0:00:11 > 0:00:15We're the Conservative Association, I'm the Treasurer, and James is our Publicity Officer.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Quickly...
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Election results, 2010, this is looking good.
0:00:23 > 0:00:24We've got 40.8% of the vote share.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Really? Come on. We're going to do it.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31We're going to win, I think, come on.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33CHEERING
0:00:33 > 0:00:35- Jacqui Smith has gone. - What?
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Jacqui Smith! Jacqui Smith...
0:00:38 > 0:00:41It is an immense privilege and a pleasure to represent...
0:00:41 > 0:00:44The last general election produced a coalition cabinet
0:00:44 > 0:00:50where almost 70% of the ministers went to either Oxford or Cambridge.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55We've already won many seats that we couldn't have imagined gaining.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Come on, Simon. Yes! Yes! That's mine!
0:00:59 > 0:01:05Look at that, that is victory, that is sweet victory.
0:01:05 > 0:01:102010 was the first election that I stayed up all night to watch.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Though I do slightly regret not having been a year older,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17because then I'd have both got to vote,
0:01:17 > 0:01:22and I'd have been here on election night, which was apparently
0:01:22 > 0:01:27about the wildest party that can be imagined and never stopped.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33The student politics scene where many of our cabinet cut their teeth
0:01:33 > 0:01:37is famed to be every bit as ferocious as Westminster.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40They say that Oxford politics is the dirtiest in the world,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43the most brutal, most aggressive, a warlike forum.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Absolute nonsense.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52We follow two young Tories, one at Oxford and one at Cambridge,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56during a term that could make or break their political careers.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Whilst you might not be old enough
0:01:58 > 0:02:01to have a proper political career at 19,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05you're certainly old enough to kill a political career.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17One way to break into Tory politics in Oxford
0:02:17 > 0:02:21is through the Oxford University Conservative Association.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25An 88-year-old politics club, it's historically been a training ground
0:02:25 > 0:02:27for future Tory leaders,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31such as William Hague and Margaret Thatcher.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Arriving in Oxford is Joe Cooke, a straight-A student,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42he's in his third year studying politics, philosophy and economics.
0:02:44 > 0:02:50These are my tea chests, where I store my destructibles, shall we say,
0:02:50 > 0:02:55sort of ornaments, which can be damaged easily.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Now this is my crucifix, for effect may I add, not necessarily...
0:02:58 > 0:03:00I'm not that devout.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03What kind of effect does that give?
0:03:03 > 0:03:06You always trust a man with a cross, don't you?
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Joe's been a Conservative since the age of 14.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Lady Thatcher. She's the real heartbeat of the movement,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15the darling of the movement.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Go there.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19You see, she does look nice there,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22I could have the Union Jack beneath her, and then Winston above.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26That could be quite nice above my desk as well.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Cecil. Well, Sir Cecil is what we call him. He's a hare.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Last term, Joe was the President
0:03:34 > 0:03:38of the Oxford University Conservative Association.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41I'm entering semi-political retirement.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44I'm now the grandfather figure of the Conservative Association down here,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46the only ex-President still in residence,
0:03:46 > 0:03:53making me the third most powerful man after the Vice President and the current President.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Joe was one of the fastest rising stars in the history
0:03:59 > 0:04:02of the association, also known as OUCA.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07His one term long presidency started six months ago.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Today is the first official event of my presidency
0:04:15 > 0:04:18so I am now the President of OUCA. Whey!
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Early in his presidency, Joe had organised a gathering
0:04:22 > 0:04:25of his close associates at the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29So this is PJ Edwards, he's our political officer.
0:04:29 > 0:04:30Yes.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34George was the best communication director
0:04:34 > 0:04:36in the history of the Association.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38And where's your jacket from George?
0:04:38 > 0:04:42I thought I'd go with my college boater, my university bow tie
0:04:42 > 0:04:44and then the colour of old school colours.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Sort of a hodgepodge of old boys' institutions, George.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52Joe is awesome, flamboyant but above all, very clever.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55George, you're making my head grow even larger.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58I know that he will bring great prosperity to this country
0:04:58 > 0:05:00should he ever get involved with politics,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02which I encourage him to do, and I know he wants to.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Has the race started?
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Joe's declared mission as President
0:05:09 > 0:05:12was to focus OUCA less on socialising...
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Outcast!
0:05:14 > 0:05:17..and more on serious politics.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21I will deliver what the Conservatives need -
0:05:21 > 0:05:24reform, of modernity.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27I will deliver as a launch of our sort of Big Society in Oxford.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33If I have to drag them screaming and kicking,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35I assure you I'll put up a hell of a fight.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41But it wasn't meant to be.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45The OUCA presidency only lasts for one term
0:05:45 > 0:05:48and Joe's reign ended in disappointment for him,
0:05:48 > 0:05:53when his key reform failed to go through.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57They stabbed me in the back. I wasn't even allowed that one change.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02A charity reform, with me at the meeting being called Robert Mugabe,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06for trying to force something upon the Association that it didn't want.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Despite no longer being President,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15Joe will spend this term trying to reform OUCA from the sidelines
0:06:15 > 0:06:19and making sure it doesn't fall into the hands of his political rivals.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Many would have desired me to have crawled away
0:06:22 > 0:06:28into the woodworks and to have faded. But this is when I strike back.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31It's the beginning, it's not the end.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Order. Order.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43I call Mr Chris Monk to second the motion. Chris.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Community service.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54Why shouldn't someone, young or old, who has damaged the community...
0:06:54 > 0:06:58LAUGHTER
0:06:58 > 0:07:01APPLAUSE
0:07:01 > 0:07:05..who has damaged the community, pay for what they did
0:07:05 > 0:07:06by working to improve it.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Chris Monk is one of the youngest people to ever speak
0:07:09 > 0:07:10in the House of Commons.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12..are not isolated through society...
0:07:12 > 0:07:16He became a Tory when he was at primary school.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20At some point between me being five and me being nine,
0:07:20 > 0:07:24I decided that I supported the Conservative Party
0:07:24 > 0:07:29and became a proper Tory.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33We're back off to Cambridge for another term.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41It's easier to come out at Cambridge as being gay
0:07:41 > 0:07:44than it is to come out as being a Tory.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48We all say, "Well, yeah, so they're gay, so what?"
0:07:48 > 0:07:51You really don't get, "So he's a Tory, so what?"
0:07:51 > 0:07:55For one reason or another, the right wing has always been identified
0:07:55 > 0:07:58with taking things away, and being nasty.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Being with the Tories is a bit like The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05we're in the business of taking people's toys away,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and things like that. I mean, of course, that's untrue.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15The simple answer as to why Conservatism is not a popular creed
0:08:15 > 0:08:17at university is students don't pay tax.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23You've either got to have parents who are so wealthy
0:08:23 > 0:08:26that tax is a major issue around the dinner table,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30or you've got to be a bit unusual, and I fall into the second camp.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Chris lives with his parents who vote Lib Dem.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38They've always been baffled by his politics.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40He was very, very right-wing.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43He's always been right-wing.
0:08:43 > 0:08:50Sometimes too right, but yes, I don't think he's ever been left.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54He's never been particularly tolerant of certain aspects...
0:08:54 > 0:08:55Hey!
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Well, you're not. You haven't been. You're actually getting better now.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00What am I intolerant of?
0:09:00 > 0:09:03- I knew you were going to say that. - Your mother with comments like that!
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Chris is now entering his second year studying law,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12one of Cambridge University's most competitive subjects.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16This academic year is vital to any kind of political career
0:09:16 > 0:09:18I want to have. It sort of means
0:09:18 > 0:09:21that you either do make it or you don't make it.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26And if you crack, and if you sort of crash out in spectacular style
0:09:26 > 0:09:29because you said something, you said something inappropriate
0:09:29 > 0:09:33and it got into the media, then...that's it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Off downstairs and off to Cambridge.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58In Oxford, it's the second week of term.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03Despite no longer being President, Joe is determined to push his agenda
0:10:03 > 0:10:07within the Oxford University Conservative Association.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16The association is now being led by Joe's former friend, James Lawson,
0:10:16 > 0:10:17its new president.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20We've got a pool table in my college but this is more impressive.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22We're talking about the union, James.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25'We were a political unit,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29'a bit like sort of Tweedledum and Tweedledee.'
0:10:29 > 0:10:31We're the Conservative Association.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33I'm the Treasurer and James is our publicity officer.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38I was more of the front man of the band
0:10:38 > 0:10:43and James helped out with the backing music.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48Got the impression that friendship was not his priority, that it was...
0:10:48 > 0:10:52as long as it was compatible with the political figures and numbers.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54I always had that in my gut.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01I had inklings that he could betray me, but I...
0:11:01 > 0:11:03I never thought it would actually happen.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Joe's treasured charity reform was voted down
0:11:07 > 0:11:12on a constitutional technicality. He blames his ex-friend James for this.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Now there's an election coming up for OUCA's new committee.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Joe is determined to get his allies into power,
0:11:22 > 0:11:23but to do this, he needs votes.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28Every new member who joins the Association is meant
0:11:28 > 0:11:30to be read out in Council.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34So, as an ex-President, I am, by the letter of the law,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36allowed to know who's joined.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39However, our President re-interpreted the rules,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43to say that because 528 people joined last week,
0:11:43 > 0:11:49we didn't have to read them out, and he hadn't printed out a list.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52So, exercising my right, I merely asked if I could see a copy,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55so he gave me his computer.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57As that computer was passed to me in the meeting
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and the meeting continued, I quickly went into his files,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04found the required list of members and emailed it back to myself.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08I would never have given anybody my computer
0:12:08 > 0:12:11while connected to the internet.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14It wouldn't make sense so he should have expected it.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Dirty tactics already, Joe?
0:12:16 > 0:12:20I don't think it's a dirty tactic, when the results are so moral.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Joe's plan is to try to get his friend, George Mawhinney,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30elected into a key position.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And he's drawn up a number of related strategies.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34- Joe.- Good afternoon, gentleman.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Good to see you. How are you?
0:12:36 > 0:12:39- How are you? Enjoy London, Nihal? - It was all right.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41What teas would you like, gents?
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Could I have the light tea, I think.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Yeah, could we have... do we want three of the light tea?
0:12:46 > 0:12:47The light tea, I think.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Normally when you provide the scones,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52there's usually one plain and there's one with sultanas,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54- and can I just have two plain scones?- All right. OK.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Can I have two plain scones as well, I don't like raisins or anything.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- Could I have the exact same please? - LAUGHTER
0:13:00 > 0:13:02- Absolutely.- Great.- Thanks.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Joe is extremely clever.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09What's very unique about him is his ability to make these decisions
0:13:09 > 0:13:15which are so well considered, and so faultless at such short notice.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19I've produced a brief sort of outline of our strategies.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Plan B and C and D of Plan A in terms of total victory,
0:13:22 > 0:13:27moderate victory... A mad mutually assured destruction.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30And then I produced a second outline
0:13:30 > 0:13:34from what we were talking about the other night. Tudor Rose.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Marrying their Lancastrians to our Yorkists
0:13:37 > 0:13:40so that we retain influence and end factions.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43That would be getting George elected as a senior officer.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47I think in 20 years' time, Joe will be a cabinet minister.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51I think he definitely has what it takes to fulfil any role
0:13:51 > 0:13:53that he wants to in public life.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55I would love to see Joe as Prime Minister.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58That would be amazing and I think he could do it.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Look how many people have lost
0:14:00 > 0:14:04when they've fallen foul of certain people on this table.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08It's calculated that every enemy costs you a minimum of three votes.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12You see the biggest risk is that we disarm,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15they maintain all of their weapons...
0:14:15 > 0:14:18The key aim is you. I think it's about time we start making it,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21"This is what I want, this is what I'm willing to do to get it.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24"Agree or we'll come to blows."
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Ruthless as it is, that's how it works.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30We're going to commit to Operation Tudor Rose,
0:14:30 > 0:14:35but under the facade of Operation B Command/Total Victory.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Chris Monk has arrived in Cambridge.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52He's a member of the Cambridge University Conservative Association,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54or CUCA,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58which is also holding elections for its committee this term.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03The Association's elections are a popularity contest
0:15:03 > 0:15:06but it would almost be better described
0:15:06 > 0:15:10as a vote of confidence in your personality.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14But Chris fears that his background puts him at a disadvantage
0:15:14 > 0:15:17when it comes to a career in grown-up politics.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22I'm on a hiding to nothing trying to enter politics
0:15:22 > 0:15:24without significant connections.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28I'm around the kinds of people who have those kinds of connections,
0:15:28 > 0:15:33but my father isn't a socialist academic and I didn't go to Eton.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39I went to a comprehensive school, despite the accent.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Most people say that I speak posh.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45As far as I'm concerned, I speak normally and I speak properly.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50But Chris is now keen to start climbing the ranks of CUCA
0:15:50 > 0:15:53and this term he's putting himself forward
0:15:53 > 0:15:56for an entry level position on its committee.
0:16:00 > 0:16:01Every week of term,
0:16:01 > 0:16:07a debate is held at Cambridge's main debating society, called the Union.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10With a worldwide reputation for the cut and thrust of its debates,
0:16:10 > 0:16:15it's a meeting place for everybody who's anybody in Cambridge politics.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19The Union is an excellent place to get noticed
0:16:19 > 0:16:22by the political people in Cambridge.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27If you're known as being a sort of a wild firebrand of the right,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31as I to an extent am,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33it gets you noticed in your political society.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38I mean, yeah, I sort of speak every opportunity I get really.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Will you be speaking tonight?
0:16:40 > 0:16:43I can't possibly say whether I'll be speaking tonight,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47it all comes down to whether they pick me or not.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49Will they pick me? I don't know.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55To ensure his visibility, Chris has offered his services as a steward.
0:16:58 > 0:17:0490% of the time nothing happens, you're just standing around...
0:17:04 > 0:17:05Right.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08..being friendly, making sure everyone knows where they're going,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11telling people where the toilets are.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Yes, yes, yes, keep coming, keep coming.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18APPLAUSE
0:17:22 > 0:17:26This week, the motion is this house would leave the EU,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and I would like to call on Mark Winterburn who's a second year
0:17:29 > 0:17:32at Downing College to open the case for the proposition.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34APPLAUSE
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Coming into this debate, I am very aware
0:17:38 > 0:17:42that Euroscepticism is largely associated
0:17:42 > 0:17:46with some of the worst right-wing bigotry there is in this country.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49However, tonight I would like to overturn it.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52I'd really quite like to get elected,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55and speaking in the Union and getting a high profile will help
0:17:55 > 0:17:59because they'll see your name on the ballot, remember talking to you
0:17:59 > 0:18:02about the debate you were in last week,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05and they'll think, "I know him, he seems like a sound person.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07"Why don't I vote for him?"
0:18:07 > 0:18:12So if anybody would like to make a point in proposition of the motion,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15this house would leave the EU, please raise your hand.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Yes. Someone I can't quite see up there.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Chris Monk, Trinity Hall.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27First things first, we have a veto on the UN Security Council.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30This makes us one of the five most powerful countries
0:18:30 > 0:18:32in the world on its own.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Plus, we have a relationship with America,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39which is still a hell of a lot closer in my heart
0:18:39 > 0:18:43than my relationship to the Belgians.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48APPLAUSE
0:18:53 > 0:18:58It's always great to get picked and it's always great
0:18:58 > 0:19:01to get to finish your speech and then everybody to clap,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and you think, "Oh well, at least they didn't end up booing me."
0:19:10 > 0:19:13In Oxford, election fever is in full swing
0:19:13 > 0:19:18with Joe plotting to get his faction into power.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21So this is where we, the Oxford University Conservative Association,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25hold our, our weekly infamous debates, part of policy.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29OUCA books a room in the building
0:19:29 > 0:19:31of Oxford's 189-year-old Debating Society.
0:19:31 > 0:19:37Michael Heseltine said that the elections here...
0:19:37 > 0:19:40what he witnessed here were the bloodiest battle grounds
0:19:40 > 0:19:42in political life he'd ever come across.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46And have many coups been plotted in this room?
0:19:46 > 0:19:51No. Coups don't get plotted here, you're too on show in this room
0:19:51 > 0:19:54to plot or to scheme. The people will...
0:19:54 > 0:19:57You'll come in here, you'll say, "Oh, nice to see you, Michael.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01"How are you? Yes, oh, can we just have a quick word outside?"
0:20:01 > 0:20:04"Of course." You go out smiling, everyone thinks they're catching up,
0:20:04 > 0:20:08you walk out, and you'll be careful about who is out here
0:20:08 > 0:20:12watching where you're going, because obviously it's a long corridor,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14people can see what room you're going in.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17The first thing people think when they see you leaving is
0:20:17 > 0:20:18they're up to something.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22This is your last opportunity as well to find who you want to speak with,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and also to understand if somebody else is talking,
0:20:25 > 0:20:29or if somebody else is planning something.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31We'll just wait.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Can't quite talk now.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Now the reason you would choose this location at the end
0:20:41 > 0:20:44is because you still have a panoramic vision
0:20:44 > 0:20:46as to who knows what you're doing
0:20:46 > 0:20:48and if anyone's going to come and follow you.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52You also, by sitting here, have secured two exits.
0:20:52 > 0:20:53You know who's coming up those steps,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55you know who's coming up the back steps,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58so you have a total control over the area.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02The additional benefit is the table is in the corner,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04so you don't have to be seen by the people up there
0:21:04 > 0:21:06unless you want to be seen.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Suggests that there's quite an air of paranoia, Joe?
0:21:09 > 0:21:11It's not necessarily... Is it paranoia
0:21:11 > 0:21:16or is it a desire not to have your plans unveiled?
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Because they're betraying their friends by speaking to you sometimes,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21you're betraying yours by speaking to them.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23That's how significant it is.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30And Joe has decided to start talking to an old enemy.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35To strengthen his position and raise his profile,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38he's now getting into bed with the student newspaper.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43My former nemesis I'm now working with.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45He's agreed to write a weekly column
0:21:45 > 0:21:48and they need a photo for his by-line.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52You direct me at your will you know, I'll do anything.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55The Oxford Student has a history
0:21:55 > 0:21:58of publishing exposes about the inner workings of OUCA.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Can I have a cheeky smile and a tease...
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Cheeky, do I do...?
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Look, you journalists are already making me sweat,
0:22:06 > 0:22:07it's being amongst you all.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12I'm too used to your vindictive lies.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16'It will give me a degree of power.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20'I can criticise my replacement.'
0:22:20 > 0:22:23It's rather stressful, this.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27'If they're driving the party down a path I believe dangerous,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30'or if I believe there are changes which can be made
0:22:30 > 0:22:32'then I'm going to write about them
0:22:32 > 0:22:35'and I'm going to continue to nag until changes are made.'
0:22:35 > 0:22:36Touch away!
0:22:38 > 0:22:39'And so my voice will be heard.'
0:22:39 > 0:22:41I'm smiling. I'm trying.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46'They will listen, and if they don't listen, they'll be made to listen.'
0:22:46 > 0:22:48To England.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53- I'm standing for Committee. - Are you?
0:22:53 > 0:22:57If I've really caught the bug, I'd then run for Chairmanship.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00It'd be quite a fun job. I mean, being Chairman
0:23:00 > 0:23:04of the Cambridge University Conservative Association
0:23:04 > 0:23:06- is quite a title.- Won't do the CV any harm.- No.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11In Cambridge, Chris's parents have come to visit from Kettering.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14The one thing that would probably help is listening.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Giving people the idea that you're actually listening to them
0:23:18 > 0:23:22- and taking on board what they're saying.- Mm-hmm.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26I think you could slightly improve that to make yourself more electable.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31Even the impression you're listening to them and paying attention.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36- Keeping eye contact... - I am keeping eye contact!
0:23:36 > 0:23:41And not rolling your eyes when I'm talking to you. Actually listening.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- He can do for his mother. - All right, you can do for me,
0:23:44 > 0:23:49but that's the only thing because I think your views are really good.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53I think you put them forward really well but you need to listen!
0:23:53 > 0:23:56I mean, we're a social society, not a political one, really,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59so you get a lot of sort of conversations about
0:23:59 > 0:24:05what people are doing, about how you get port out of a dress shirt.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Half the point of the Conservative Association
0:24:07 > 0:24:10is that it gives you an opportunity
0:24:10 > 0:24:14to pretend to be a member of the upper classes for an afternoon.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19Why do you personally like the dressing up
0:24:19 > 0:24:24and to use what you said, being upper class for an evening?
0:24:24 > 0:24:25It just makes you feel special,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28it makes you feel like you're really at Cambridge.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31You're all dressed up in black tie,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34walking into a room where everyone else is in black tie.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38It's sort of, "Oh, Chris, hello, just come and sign this.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41"Well, of course you're a member, yes, yes,"
0:24:41 > 0:24:45and then straight over to the port where we sort of occasionally,
0:24:45 > 0:24:49where we have a chat about the cheese whilst waiting for the biscuits to arrive.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54The whole point of university, and Cambridge in particular,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57is that you're free to find out what you actually like doing,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00and who you actually like being with.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03And who you are.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Joe is going home to visit his family.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55Hello. Come on, I need a cup of tea with this weather.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Come on in, come on in.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Joe lives with his mother and sister.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Come on, Ruby.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Darling, have you been making sure you've been eating properly,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08- I do worry about you.- Yeah, I've got my vitamin regime
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and tinned fish in a morning, toast.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14How's jogging going on because I heard that you had a bit of a...
0:26:14 > 0:26:17The thing is, I've got these weights now that you strap to your legs
0:26:17 > 0:26:20and your arms whilst you're doing so you're...
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- I bet you look a bonny sight. - In the lycra.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24LAUGHTER
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Like Mr Muscle.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29He was the perfect baby.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34He was smiley, quiet, then maybe at four,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37I thought there should be some form now of more than just
0:26:37 > 0:26:39this smiling, happy child.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44He actually didn't start speaking until he was about five.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47The question had to be asked, is there something wrong?
0:26:47 > 0:26:50What are we dealing with here?
0:26:50 > 0:26:57They did several tests and said he seems to be major dyslexic.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00They asked me, "How does he dress?"
0:27:00 > 0:27:03I said, "Everything backwards-way round."
0:27:03 > 0:27:06"How does he watch television?" "Upside-down."
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Everything, he used to sit on the floor, on his back
0:27:08 > 0:27:10and watch everything upside-down.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15You forget... oh, Joe will go mad if I've got a little bit teary.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Yeah, you forget. Obviously, I don't forget,
0:27:20 > 0:27:25I lived every minute with him, every second of all this with him.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30It was very, very worrying because I brought the children up on my own
0:27:30 > 0:27:33which people used to say, "You've a lot on with Joe.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35"You're going to have a lot on with Joe."
0:27:35 > 0:27:39Without the support of my wonderful Mam and Dad,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43I think the road would have been even tougher for us.
0:27:43 > 0:27:44- Cold.- Cold, I know.
0:27:46 > 0:27:52It's just like father and son. It has been right from the word go,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56from him having his problem with his dyslexia.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58He were always trying to tell me something
0:27:58 > 0:28:01and it got to the stage where I could understand him,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04all this yobble-gobble I could understand.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07His mother and his grandmother couldn't
0:28:07 > 0:28:09but we could talk together, couldn't we?
0:28:09 > 0:28:10Yeah.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12How do you feel about your grandad?
0:28:12 > 0:28:16I get right teary when I talk about it because, you know,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18because he is the world to me.
0:28:18 > 0:28:24And he has laid the foundations for me to make something of my life.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26It was just someone showing an actual...
0:28:26 > 0:28:31someone showing an interest in me, someone actually putting time in.
0:28:31 > 0:28:36Making it clear that, you know, I could understand,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39I could if I persevered, I could learn, you know.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43Someone actually showing me that I was somebody.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47Yeah. Some belief in him.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52What changed that boy who was at the bottom of every class,
0:28:52 > 0:28:53who was unable to read? What is it
0:28:53 > 0:28:56that clicked at that age that made me able to go on?
0:28:58 > 0:29:00I remember that...
0:29:00 > 0:29:03this was 13 going on 14, and this was in religious education.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09I came in the bottom of the class and it just, you know,
0:29:09 > 0:29:11people laugh at you, people taunt at you,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14and I thought, you have no right to do that.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18I could... I know that I'm better than this.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21It were just like somebody turned a light on.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23He read everything, didn't he? His thirst for knowledge.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27He watched every documentary, every thing on every subject
0:29:27 > 0:29:31so that he could converse and what anybody said to him, he knew.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34Not a little bit, he knew everything, didn't he?
0:29:34 > 0:29:39Hence then, he sat for his exams, and what did he get?
0:29:39 > 0:29:41- All A-stars.- He got all A-stars.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45- If there's a subject...- He's not good at...- He has to be good at it.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49What child that doesn't speak until he's five years old
0:29:49 > 0:29:51takes Japanese at school?
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Why shouldn't I get what I want to get?
0:29:54 > 0:29:59I am different, and from difference can come great potential.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04The Conservative ideal is that where you are born
0:30:04 > 0:30:08should not determine where you end up.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11I was just struggling to be able to determine my own life
0:30:11 > 0:30:14and to go against people's expectations.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16I saw the Conservative Party as the party
0:30:16 > 0:30:19associated with the individual fighting against everything
0:30:19 > 0:30:21to be who they are.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32In my heart of hearts, yes, I would have liked to go to a public school,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35if only because that would have meant I would have met more people
0:30:35 > 0:30:38who were like-minded when I was younger.
0:30:38 > 0:30:43And it would possibly have made my earlier years at secondary school
0:30:43 > 0:30:48less lonely, and less lonely and involved less reading of books
0:30:48 > 0:30:51and more talking to people.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53And talking to the people who matter
0:30:53 > 0:30:58is the next phase in Chris's campaign to win a position on the CUCA committee.
0:30:59 > 0:31:05Tonight is the cross-party drinks. Asides from enjoyment...
0:31:05 > 0:31:10I mean, enjoyment is a very important part of conservatism,
0:31:10 > 0:31:14and, I mean, the other purpose is that we get to know...
0:31:14 > 0:31:17get to know people from other political parties.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Most of the primary party men on the Cambridge right
0:31:24 > 0:31:27will be around tonight.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33If they say that, "I really think voting for Chris would be a good thing,"
0:31:33 > 0:31:37and "I think Chris deserves to get on Committee this term,"
0:31:37 > 0:31:39then you know that you'll win.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45Committee doesn't have any power so you don't have to campaign as much
0:31:45 > 0:31:48because you don't need to reassure people that you're not going
0:31:48 > 0:31:51to do anything bad with your power, because you haven't got any.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57All you have to do is ensure that people believe
0:31:57 > 0:32:00that you are competent to perform small tasks.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06Buying port, procuring cheese, ensuring there are biscuits.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10Right. I'm off.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20Conservative cocktail, please. Conservative cocktail, please.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27We actually tend to go for port more
0:32:27 > 0:32:30because you get a lot more alcohol for your money with port.
0:32:30 > 0:32:36Famous alumni of the union, we've got huge numbers of politicians,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39Michael Howard, Kenneth Clarke.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43These things get lighter blue the more you drink of them.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46It's much like the modern Tory party.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49In the room tonight, I'm pretty confident
0:32:49 > 0:32:52that there are 10 or 15 future Tory MPs
0:32:52 > 0:32:55and probably at least three cabinet ministers.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00Image is important because essentially you want it to be as inclusive as possible.
0:33:00 > 0:33:06Conversation turns to the image of the Cambridge Conservatives,
0:33:06 > 0:33:09an organisation currently trying to reform and modernise.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13If you make something white tie, not only does that exclude...
0:33:13 > 0:33:15It becomes exclusive and excluding.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20There's something stultifying occasionally about suggestions
0:33:20 > 0:33:22so you must be careful.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25Actually I think you can give away everything that's special
0:33:25 > 0:33:27to make yourself inclusive.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31But then the people who you used to have
0:33:31 > 0:33:33will stop coming.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35I'm talking to the right people.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39I'll acknowledge that I would quite like a Committee slot this term
0:33:39 > 0:33:41and that I will be standing.
0:33:41 > 0:33:46Chris has just found himself among a group of CUCA movers and shakers.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50I'm thinking of running for Committee, yes.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55Would I be... Would I be... Would I be considered sound enough?
0:33:55 > 0:33:58If I ran for Committee, would I win?
0:33:58 > 0:34:00Well we're having a funny term this year
0:34:00 > 0:34:04- because we've got a lot of freshers looking to stand.- Really.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07But would I win if I stood?
0:34:07 > 0:34:11I mean, yeah, if you have an election on your hands.
0:34:11 > 0:34:16One assumes that I'm considered sound enough by the people
0:34:16 > 0:34:19that would actually turn up and vote.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22The committee consists of eight positions,
0:34:22 > 0:34:24but if more than eight people put themselves forward,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26there'll be an election.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28I approached some various members of CUCA.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31They thought I was a good, good, good person
0:34:31 > 0:34:33and that it was all happening,
0:34:33 > 0:34:37but there was a reasonably high likelihood that the Committee
0:34:37 > 0:34:40might be contested because there's lots of first years
0:34:40 > 0:34:43who are all talking about standing.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46I think you've got to take that sort of thing with a pinch of salt.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48I think it will be a long hard road
0:34:48 > 0:34:52and there'll be much attrition before the nomination papers go in.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05That belongs to the Union.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10Joe Cooke is back in Oxford, and there's been a turn of events.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12Oh right, OK, sorry.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16Joe has been leaked a text message written by James Lawson
0:35:16 > 0:35:21to a mutual acquaintance. James believes that Joe is responsible
0:35:21 > 0:35:25for various misdemeanours, some dating back to his presidency.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28He's threatening to strip Joe of his ex-President title.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31"Cooke wants to undermine the Association,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34"and I've seen proof of this. Not left with much room for manoeuvre,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36"I just hope he's not that stupid.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40"Given the evidence I've got on him, the views of central office,
0:35:40 > 0:35:42"and the fact I have sufficient support
0:35:42 > 0:35:45"to have him removed from his former office for his prior misdeeds."
0:35:47 > 0:35:50That was the final, final straw.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53I've been trying to snuff this little flame out,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56he's starting a huge fire which is going to continue to roar
0:35:56 > 0:35:58until it's all been destroyed.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00You know, I'm not going to give in now,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03now I've got my teeth in it, I've got nothing else to lose now.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05Biggest mistake, don't deal with a man who has nothing to lose
0:36:05 > 0:36:07because they'll go on fighting, you know,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11and I will go on fighting until he will apologise,
0:36:11 > 0:36:15but most importantly, he'll regret it at the end.
0:36:15 > 0:36:16Me and Lawson have started off
0:36:16 > 0:36:20from fundamentally different positions, you know.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23I'm the son of a convict.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28single parent family... I'm going to...
0:36:28 > 0:36:31I'll start again, sorry.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34I can't talk, I don't like talking about it, you see.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44You put on such a front down here,
0:36:44 > 0:36:49but as soon as you delve behind it, you know...
0:36:49 > 0:36:51The facade crumbles.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59All right, let me just...
0:37:02 > 0:37:09Me and James start from different ends of the spectrum.
0:37:09 > 0:37:16In 2009, when I came here, there were 25 pupils who were eligible,
0:37:16 > 0:37:23out of 10,000, 25 pupils who were eligible for free school meals.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25I was one of them.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30My father went to prison when I was four.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37We might have to...
0:37:37 > 0:37:40I'll write it down, I'd be fine, but it's just
0:37:40 > 0:37:42when it's coming from the heart, you know.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Joe, do you have friends at Oxford who know about your background?
0:37:46 > 0:37:48This is... I've never been able to tell anybody because
0:37:48 > 0:37:53if I'd have mentioned it, I'd have been laughed out, you know.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58I got laughed at enough having a Yorkshire accent, let alone...
0:37:58 > 0:38:01enough for the truth.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Every time I'd speak at Port and Policy, our debating forum,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09every time I'd get up, I'd stand down and then you'd get, you know,
0:38:09 > 0:38:13sort of, "Ee bah gum, our lad, Ilkley Moor, pork pie."
0:38:13 > 0:38:15They probably mean it as banter
0:38:15 > 0:38:19but when you've got an entire room doing that to you...
0:38:23 > 0:38:26..it eats away at your confidence.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33So I changed my accent, I dulled it down, I weakened it.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37I feel like I've betrayed who I am by playing by their game,
0:38:37 > 0:38:43you know, by having to hide who I am, just to fit in their warped reality.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45Why should I have ever done that?
0:38:45 > 0:38:51This is when I reclaim my identity now, this is when I strike back.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57Despite still being a senior member of OUCA,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Joe has already been helping the student paper to compile
0:39:00 > 0:39:04an explosive expose they're running about the association.
0:39:04 > 0:39:09This story is breaking, and they're going to keep coming now.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12All the skeletons are falling out of the closet.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16The years of corruption, the years of scandal, the hidden evil of OUCA.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20And tomorrow I resign.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Hot off the press.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41"Mutiny at OUCA. Three terms of debauchery, anti-Semitism
0:39:41 > 0:39:45"and nepotism have been blown open, after disillusioned OUCA officers
0:39:45 > 0:39:48"leaked more than 25 documents to the Oxford Student this week'.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51Some of the stories have come from other people
0:39:51 > 0:39:54and there's one in particular that's grabbed the headline.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58"Most embarrassing for the society is video evidence
0:39:58 > 0:40:01"of one member beginning an anti-Semitic chant."
0:40:01 > 0:40:05The lyrics are disgusting, I am not willing to repeat them.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07I don't want my voice saying those.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21Talks about this sort of drunken meeting where these racist
0:40:21 > 0:40:25and xenophobic and anti-Semitic songs are sung
0:40:25 > 0:40:27and it's absolutely unacceptable.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Was James Lawson involved in the singing of the racist song?
0:40:30 > 0:40:32No. It was before his time.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Despite his lack of involvement,
0:40:35 > 0:40:39as OUCA's current president, Joe's former friend
0:40:39 > 0:40:41is dragged into the spotlight.
0:40:41 > 0:40:46"And then finally we have the current President, James Lawson
0:40:46 > 0:40:48"who you can see beneath, wrapped in white tie,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51"in the Union Jack after an evening of excessive drinking.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00- Yes, coke, please.- Large or small? - Small, please.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05It's nearing the end of term and time for Chris
0:41:05 > 0:41:09to formally nominate himself for the CUCA Committee.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12I've already got a friend of mine who's a member of the Association
0:41:12 > 0:41:14to nominate me.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17I've just got to sign it and then deliver it to the Chairman.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23I've sort of carried on chatting to people and I think it's felt...
0:41:23 > 0:41:26I think it's sort of a general consensus I have a reasonable hope.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34It's now out of Chris's hands and all he can do is wait.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58I'm very unlikely to be told that this is not my time.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03But from the people who I would expect to say that sort of thing,
0:42:03 > 0:42:07if it was true, you just have to accept it.
0:42:07 > 0:42:13It's true and so one just works out whether it's not my time
0:42:13 > 0:42:15because I need to wait, or whether it's not my time
0:42:15 > 0:42:17because it's never going to happen.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22Running for a position and losing...
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Running and losing is hurtful.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Still no official comment.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41No communication from officers.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44I'd have had a crisis meeting by now, myself.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48It's been 10 hours since the paper came out,
0:42:48 > 0:42:52and Joe has still had no reaction from OUCA.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55Joe has decided to delay his resignation
0:42:55 > 0:42:59until the story has made more of an impact.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02He wants to get it into a national paper.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04He's come to meet the student journalist
0:43:04 > 0:43:05who wrote the original article.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07How are you, James?
0:43:07 > 0:43:13A copy of your salacious reporting, your excellent journalism.
0:43:13 > 0:43:18- If I was an excellent journalist... - We all start somewhere.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20The stuff that we can't currently print, is purely due to the fact
0:43:20 > 0:43:24that the Oxford Student is a student newspaper, it's too poor.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26If you went to the national newspapers,
0:43:26 > 0:43:29they can afford to take a hit in terms of a lawsuit or something.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32I mean it's just a tragedy that we couldn't put the other photos
0:43:32 > 0:43:35- that we had in there... - But it means that they could be saved
0:43:35 > 0:43:37- for the national media.- OK.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39This is the other thing we can talk about because I just spoke
0:43:39 > 0:43:42to someone at the Telegraph and they're thinking of looking into it.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45And he thinks it could work, it could be well worth it.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48I'm willing to resign with one of them and have a full-on interview
0:43:48 > 0:43:50- about these stories.- Do you mind if I take this?
0:43:50 > 0:43:51Hello.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56You're saying that the gay porn star will let you take a picture of him
0:43:56 > 0:43:59naked for the paper? Oh, fantastic.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01He's going to be completely naked?
0:44:01 > 0:44:03What's he doing with the mortar board?
0:44:03 > 0:44:05Well our property... We should probably put it over.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07I'm going to put it on his head.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09Sorry, Francis, go on...
0:44:09 > 0:44:13So you need a mortar board within the next 10 minutes basically?
0:44:13 > 0:44:15I'll find a finalist or something that's got a mortar board,
0:44:15 > 0:44:17failing that I'll get my tutor to get his.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21He works late. Awesome, have fun. See you, Francis.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Ta-ta. No worries.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26The racy life of a news editor.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31So you want to completely...
0:44:31 > 0:44:33- destroy OUCA and its existence. - Well, it's not that.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36I want to destroy what is a cancer in the Conservative Party,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39that has been a source of these stories for how many years,
0:44:39 > 0:44:43that has continued to reinforce stereotypes and this behaviour...
0:44:43 > 0:44:46this behaviour would get you arrested or thrown out of Parliament,
0:44:46 > 0:44:47if you're in there.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51Newspapers don't want you guys to reform, they want you to keep on...
0:44:51 > 0:44:55They want more colour, more sort of port-soaked debauchery,
0:44:55 > 0:44:57you know, this kind of thing. More incriminating photos.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01If it's going to go to a national newspaper, especially,
0:45:01 > 0:45:04and it may end up in a tabloid, because broadsheets can be...
0:45:04 > 0:45:07If he's going to sensationalise it, it's better.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09Yeah, sure, and to do that the best way forward
0:45:09 > 0:45:12is going to be the photographs we already have,
0:45:12 > 0:45:14people drinking port out of a helmet.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17Lawson passed out from drinking too much port,
0:45:17 > 0:45:19Lawson pole dancing at Babylove, all of these images.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22They're going to get completely lapped up.
0:45:22 > 0:45:27Oh, this might be the Telegraph.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Hey, great to hear from you again.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36Try and run it Monday, OK, cool.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39Yeah, I'll get some people on the record condemning it as well,
0:45:39 > 0:45:41OK, fantastic.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44All right, thanks so much for looking into it. See you soon.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46Thanks. Bye.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49So...
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Yeah, you're looking pretty good.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57We need you to come on the record for the Telegraph story.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59On Monday, so I need to resign tomorrow, if we can...
0:45:59 > 0:46:02You need to resign pretty sharpish. Resign,
0:46:02 > 0:46:05get all your friends to resign,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08get everyone who's even on the fence to resign. Mass resignation.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10When the Telegraph story comes out on Monday
0:46:10 > 0:46:14we can possibly follow it up with the fruits of the mutiny.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16It could be big.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19- I'm sure it will. We're making good progress.- Thank you.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21- Yeah, well, no worries.- And anything you need, give me a ring.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23Well, I'm going to be in touch
0:46:23 > 0:46:25because this is going to be an ongoing shit-storm.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27See you later on, yeah.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34In Cambridge, Chris has been called to a meeting in a pub
0:46:34 > 0:46:37where the election results will be announced.
0:46:37 > 0:46:42This is where CUCA usually has its polling station.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45Thusly will do..
0:46:45 > 0:46:49Members wander in from time to time to cast their votes.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00CUCA does not allow cameras into its meetings.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30We had the report from the returning officers and they said,
0:47:30 > 0:47:32well, there isn't going to be an election
0:47:32 > 0:47:36because there aren't enough candidates to make us have one,
0:47:36 > 0:47:40so everyone who applied for a position got it.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43And then they sort of read out the names of everyone
0:47:43 > 0:47:45who was on Committee, and I said, "Hang on a minute."
0:47:45 > 0:47:50I put my form in for that, and then it was realised that
0:47:50 > 0:47:54the Chairman hadn't actually told people about all of the people
0:47:54 > 0:47:57who had applied, and so they said,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00"Well, there are plenty of spaces on Committee
0:48:00 > 0:48:05"so you're on Committee too, it's just we've actually got to get...
0:48:05 > 0:48:08"We've actually got to sort that out."
0:48:08 > 0:48:11So basically the Chairman made a small mistake and lost
0:48:11 > 0:48:15a couple of application forms in his room somewhere.
0:48:15 > 0:48:17I do feel like I've achieved something,
0:48:17 > 0:48:19but in the end I also have quite a lot of sort of relief
0:48:19 > 0:48:24that I have sort of successfully navigated the...
0:48:24 > 0:48:28administrative difficulties that seem to be inherent in this thing
0:48:28 > 0:48:30as well as the political ones.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33I do now feel sort of that I am a...
0:48:33 > 0:48:37a person within CUCA. I have a position within the Association
0:48:37 > 0:48:41in the most literal and the most metaphorical senses.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43And, well, it's always something to build on,
0:48:43 > 0:48:48something that means you are now somebody in the Association.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52There is now a possibility that as a loyal member of Committee,
0:48:52 > 0:48:56I will be deputised to the purchase of supplies for port and cheese,
0:48:56 > 0:48:59so that could involve me...
0:48:59 > 0:49:02that could involve me sorting out how much cheese to buy,
0:49:02 > 0:49:06of what sort of cheese to buy, and indeed sourcing biscuits.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08And that has, to be honest,
0:49:08 > 0:49:12biscuit sourcing is actually quite a responsible position because
0:49:12 > 0:49:16it's always a bit of a difficulty on numbers
0:49:16 > 0:49:18and are you going to run out of biscuits,
0:49:18 > 0:49:20how much cheese have you got?
0:49:26 > 0:49:29All right, so what is the damage?
0:49:36 > 0:49:40- Are you serious? - That's page three.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44The headline is "Oxford Tories, nights of port and Nazi songs.
0:49:44 > 0:49:48"With two Prime Ministers and 13 Cabinet Ministers among its alumni,
0:49:48 > 0:49:52"the Oxford University Conservative Association has become
0:49:52 > 0:49:56"a conveyor belt for further leaders since it was founded in 1924.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59"But the student body whose patron is Baroness Thatcher
0:49:59 > 0:50:02"is facing potentially the biggest crisis in its history
0:50:02 > 0:50:06"after its own officers accused members of anti-Semitism,
0:50:06 > 0:50:10"debauchery and snobbery at its alcohol-fuelled meetings."
0:50:10 > 0:50:12- It's just disgusting.- Oh yeah, yeah.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16There's no way that they can come out of this unscathed.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33Somewhat...
0:50:33 > 0:50:39It's somewhat troubling the level of sort of press notoriety
0:50:39 > 0:50:44that the Oxford University Conservative Association manages to attract.
0:50:44 > 0:50:49No proper right thinking Conservative starts singing...
0:50:49 > 0:50:54starts singing racist songs, let alone sort of poorly composed
0:50:54 > 0:50:59and frankly musically valueless racist songs.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03I think Joe Cooke couldn't have let it carry on,
0:51:03 > 0:51:06but I think giving interviews to national newspapers
0:51:06 > 0:51:13about how awful it is, is really the mark of somebody who is trying to...
0:51:13 > 0:51:15bolster himself,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19sort of trying to ensure that none of the mess gets on him.
0:51:19 > 0:51:25And I think it's unacceptable to do personal damage,
0:51:25 > 0:51:31personal reputation or damage control at the expense of...
0:51:31 > 0:51:35an organisation you signed up to, when if you're President,
0:51:35 > 0:51:37you've signed up to support that organisation.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40I don't think it'll accomplish anything productive
0:51:40 > 0:51:44except burnishing Joe Cooke's political career.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53I'm the first President in the history, in 84 years,
0:51:53 > 0:51:54ever to resign.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57I don't want to say that I was involved in this
0:51:57 > 0:52:03and nothing changed because it's not me, so I've got to go.
0:52:09 > 0:52:13I want to wipe the slate clean, and I'm taking a lot of risks,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16my CV is going to be hit.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18I'll lose so many contacts.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21It jeopardises my internship in Washington,
0:52:21 > 0:52:24because it's organised through people linked to this group.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27So if I get accused of being selfish,
0:52:27 > 0:52:32or for using it as a motive or an agenda against Lawson personally,
0:52:32 > 0:52:35that will be the biggest offence to me
0:52:35 > 0:52:38because I am losing so much through taking this act.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43It's pressing the erase button on three years.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49I'm willing to take these risks for this
0:52:49 > 0:52:52because what are we without our values,
0:52:52 > 0:52:55what is life without principle?
0:52:57 > 0:53:01"Members of the Association, the hour of our departure has arrived,
0:53:01 > 0:53:03"and we go our separate ways.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07"In all decisions I have made in public and party life,
0:53:07 > 0:53:11"I have always acted in the interests of the Conservative Party,
0:53:11 > 0:53:15"the body to which we all owe the greatest of our allegiances
0:53:15 > 0:53:17"with regards politics.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24"Arriving in Oxford,
0:53:24 > 0:53:26"one of the 25 pupils eligible for free school meals,
0:53:26 > 0:53:29"the first male in my family to come to university,
0:53:29 > 0:53:31"and the only one without a criminal record,
0:53:31 > 0:53:35"I was committed to achieving some good, making some impact.
0:53:38 > 0:53:44"OUCA is the place that constructive conservatism goes to die.
0:53:44 > 0:53:49"It is, alas, a dishonourable stain on the Conservative movement.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55"Sincerely, your ex-President, Joe Cooke."
0:53:55 > 0:53:58We're going to the President's College, where I'm going
0:53:58 > 0:54:01to post my resignation and put all of this to an end.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14OUCA's President, James, has spoken out in the press denouncing racism
0:54:14 > 0:54:15but what Joe wants to know
0:54:15 > 0:54:19is what impact his own resignation has had on OUCA.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23He's sending Nihal along to OUCA's weekly council meeting
0:54:23 > 0:54:25with a hidden recording device.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32No longer a member of OUCA,
0:54:32 > 0:54:35this is Joe's only way of gauging it for himself.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42Hopefully this has worked. I've...
0:54:42 > 0:54:46How do you, how do you reckon we get it to work?
0:54:46 > 0:54:49How do I get..?
0:54:49 > 0:54:52STATIC
0:54:52 > 0:54:56Congratulations on your purchase, and welcome to Philips.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00- It must have been... - We mustn't have been...
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Do you think... Did you...
0:55:03 > 0:55:06I hit stop and then I tried to play it and it...
0:55:06 > 0:55:09Oh there we are, Nihal, you're on the wrong file.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11This is...
0:55:11 > 0:55:13INAUDIBLE
0:55:17 > 0:55:20Jim that says that he hasn't got anything from you.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24Well, I posted it this morning, an hour before...
0:55:24 > 0:55:28an hour before council in his pige and I also sent a second copy
0:55:28 > 0:55:31to James Lawson, and I sent an e-mail to James Lawson.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36Any legal pursuits against the papers?
0:55:36 > 0:55:40Well, yeah, this sort of aggressive stance that we expected from him
0:55:40 > 0:55:43hasn't really materialised in the sense that I think
0:55:43 > 0:55:48what he's come to realise is that drawing out this battle will only...
0:55:48 > 0:55:49Aggravate the situation.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52It'll result in the press story being drawn out.
0:55:52 > 0:55:53It's atrocious.
0:56:01 > 0:56:05I would very much like to be Chairman of CUCA.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08And you get to be the top Conservative in Cambridge.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10As Chairman, you have no power,
0:56:10 > 0:56:14I mean, there are no policies you can change.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16I really don't think that any of us at the age of 19
0:56:16 > 0:56:19are particularly fitted to have proper power.
0:56:19 > 0:56:24You do need to become a little more mature, I think, for that.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26You first think, yeah, this is fun.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30CUCA fundamentally to me is a leisure activity.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39It's always a worry to wonder if he's been eating properly,
0:56:39 > 0:56:40if he's pale.
0:56:40 > 0:56:45- Hello, darling. You all right? - There you are. Finally, you know.
0:56:45 > 0:56:50- I love you.- I missed you so much.
0:56:50 > 0:56:55Anything else exciting happening other than what's in the papers?
0:56:55 > 0:56:57No.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00Very rarely left my room really, became a bit of a recluse.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02Probably daren't!
0:57:02 > 0:57:05Is this ready for closing now, darling?
0:57:05 > 0:57:08- Yeah, seal it up.- Seal it up and she'll be here waiting for you.
0:57:10 > 0:57:11Last bag.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15- Close her up, darling.- I will.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21- And then back off to Yorkshire. - Off we go.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25The Conservative Party say that OUCA
0:57:25 > 0:57:29investigated and suspended one member indefinitely.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33Oxford University investigated OUCA.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37It uncovered irregularities in the club's financial accounts
0:57:37 > 0:57:40and banned it from using the university's name in its title
0:57:40 > 0:57:43for one year. OUCA became OCA.
0:58:32 > 0:58:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd