a workshop, to help members further develop their communication and campaign skills. Our main campaigns will be on the Saturdays of 3rd and 5th Week. We will be supporting the Back Boris 2012 campaign over the year.

PORT & POLICY

Every Sunday, 8.30PM, Oxford Union.
Port & Policy is one of the highlights of the Oxford week. It is every Sunday in the Macmillan Room, offering a continuous flow of drinks, and an excellent environment to chat with friends and debate the issues of the day. We tend to cover three motions per evening. The first motions will be as follows:

16th October: This house believes we shouldn't get into bed with Liberal Democrats. 23rd October: This house believes in fully open borders. 30th October: This house would vote Republican 2012. 6th November: This house would hang child killers. 13th November: This house would vote UKIP in the European Elections. 20th November: This house would privatise the BBC and stop public funding of the arts. 27th November: This house would do whatever necessary for popularity.

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SOCIAL EVENTS
OUCA has a vibrant social scene throughout the year, with regular events for members. Highlights this term include our pub-crawl (12th October, starting at 8PM at the Kings Arms) and our Free Cava, Cakes and Cheese Party (19th October, 8PM, Oxford Union), sponsored by the Adam Smith Institute (with their President, Madsen Pirie, as speaker). Well be descending on London for the Conservative Future Autumn Reception with Iain Duncan Smith (26th November, 6.30PM, St Stephens Club, London). We are also working to organise a crew date with our political rivals, and much more.

If you have any questions about upcoming events, or innovative ideas, please contact our Social Secretary, Nina Fischer, at nina.fischer@ccc.ox.ac.uk.

COUNCIL & OFFICERS

Council is the governing body of the Association. All members interested have the right to attend meetings. Officers is responsible for the general management of the Association, and will follow immediately after Council this term. Councils and Officers this term will be held at St Edmund Hall as follows:

Friday, 21ST October, 11AM, Besse I.1 Friday, 28th October, 11AM, Besse I.1 Saturday, 5th November, 10.30AM, Emden Room 1 Saturday, 12th November, 1PM, Besse I.1 Friday, 18th November, 11AM Besse I.1 Termly General Meeting, Saturday, 26th November, 10AM, Besse I.1 Sunday, 27th November, 1PM, Besse I.1

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ELECTIONS
OUCA holds termly elections for all positions. We encourage members to get involved actively in the running of the Association. This process can also be good training for future life in business or the Party, with many transferable skills. Past Presidents of OUCA include Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath, Jeremy Hunt, William Hague, Dominic Grieve, Lord Rees-Mogg, Daniel Hannan and Nick Robinson.

For further information about elections, please contact the Returning Officer, or the President, at james.lawson@seh.ox.ac.uk. Important details will be sent to the mailing list in line with the constitution.

THATCHER CLUB
The Thatcher Club is the new and exciting London-based alumni group for OUCA. Named after OUCAs patron and most prestigious ex-President, The Rt Hon The Baroness Thatcher LG OM PC FRS, it serves as a home-from-home for Oxford Conservatives in the City. Although The Thatcher Club is predominantly a group for graduates, undergraduates are encouraged to attend the clubs meetings, which will include speaker events, drinks, and dinners in various locations within London. So, if you need your OUCA fix during the vacation, this is the place to be.

THE CONINGSBY CLUB

Founded in 1921 to keep Oxford and Cambridge graduates involved in politics, the Coningsby Club is one of the longest established Conservative discussion and dining groups. For more information, contact their President, Alexandra Jezeph at alexandra.jezeph@mansfield.oxon.org

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COMMITTEE
Senior Officers President, James Lawson, St Edmund Hall President-elect, Miles Coates, Worcester Treasurer, Nikhil Mukerjee, Christ Church Treasurer Elect, James Price, Worcester Secretary, Jim Everett, Corpus Christi Political Officer, Matthew Ryder, Corpus Christi Junior Officers Social Secretary, Nina Fischer, Corpus Christi Whip, Adam Wozniak, St Edmund Hall Publications, Jonathan Smith, Lady Margaret Hall Communications, Ameer Kotecha, St Peters Returning Officer, James Gillespi, Corpus Christi Committee Kapish Narda, Harris Manchester Sam Robberts, Corpus Christi Oliver Johnson, Exeter Henry Watson, Magdalen Krishan Nadesan, Christ Church Jonathan Tomlin, Lady Margaret Hall Ex-Officio: Ex-President, Joe Cooke, Oriel Ex-Treasurer, Peter Day-Milne, Trinity Ex-Junior Officers: Jacob Ward, Christ Church Tristan Honeybourne, Magdalen Joey Faulkner, Wadham Alex Reut-Hobbs, New James Hackney, St Johns Ben Lewy, St Johns George Mahwinney, Oriel Michael Towers, Christ Church Ex-Returning Officer, Katherine Sidders, Trinity

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BE SEEING YOU!

OUCA