Inside the race for the Chancellor of Oxford

What do we mean these days when we talk about the British ‘establishment’? When Henry Fairlie coined the term in 1955 – in The Spectator, of course – he defined it as ‘the whole matrix of official and social relations within which power is exercised’. A lot has changed in the past 70 years. The influence of the monarchy has diminished, the class system no longer holds sway, party politics is almost unrecognisable. Yet the idea of the establishment retains its powerful allure and, in the election of the next chancellor of Oxford University, we see how much it still matters to Britain’s 21st-century elite.

Some 38 candidates are now bidding to follow Cromwell, Wellington and Salisbury in taking up the chancellorship. The list of names was formally published this week but canvassing began in February when Chris Patten announced his retirement. Voting opens the week of 28 October and the top five face a second round in mid-November. ‘It’s gone on longer than the Tory leadership race,’ grumbles one academic.

Three peers lead the pack: William Hague, Peter Mandelson and Jan Royall. Each is deploying their political nous to best impress. Hague offers the gravitas, diplomacy and contacts book of one of Britain’s best-travelled foreign secretaries. Mandelson promises pragmatism and proximity to power. Royall, his one-time cabinet colleague, pitches herself as the candidate for welfare and widening access. She aims to build on her work at Somerville. Her efforts as principal have included championing unconscious bias training and purging octopus from college dinners.

The legal establishment is well-represented, too. Elish Angiolini, Scotland’s former lord advocate and head of St Hugh’s, is a favoured internal choice. There’s Margaret Casely-Hayford, the first black British woman to be made a partner at a City law firm.