The contingency from Cambridge attending Conference was great: students, local party officers, councillors and activists featured, as well as Andrew Duff MEP, former city MP David Howarth, and our current representative Dr. Julian Huppert. All were present at the East of England drinks reception, attended by party president Tim Farron, who rightly congratulated the region for its graft and its achievements.

Julian himself gained prominence at a number of fringe events, and by successfully proposing the motion to Conference on the digital economy; in particular, the need to repeal the failed and draconian elements of the Digital Economy Act, jointly carried by the Tories and Labour through Parliament at the fag end of the last Government. It served as a reminder that Liberal Democrats best represent the protection of civil liberties, a fair judicial system, and effective management of the economy and its actors. These values are firmly embedded within our parliamentary party, the Cambridge branch and CSLD.

Jamie Scott
Jesus College
CSLD Campaigns Director

Nonetheless, Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats were pleased to see that our city faired much better than other parts of the UK, and that – in spite of the necessary challenges posed by deficit reduction, as well as the compromises of Coalition – thousands of us chose to reaffirm the area’s great Liberal tradition. It was heartening to see excellent councillors in the student wards – like Julie Smith of Newnham, Philip Tucker of Castle, and Andrea Reiner of Market – retain their seats, so that they might continue to serve the city and universities well. I am sure that the successful defence of these wards was at least in part because people knew that our local Lib Dem MP, Dr. Julian Huppert, voted against a rise in tuition fees, and that the party being in government has secured a fairer deal for students and graduates. I am sure, too, that the electorate were well aware of the commendable work our councillors have done in the city, such as fighting the Tory County Council cuts to bus services, or that – in contrast to the Conservatives and Labour – no Lib Dem council in the country has decided to close down a SureStart centre.

CSLD were also pleased to note that Cambridge voted clearly to change the electoral system, and adopt AV. Lib Dems have persistently made the case that First-Past-the-Post is not fit for purpose, and CSLD has been at the forefront of the campaign for fairer votes for many months now. And even though the referendum result is a bitter disappointment, that should not diminish the great constitutional reforms Lib Dems in Government have already achieved: fixed-term parliaments, equal-sized constituencies, more power given to Commons backbenchers. With the right to recall corrupt MPs and an elected House of Lords also in the works, it is clear that Nick Clegg and the rest of the party are doing all they can to improve this nation’s democracy.

Thousands of Cambridge residents and students backed the Liberal Democrats this week, recognising our achievements in Government, in spite of the considerable difficulties we face, and appreciating the invaluable role we play on the streets of the city, as well as in restraining the Tory menace in Whitehall – not least, in forcing the Conservatives to seriously amend their reforms to the NHS. We will not let the people down.

Jamie Scott, Jesus College, CSLD Campaigns Director

With Cambridge’s excellent Lib Dem MP David Howarth retiring, we can’t be complacent – though we have an outstanding new candidate in long-time Cambridge activist and fellow of Clare Julian Huppert. Remember, at the last election, David Howarth overturned an 8,500 Labour majority on the third-largest swing in the country, and the election before that Labour had a 16,500 majority in Cambridge.

Labour are closely contesting this seat in what looks like being a tight Lib/Lab fight. The Tories, in third place on 17%, and the Greens in fourth place on 3%, are not serious candidates in Cambridge. If you can help in any way at all, then please fill in the form at http://tinyurl.com/helpcsld , or just turn up to volunteer at our HQ in Wellington Court.

STOP PRESS: Former Lib Dem Leader Charles Kennedy will be coming to Cambridge on Thursday morning, for a walkabout in Market Square – all are welcome. Just come along at 10:45am on Thursday 22 April.

Nick Clegg in central Cambridge, with parliamentary candidate Julian Huppert

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg was in Cambridge today. He spoke at a packed CSLD meeting of over 200 students in Trinity Hall, and took questions, including reaffirming the Lib Dems’ commitment to scrap tuition fees.

Matthew Parris

Times columnist and former Conservative MP Matthew Parris recently wrote about his one-time membership of Cambridge University Liberal Club – you can read his comments at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article6987062.ece.

You can also read how Cambridge’s Conservatives responded to his side-swipe at them, in their follow-up letter to The Times at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article6991663.ece

Dr. Julian Huppert has been selected by Cambridge Liberal Democrats to be their candidate at the next general election, after David Howarth announced he was standing down.

Like David before him, Julian has long been a stalwart of CSLD, and signed up when he was a fresher in the mid-1990s. He was later Treasurer of the society, and became a highly active Cambridgeshire county councillor while pursuing an academic career. He is currently a Fellow of Clare College working in DNA analysis, and is a member of the national council of Liberty.

We very much look forward to working with Julian to get him elected in the coming months – as all who know him will testify, he has the intellect and integrity to make a first-rate MP for Cambridge.

Oscar Wilde

Archives always hold surprises, and one of the nicer surprises in Cambridge University Liberal Club’s past was to find that one of its earliest speakers was Oscar Wilde – not generally known as a Liberal, although he alternately dabbled with elements of socialism, libertarianism, and fully-fledged cynicism.

On 20 November 1889, sharing a platform with the Liberal peer Lord Monkswell, Oscar Wilde spoke to a meeting of the society in Gonville and Caius College. Access was tightly controlled, with tickets needing the signature of one of the two club secretaries.

Thanks to contributions from former CU Liberal Club activists Peter Calvert (President, Michaelmas 1959), David Wright (member, early 1970s), Sandy Walkington (Chair, Lent 1974), Tim Brittain-Catlin (CUSD President, Michaelmas 1981-Easter 1982), Paul Jessop (CUSD President, Michaelmas 1982), and Martin Pierce (Chair, Michaelmas 1985), we’ve been able to massively expand the lists of past officeholders.

In particular, we’re enormously grateful to Peter Calvert for his phenomenally detailed research on the history of the society conducted in the early 1960s, which has been invaluable in filling in most of the information for before 1945. The expanded lists of officers can be found here, here, and here.

As ever, this is an ongoing project which will be the appendix to a history of CSLD’s predecessor societies, so any further information or corrections would be very welcome!

The Keynes Society is sad to announce that David Howarth MP will be standing down at the next general election. David took the Cambridge seat from Labour on a 20% swing – the third-largest in the country – in 2005, and has been a truly outstanding MP since then.

He first joined Cambridge University Liberal Club when he was a student at Clare College in 1978. Contemporary registers show a “Dave Howarth” who assiduously turned up to speaker meetings. After graduate study at Yale, David returned to Clare in 1985, becoming a Reader in Law and Economics. He also had a parallel career as a local councillor. First elected as a Liberal for Castle Ward in 1987, he led the third party on the council into official opposition and eventually government, serving as Leader of Cambridge City Council between 2000 and 2003, when he headed up Cambridge’s pioneering efforts on recycling, and was responsible for numerous initiatives dealing with homelessness.

David stood down from the council to win the parliamentary seat of Cambridge, succeeding at his third attempt. As an MP he has been outspoken on a number of issues, including successfully halting an “abolition of parliament bill”, heading up the campaign against government cuts to mental health care provision in Cambridge, and he has been a tireless voice on liberal issues from controlling the arms trade to cutting carbon. Most recently, as  the Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, David’s forensic knowledge of civil and criminal law have seen him gain respect from all parties for his interventions.

David will be standing down to focus on his academic career, and he will no doubt continue to be a powerful voice in Cambridge, and in liberal politics. More on his announcement can be readhere, here, and here.

Some of these records stretch back to the society’s foundation in 1886, and a pretty complete list is available as far back as 1945.

We hope to further extend this information in the coming months, and would welcome all extra information and amendments from alumni.