David Cameron at Woodstock Literary Festival

On Thursday 17th September 2009, the parish church of Woodstock, Oxfordshire, was packed with a sell-out crowd of 200 listening attentively to Opposition Leader David Cameron MP (BNC 1985) in conversation with his former Tutor, Prof. Vernon Bogdanor (BNC 1966). The event, which took place a stone's throw from the World Heritage Site of Blenheim Palace, was held as part of the extensive programme of the 2009 Woodstock Literary Festival.

The pair spoke about topics ranging from the texts which shaped Cameron's early political ideas, to his time as an undergraduate reading PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at Brasenose in the 1980s, on to his thoughts on the current state of British politics. Cameron spoke eloquently on his vision for a rejuvenated political system with greater engagement of the public with its representatives. In particular, he focussed on the importance of the constituency to Members of Parliament.

Reflecting on the Tutorials Prof. Bogdanor had given Cameron when he was a student, Oxford University's Professor of Government and Politics said that Cameron was an excellent student who always produced good work even though the pair did not always agree: Bogdanor went on to say that Cameron could have been an academic. In response, Cameron spoke about his drive to be a politician, his patriotism and desire to be a public servant.

While the setting for the reunion of teacher and student must have been very different from the teaching rooms of Brasenose, David Cameron and Prof. Bogdanor fell into easy conversation and lively discussion of topical political matters: twenty years on, the spirit of good-natured engaging debate is still alive and well.

Find Out More

‹ Previous article