February 9, 2024 - 7:00am
Rory Stewart’s career is a thing of wonder. He’s popped up in a bewildering variety of roles: soldier, diplomat, travel writer, academic, broadcaster, member of Parliament, minister, candidate for leader of the Conservative Party, would-be mayor of London and, er, podcaster. Time after time, he’s risen to dazzling heights, exploded in a shower of sparks, and then gone dark before the next burst of brilliance. It’s not so much a resumé as a fireworks display.
Is there any reason, then, why he shouldn’t be a candidate for chancellor of Oxford University, as he reportedly is? For a start, there is his stature problem. The outgoing chancellor, Lord Patten, was the last governor of Hong Kong, a European commissioner and a senior Cabinet minister. Patten’s four predecessors as Oxford chancellor were Roy Jenkins, Harold Macmillan, Lord Halifax and Sir Edward Grey — each a significant figure in 20th-century politics.
For all the colour and variety of his career to date, the same cannot be said for Stewart. The worthies of Oxford University do have other options. Tony Blair, Theresa May and Boris Johnson are all said to be in the running (and, if nothing else, they’re all former prime ministers). Then again, they do have baggage: Iraq in Blair’s case, failing to get Brexit done in May’s; and getting Brexit done in Johnson’s.
Stewart, though — having not risen to the level of making history-changing decisions — constitutes relatively undamaged goods. What’s more, he has the right kind of politics — namely, centrist dad with a flash of originality — and the right kind of style (clubbable with a dash of eccentricity). But are vibes an adequate substitute for gravitas?
Looking down the current list of Britain’s university chancellors, there’s an awful lot of vibing going on. For instance, some universities prefer the patronage of royals, others opt for ex-ministers or, alternatively, showbiz types such as the Reverend Richard Coles (Northampton), Sir Lenny Henry (Birmingham City), and Gyles Brandreth (Chester). In choosing Stewart, Oxford would be getting a three-for-one deal — part posho, part politician, part celebrity.
Of course, the chancellorship of a university is a largely ceremonial position, and the vice-chancellor calls the shots. Yet perhaps it’s time for that to change. Let the VC get on with the admin, but choose chancellors who offer genuine intellectual leadership. It’s certainly needed.
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SubscribeAn over promoted if well meaning ‘woke’ cretin, if I may say so.
You may…although “careerist” seems more appropriate than well meaning.
Instead of a “loose canon” (sic, surprised you missed that one Charles!): a loose pistol?
Oxford is going through one of its cyclical troughs. They usually last about 150 years. So Stewart is a perfect fit.
A jobbing wanderer who disparages many of his associations whilst actively courting them.
Better than the clumsier Spectator piece expressing similar sentiments. Glad I followed the ‘toll gate’ link; I had no idea about this (further example of) privatised theft of public money.
Agreed it sounds like Alexandra Elbakyan should be awarded a Nobel Prize , whilst the senior executives of Elsevier and the American Chemical Society should be taken to Golgotha, stripped, scourged and crucified in the proscribed manner..
Prescribed,surely…
Yes!
Thanks more haste less speed!
Reading you comment I checked out the link.
The expression asking to borrow your watch and then charging for telling you the time springs to mind
If universities didn’t exist we wouldn’t invent them. Same goes for Stewart. He’s the perfect candidate.
Apologies, navigational error!
One of my favourite chess commentators on YouTube (the incomparable Ben Finegold) humorously checks the importance of great players from the past by the length of their Wikipedia page.
Rory Stewart passes this test with flying colours. Page after page. No less than 14 “Awards and honours”. 223 references. Someone has obviously put a lot of time and effort in here ! “Very suspicious” as Ben Finegold likes to say.
Loose canon – is that meant to be a clever pun or an unfortunate typo? Don’t think Rory has taken Holy Orders has he?
He looks and sounds as if he might.
You claim that his previous role, governor of Hong Kong, gave Chris Patten “stature”. On the contrary, spinelessness is pretty well the opposite of stature.
An empty taxi pulls up at Oxford University, and Rory Stewart gets out.
Who would you suggest, Boris Johnson?
Yes and serve them right
Exactly – they spawned the monster.
he’s a prat who didnt walk unarmed and barefoot across afghan, didnt run an iraqi province, didnt do eff all except get born rich, go to eton and tutor some royals. third rate brain hiding behind a posh accent. disaster as an MP, no loyalty, wasnt a spy, but is a top notch bullsh@tter.
I imagine you didn’t get this from Wikipedia…
My, my. Still carrying a grudge?
Which of it is incorrect?
I agree it should be more than purely ceremonial. Vision on a grand scale is what is sorely lacking in many universities. I haven’t spotted any professional politicians able to offer such a thing. Why not go for a Dyson, Harris, or Branson: people with a proven track record of setting a vision and expectations and then overseeing people get on with the job?
His walk through Afghanistan was rather more than a spot of travel writing. That took raw courage in a land not that much changed from the fanaticism and savagery Churchill observed in 1897. His dispatches to London newspapers were collected in “The Story of the Malakand Field Force”.
The Woking Class is admirably represented by people like Mr Stewart with his 14-page Wikipedia entry and bulging CV. A perfect candidate for the Oxford woke factory I’d say!