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Recently OUCA has been visited by figures such as Margaret Thatcher (November 2002), George Osborne , Alan Duncan , John Redwood , Ann Widdecombe , the Earl Of Onslow , Iain Duncan Smith , David Willetts , Oliver Letwin and Lord Patten , and it was recently praised in the Mail On Sunday by Lord Rees-Mogg. p.67. {Link without Title} . OUCA is a large politically motivated organisation with a membership that goes from strength to strength. One of the main reasons for its size and 80 years of popularity is its broad appeal and the diversity of activities that it offers its members. Such activities include speaker meetings, campaigning, Port and Policy and social events. AIM The main aim of the Association is to promote the Conservative cause in the University. It has in recent times enjoyed considerable support from Conservative Central Office and many Shadow Cabinet ministers. STANDING WITH THE NATIONAL CONSERVATIVE PARTY Recently OUCA has become closer both to the national . When David Cameron visited Oxford in May 2007 to meet with two Liberal Democrat councillors who had defected to the Conservatives, both OUCA and the local Oxford Abingdon Conservative Future Group were invited by the Local Parliamentary Candidate, Nicola Blackwood, to send a delegation to meet him. There, the then President (Sam Belcher) and President-Elect (Alex Stafford), as well as the Chairman of Oxford and Abingdon CF (James Branthwaite - also a member of OUCA), greeted both him and other representatives from both the local and national party. OUCA is often asked to put forward two candidates for the Oxford City Council elections, and in 2006 both of them managed to defeat the Labour candidate, with OUCA being a significant, and indeed high profile, campaigning force within the city. STANDING WITH OXFORD UNIVERSITY Due to its age (founded in 1924) and size, OUCA has enjoyed an almost unrivalled position in the University. As officially the second largest University society, and one of the most active, its members feature prominently in many other aspects of University life. OUCA tends to stay clear of the Oxford University Student Union , OUSU, which is dominated by a clique of OULC members, often arguing for reform of the somewhat unrepresentative 'official' student body through collegiate disaffiliation - a policy which yielded results in 2006/7 with the disaffiliation of several college JCRs. Despite this, one recent president (Alex Stafford) was elected in Michaelmas 2006 to the executive committee and became the Health and Welfare Officer. OUCA’s view is often sought on most issues from the two student papers, the Oxford Student and the Cherwell, though in recent times few journalist have been high ranking members. In addition, the national press often seek comments from the committee on issues relating to University life and politics. Both in 2006 and 2007 OUCA Presidents have featured highly in the student papers “50 most influential people in Oxford”. COMMITTEE OUCA is run by its officers and committee, who are elected each term. In addition, there is a Returning Officer, responsible for the elections and for administering OUCA's internal disciplinary procedures, and from time to time, there may also be appointed Non-executive officers, or a Press Officer. Current Committee (Michaelmas 2007) OUCA's membership (reported to be more than 720 members in February 2004 as well as currently being at that figure {Link without Title} , making it one of the largest youth political organisations in the world has been consistently high. It has more members than all Oxford University's other political groups combined. College Influence The collegiate nature of Oxford allows individual colleges to exert hegemony within student societies. Within OUCA, this has led to periods in which one or two colleges, traditionally including Oriel and Christ Church , have been particularly dominant. More recently, membership has filtered towards the Permanent Private Hall s, with almost all of Greyfriars undergraduates being members. An increasingly large contingent of members is currently to be found at Keble . This used to arise in part from the alleged electoral practice of "vote-buying", in which candidates for office pay the membership fees of other students, in the expectation that these new members will then vote for their patron in the elections. The practice effectively ensures a minimum financial qualification for the office of President, and gives great significance to the Returning Officer’s duty of declaring the “Close of New Members” in the 6th Week of each University Term. This marks the last date on which a new member may join OUCA and vote in its elections that term. The list of new members announced immediately following this was usually lengthy and drawn mostly (though not exclusively) from the colleges of the leading candidates’ for the higher offices. Vote-buying is forbidden according to OUCA's constitution, but candidates in OUCA's elections are in effect expected simply to exercise discretion in the manner in which they go about it. Several internal disciplinary proceedings have been brought on allegations of vote-buying, though none have recently been successful. In part, the practice is tolerated because of OUCA's periodic financial problems, which mean that it requires the proceeds of vote-buying to avoid insolvency. Over the last few terms, as part of an "OUCA cleanup" vote buying has ceased leading to a more stable membership rate of about 650 members, it is not uncommon however for friends of presidential candidates to join purely to support their friend in the election - such as the 102 members at Oriel in 2002-3, which represented one-third of the then JCR. RECENT PRESIDENTS OUCA EVENTS Throughout the terms OUCA events and activities vary dramatically, depending on the President. However, all activities broadly follow four main routes; Port and Policy, speaker meetings, campaigning and social events. Michaelmas Term is always the strongest term with more debates and speakers, as well as many socials, whilst Trinity Term leans more heavily on the social side due to exams. Port and Policy OUCA's most famous event is Port and Policy, which is a hybrid between a social meeting and a political discussion. It is OUCA's most popular regular event, recently attracting weekly attendances of 70+ people. Port and Policy is usually held about six times a term on Sunday evenings in the Oxford Union. Although the format is up to the President and the Political Officer, it generally follows the lines of a set debate to start with followed by a debate with topics from the floor. This is all done in a relaxed environment with unlimited amounts of port being available. In May of 2007 OUCA's port and Policy featured in a documentary produced for Channel 4 titled '' Make Me A Tory ''. Speaker Meetings One of OUCA's most high profile elements is its speaker meetings. Recently OUCA has been visited by figures such as Margaret Thatcher (November 2002), Michael Howard (February 2007) , Michael Ancram , Edward Leigh , George Osborne , Alan Duncan , John Redwood , Ann Widdecombe , the Earl Of Onslow , Iain Duncan Smith , David Willetts , Oliver Letwin and Lord Patten . It is up to the President who is invited, which is of course restrained by the busy schedules of the high profile speakers that attend. Indeed, due to OUCA's reputation it often gets the biggest names in Conservative politics. Campaigning OUCA often campaigns in local and general elections in other constituencies. Over the last few years, this aspect of the Association's activities has become resurgent, and its success rate has dramatically increased, as demonstrated by an ever-increasing demand by Conservative M.P.s and councillors for OUCA's assistance in their constituencies and wards. The Association aided the Conservative candidate in the Headington Hill and Northway ward of Oxford in Trinity Term 2006 and sitting councillors in Swindon in Michaelmas Term of that year. In Hilary Term 2007 a group from OUCA went up to aid in the Ribble Valley election, where the Conservative party received their largest swing. For this, and OUCA's work in the Tooting area, Mark Clarke (politician) thanked them nationally. Recently OUCA has become far closer both to the national Conservative Party and Conservative Future as well as to its home constituency of Oxford West And Abingdon and aided them during election periods. Their commitment and loyalty to the party is shown as OUCA are often asked to put forward two candidates for the Oxford City Council elections. In the past however, OUCA campaigning has not always been the most successful. In 1997 the seat of Winchester was lost to Mark Oaten by two votes, and the incumbent Conservative MP, Gerry Malone successfully challenged the result in the High Court. OUCA campaigned in the resultant by-election, but the Liberal Democrat majority of 2 increased to 21,556. Both The Times and the Oxford Student reported OUCA's 2004 campaigning tour of southern England, led by then President Oliver Pepys (Oriel). The stories centred on the fact that the group stayed with married Tory MPs Virginia and Peter Bottomley, and woke them up in the early hours of the morning by singing Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Iolanthe' under their bedroom window. Social Events Politics aside, OUCA’s social events have always been incredibly popular. Although the arrangements are left to the discretion of the President and the Social Secretary, they usually include a beginning of term party (with an end of term Christmas one in Michaelmas and an end of term garden party in Trinity). There is normally a London trip, either to visit an M.P, the Commons, Lords or one of the London Clubs, to which OUCA has strong affiliations. In Trinity term there are usually sport matches against the Oxford Union , Cambridge University Conservative Association or even the OULC . Both poker and film nights have been held recently along with the return of “''OUCA Clubbing''” – where members hire out the VIP room in some of the most prominent Oxford nightclubs. After port and Policy on Sunday members usually head down en masse to the King's Arms followed by the Purple Turtle. OUCA IN THE MEDIA Due to its prominence OUCA has oftened featured in the student, local, and national media. It has occasionally as a result of controversy but in recent times has been praised for its activity and support such as p.67. {Link without Title} . 2007 ''Make Me a Tory'' In May of 2007 OUCA featured in a documentary produced for Channel 4 titled '' Make Me A Tory ''. Featuring heavily was OUCA both at a Port & Policy debate as well as interviews with some of its Officers. Member expelled In May 2007 OUCA member and first-year historian was expelled from OUCA after giving a Nazi salute to former Conservative MP Gyles Brandreth . The incident was reported in the national press [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1826479.ece . Although Brandreth said that he did not see the incident the OUCA Disciplinary Committee was called. They expelled the member, who had a patchy record, as well as banning him from all future, especially "open", events. The then President, Sam Belcher issued a statement exclaiming the disgust felt by both himself as well as the ordinary members of OUCA. 2006 Flag Sale When the then Acting-President, Charlie Steel, announced his intention to sell an esteemed relic, OUCA's enormous Union Flag , to raise funds, said flag was appropriated by a group calling themselves the "People’s Front for the Liberation of OUCA". The ''Cherwell'' speculated that the group was a splinter faction of the Moles Dining Club {Link without Title} . The flag was returned to OUCA after Steel handed over power but, due to its requiring cleaning, returned to events in Michaelmas 2007. Clarke/ Steel On 4th May 2006, OUCA President-Elect stood as a Conservative candidate in the council election in the Holywell ward in Oxford. He polled 165 votes, coming third behind the Liberal Democrats (564 votes), and the Green party (276 votes) {Link without Title} . However, it had been reported prior to polling day that his nomination paper was the subject of a police investigation, centering on allegations that some of the signatures on it were forged {Link without Title} , and this led to calls within OUCA for his resignation. An open letter to the Cherwell signed by 24 current and former OUCA officers and officials, called on Steel to resign, despite the lack of evidence or formal charges against him. [http://www.cherwell.org/news/ouca_officers_past_and_present_call_for_pres_elect_charlie_steel_to_resign . On Wednesday 3rd May, it emerged that OUCA President Simon Clarke had forged the signature of Alexander Samuels, an Ex-President of OUCA, copying it from a cheque to a bank mandate form for OUCA's bank account. [http://www.oxfordstudent.com/tt2006wk2/News/fresh_ouca_forgery_scandal . On Wednesday 10th May, Clarke resigned during OUCA Council, acknowledging his own contribution to the ongoing controversy. His resignation was followed by that of several other officers (including several signatories to the previous week's letter to Cherwell). The departing Treasurer and Treasurer-Elect were both reported as referred to Steel's failure to resign in their resignation statements. Ironically, following Clarke's resignation, Steel succeeded him as President {Link without Title} . 2005 George Galloway OUCA visit In Michaelmas 2005, a visit by the as he was detained in London. This led to the OULC backing down over the issue. 2002 Emily Wentz/Jamie Gardiner - Electoral Integrity In 2002, claims about the validity the appointment as Returning Officer of Emily Wentz, girlfriend of the then-President, Jamie Gardiner, led to public disputes within OUCA, and to a "constitutional crisis" and a number of internal disciplinary tribunals. 1989 Strippers In Trinity Term 2005, a ''Cherwell'' oped article referred to OUCA as "...inviting strippers to perform “lewd acts” in 1989" {Link without Title} . This event is the cause of OUCA being banned from holding events in Hertford College to this day. SEE ALSO
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