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Telegraph
31-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘Academics are fleeing Trump's anti-intellectual America. We should take advantage'
The University of Cambridge should take in academics fleeing Donald Trump's America, a candidate to become the institution's new figurehead has said. Gina Miller, a prominent anti-Brexit campaigner running to become the next Cambridge chancellor, said UK universities must cash in on a US brain drain sparked by the president's assault on academia. In an interview with The Telegraph, Mrs Miller also urged Cambridge to divest from arms companies and to be more transparent about its financial arrangements. She vowed to uphold free speech on campus if elected as chancellor, but criticised the 'politicised' debate on the topic and said she would not invite people such as Andrew Tate, the controversial influencer, to speak to students. Mrs Miller rose to prominence for two successful legal challenges to the former government's Brexit dealings, and now aims to take her 'fight for democracy' to the world's third-oldest university. The businesswoman, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, will go head-to-head with nine other candidates in the hopes of becoming Cambridge's 109th chancellor – and the first female leader in the role's 800-year history. Her rivals include Sandi Toksvig, the comedian and ex-presenter of the Great British Bake Off, and Lord Browne of Madingley, the former chief executive of BP. Speaking to The Telegraph, Mrs Miller said she threw her hat in the ring after her cancer diagnosis, for which she underwent a double mastectomy earlier this year, prompted her to 'reassess' life. 'It's been incredibly difficult, but I don't want to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life, thinking 'what if',' she said. Born in British Guiana, now Guyana, the entrepreneur was sent by her parents to an English boarding school aged 10 after her father's career as the country's attorney general put the family's life in danger. 'My father was always obsessed with Cambridge. He started as a petrol pump assistant – you know, very poor – and his dream was to become a Cambridge blue for cricket. I mean, that's how far the reach of the reputation of that university is,' she said. She said Cambridge now had an opportunity to enhance that influence by offering a safe haven for students and academics deserting the US. Canada and Germany have both offered 'exile campuses', but UK universities are yet to do the same – with sources suggesting vice-chancellors were cautious not to appear too 'anti-American'. 'This last year we've seen the biggest uptick in US students looking for universities outside the US. And the same goes for the academics. So why is Cambridge not making the most of that?' said Mrs Miller. 'Intellectual jealousy by Trump' Mr Trump has attacked elite US universities in recent months, accusing them of fostering anti-Semitism on campus and adopting biased admissions policies against white students. The US leader has also frozen around $3.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard, and on Tuesday ramped up his campaign by ordering embassies to halt all new international student visa applications. Mrs Miller claimed the attack stemmed from a sense of 'intellectual jealousy' in Mr Trump, which she suggested was why the president had surrounded himself 'with the tech bros – because they're not wearing the clothes of traditional academia'. She warned that the rise of 'authoritarianism and anti-intellectualism' would sharpen the need to protect free speech at universities. However, she said she would not extend a campus invite to figures such as Mr Tate, the social media influencer who was charged with rape and human trafficking by UK prosecutors earlier this week. 'Free speech is one thing, but if it crosses the line into promoting hate and misogyny and behaviours that are actually damaging, I would say, no, absolutely not,' Mrs Miller said. The businesswoman became a target of misogyny and abuse after winning two Supreme Court challenges in 2017 and 2019 against the then government's handling of exiting the EU, which many saw as attempts to frustrate Brexit. She received death threats. Nine years on from the referendum, Mrs Miller views the 'old Right and Left, those old Overton Window classifications' to have gone as Reform UK continues to cleave open the traditional two-party system. 'Political parties need to up their game' The financier, once a Labour party member, founded her own True and Fair political party in 2021, based on her campaign of the same name calling for greater transparency in the City. The party was dissolved last year after Mrs Miller stood as its candidate for Epsom and Ewell at the general election and came sixth. She criticised recent comments by Lord Hermer as 'crass' after the Attorney General compared calls to leave the European Convention on Human Rights to the rise of Nazism. 'I wish all the parties would up their game,' she said. 'I don't see a leader. And I think that's the thing that's very worrying for us, as the 2030s will be a transformative decade.' Mrs Miller promised to bring her campaigning for greater transparency to Cambridge, and said it was 'right' that the university's King's College earlier this month announced it would cut its financial ties with arms firms. The founder of wealth manager SCM Direct vowed to do the same to Cambridge's £4 billion endowment fund, adding: 'I think the university has to have ethics, an ethical sense has to go through everything it does.' 'Cambridge can be an ambassador' Pitching herself as 'someone from outside the university's inner circle', she also criticised previous Cambridge chancellors for not speaking out about important matters or attempting to boost UK universities on the world stage. 'Why is Cambridge not at Davos, for example? Cambridge has the opportunity to be an ambassador for not just itself, but actually for the sector,' she said. 'I think that's where I'd be critical of the chancellorships in the past, in that I'd say they haven't utilised that platform enough in the service of our nation, and I think that's a real shame.' Lord Sainsbury of Turville, who was elected Cambridge chancellor in 2011, stepped down last year. He had succeeded Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, who held the position for 35 years. The role was not on Mrs Miller's radar until a group of Cambridge professors approached her earlier this year and urged her to apply, despite her not being an alumna of the university. 'And actually, weirdly, there was another connection. The cancer that I have is a very rare genetic mutation which was discovered by a team at Cambridge five or six years ago, so I had been in contact with that team and become really close to them,' she said. 'One of the missions of Cambridge is to be able to help the progression of humanity and society. We need to get it off the page into the real world. And I would argue that having a chancellor who is actually from the world can speak and become almost a translator and storyteller of what Cambridge is doing and how that connects to the real world.'
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Sandi Toksvig on shortlist to be Cambridge chancellor
The chancellorship is a largely ceremonial position at the head of the university, representing the institution at events and fundraising initiatives. The role is unpaid but its extensive foreign travel is paid for by the university. Lord Sainsbury , the former chairman of the supermarket chain established by his great-grandfather, will step down next month after 14 years as chancellor. His successor will inherit Cambridge's figurehead position at a difficult time for the university sector as it grapples with a worsening financial crisis and increasingly polarised debate over free speech issues. While Cambridge University's £4 billion endowment fund and global reputation means it is largely shielded from financial woes, it has attracted disruptive student protests recently over the war in Gaza. Free speech theme for all candidates All 10 nominees spoke about the importance of defending free speech or academic freedom in their candidate statements, with Toksvig saying 'the politicisation of free speech' was one of a number of threats facing academia. Lord Browne of Madingley, the former chief executive of BP and a crossbench beer, said he would 'sustain our long-held values particularly of free speech, intellectual freedom, and fact-based analysis'. The Cambridge physics graduate stepped down from the company in 2007 over speculation about his private life, later writing about the pressures of being a closet homosexual in the world of business. Lord Smith of Finsbury, a former Labour Cabinet minister who is also on the shortlist, and is the current master of Pembroke College, said his own experience as the first openly gay MP showed his commitment to 'diversity, openness and ethics'. Mrs Miller also promised to champion academic freedom and open debate at Cambridge 'when trust in institutions is eroding and authoritarianism and anti-intellectualism are on the rise'. The businesswoman became a prominent public figure by bringing a court case against the UK Government in 2016 over its ability to implement Brexit without parliamentary approval, and successfully challenging Boris Johnson's decision to prorogue Parliament in 2019 to push through his Brexit plans. Warning of 'reality TV show' outcome But fellow candidate Prof Wyn Evans, an astrophysics professor at Cambridge, warned that if 'Cambridge needs a high-profile or celebrity chancellor to be noticed, we might as well give up and rebrand the university as a reality TV show.' The other five candidates include a former oil industry executive, an Egyptian-American economist, two consultants and a former Cambridge education professor who has pledged to fight the university's ties to the arms and fossil fuels industries if successful. Voting is open to members of the University Senate, which includes all alumni or former members of staff who hold a qualifying Cambridge degree. More than 34,500 people have registered to vote online when the ballot opens on July 9, with several thousand more expected to cast their vote in person. The winner will be announced in the week beginning July 21, and will serve at least 10 years.
The Independent
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Starmer government ‘trying to fix wings of a plane while already in flight', veteran political adviser says
Veteran political adviser Lord Browne has described Sir Keir Starmer's premiership as 'trying to fix the wings of an airplane while you're already in flight,' after The Independent revealed plans of a plot within Labour to oust the PM. The cross-bench peer and former BP boss was speaking at the 2025 Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, which is partnered with The Independent for the second year running. He was appearing on a panel alongside climate expert Friederike Otto and leading women's rights lawyer Harriet Wistrich, as part of the festival's daily News Review event, chaired by The Independent's Chief Book Critic Martin Chilton. Responding to The Independent's report on disquiet within Labour over Sir Keir's premiership, Lord Browne, who advised five prime ministers including Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, said the government should counteract 'uncertainty' with a plan. 'And I mean a plan, not just a vision,' he said. 'I was surprised that, despite the number of experienced people in government, it wasn't evidently clear that this particular administration came in with a plan. 'It's very difficult when you're trying to fix the wings of an airplane while you're already in flight - and that is a really dangerous thing to do. 'Let's see, maybe it's early days and maybe the learning will take place during the process of government.' The comments come after The Independent revealed that a large number of MPs from the so-called 'soft left' of the party are organising to try to force a change of direction within the party. Sir Keir's turbulent first 10 months as prime minister have prompted growing questions about his leadership, magnified by the party's recent losses at local elections, in which they lost two-thirds of the council seats they had in 2021. He has also sparked controversy over over his stance on migration, welfare cuts and the decision to cut winter fuel payments. During Sunday morning's event, the panel discussed a wide range of topics inspired by the day's headlines including climate policy around the world, the post office scandal and violence against women and girls (VAWG). Ms Wistrich, founder and director of the Centre for Women's Justice, told the audience that the government's progress on VAWG targets had been 'disappointing', while climatologist Friederike Otto warned Donald Trump's cuts to US meteorologist jobs could cost lives in parts of the country. Spread over 11 days, the 38th spring edition of the annual cultural event is set in Hay-on-Wye, the idyllic and picturesque 'Town of Books'. The star-studded lineup includes Mary Trump, Michael Sheen, Jameela Jamil and more. The Independent has partnered with the Festival once again to host a series of morning panels titled The News Review, where our journalists will explore current affairs with leading figures from politics, science, the arts and comedy every morning.
Telegraph
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Free speech essential to university life, Cambridge chancellor candidate says
Universities must stay committed to free speech, a leading contender for the chancellorship of Cambridge University has said. In comments likely to be seen as Lord Browne setting out his stall for leadership of one of Britain's leading universities, the former head of BP described freedom of speech as the single value which must 'not change' in higher education institutions. The 77-year-old made the comments as the race to replace Lord Sainsbury as the next ceremonial head of Cambridge University gains momentum ahead of the election in July. The official list of candidates is yet to be released but potential contenders include Mohamed El-Erian, the economist, Gina Miller, the anti-Brexit campaigner, and Michael Portillo, the former Conservative minister. Alumni and senior members of the university and its colleges are eligible to vote in the election. Lord Browne, who led BP between 1995 and 2007 before founding an environmentalist investment group, made the comments in an interview at Hay literary festival in Powys, south Wales. Asked how universities should respond to threats to free speech, such as the pressure exerted on American institutions by Donald Trump 's administration, Lord Browne said: 'There's been a lot of change in universities. But the values must not change. 'Universities embody this great thing that says: I may disagree with your view, but I will fight to make sure you can say it. 'People need to be able to say what they think, so long as they do it in the spirit of debate and they [do so] in a way which recognises they may disagree with each other but they can have that debate.' Universities, he added, 'are not there to form government policy and not there to have walls, that's the role of nation states, but they are there to really engage with the future.' The US administration has withheld $4 billion (£2.95 billion) funding for Harvard in a move intended to punish the country's wealthiest university for refusing to comply with demands to clamp down on its diversity initiatives. The cut to funding will hamper critical research into infectious diseases at the university, Harvard's president warned last month. Addressing the situation in the US, Lord Browne said: 'Some things have now been forbidden, or chilled down to zero, in the US. 'Research on climate, for instance, these things have been, dare I say banned, since Trump.' Cambridge University was at the centre of a free speech row in 2020 when academics roundly rejected a policy which asked that scholars be 'respectful' of differing views. A new policy which emphasised 'tolerance' was passed in its place.
Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Cambridge chancellor hopeful wants to stop cash from oil firms
The broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and Lord Browne of Madingley, the former BP boss, are among well-known names vying to become the new chancellor of Cambridge University. Tony Booth, the newest contender, is a relative unknown, who bills himself as a 'chancellor of conscience' and has taken part in Gaza protests at the university. Booth, 80, was a visiting research fellow at Cambridge University's department of education. He was also a professor of education at Canterbury University. He wants the university to be an ethical force in the world. The role is unpaid and brings no executive responsibilities, but the successful candidate will play a part in fundraising and in providing advice to senior members, the university says. It will allow voters, who include most Cambridge
