William Hague has criticised Peter Mandelson’s bid to become both the UK’s new envoy in America as well as taking over the top job in British universities.
The former Conservative leader spoke out as tensions flared in the battle between the two men to become chancellor of Oxford University.
Lord Hague said it would be “incompatible” for Lord Mandelson to do both roles as he dismissed a jibe by the former Labour Cabinet member that it was time to end the “Tory monopoly” of Oxford.
In a wide-ranging interview with Independent TV, Lord Hague also called for action in the wake of concerns over the so-called “cancel culture”, adding that students cannot expect the real world to be full of “echo chambers of like-minded people”.
Speaking ahead of next week’s announcement of who will be the new Oxford chancellor, Lord Hague:
- warns of the consequences of banning speakers with controversial views
- stands by his claim that Trump is a “dark cult” and says Thatcher would have no time for him
- warns Tories not to copy Trump by embracing Nigel Farage
The coveted Oxford role has come down to a fight between the two old political warhorses. Lord Mandelson masterminded Tony Blair’s three election victories, including 2001 which forced Hague to resign as Tory leader.
Notwithstanding the defeat, Mandelson was at Blair’s side as skilled debater Hague regularly outwitted him at the Commons despatch box
Now the two have crossed swords again.
Mandelson, widely tipped to become Britain’s new ambassador in Washington, has claimed he is capable of doing both roles because the Oxford chancellor position is merely a “ceremonial figurehead”.
But Hague says Mandelson could not possibly do the Oxford job while living on the other side of the Atlantic.
“It is important to be accessible and to be there (in Oxford),” Hague stressed. “You need to be active and energetic.
“I am diplomatically saying it is not compatible with full-so time employment in another country. Being a ‘ceremonial figurehead’ was only one part of the job. It has changed in the last 20 years.
“Going to ceremonies and being a figurehead… also requires physical presence in the country and in the universities. But these days it involves much more… fundfunds raising and explaining the brilliance of Oxford. It’s really important to be active and energetic.
“It is necessary for the Chancellor to be able to go there frequently.”
Lord Hague also rejected Lord Mandelson’s claim that it was time for a Labour Chancellor on the grounds that the post should not be a ‘Tory monopoly’ – seen as a reference to outgoing Chancellor Lord Patten.
Mandelson had got his facts wrong, he said: “There have been good chancellors – and they weren’t all white male Tories.”
Roy Jenkins, a Labour Cabinet Minister in the 1960s, and “one of the greatest figures in the Labour Party”, had also held the post, he pointed out.
Lord Hague added: “To think of it as a Tory or Labour Chancellor is a mistake. It is important to have the right candidate irrespective of politics or gender. It is not a political position.”
He also called for action in the wake of concerns over the so-called “cancel culture”, whereby students have tried to ban speakers with controversial views.
Lord Hague opposed “trigger warnings before Shakespeare plays” warning the audience of violent scenes in Macbeth and Hamlet.
“For 500 years, people have been coping with those statements,” he told The Independent.
Students must be ready to face “the debating chambers of the world (with) no echo chambers of like-minded people, where people stop hearing contrary opinions”.
Warning against what he described as a “snowflake generation”, he said students must be prepared for “a pretty dangerous world… with more polarization”.
Lord Hague said he “absolutely” stood by his claim, made on the eve of Donald Trump’s victory, that he “represents a dark cult that threatens freedom everywhere”.
He urged the Conservatives not to attempt to embrace Nigel Farage as a result of Trump’s success.
“That would be a mistake. It’s not being conservative to advocate huge budget deficits, move against free trade, refuse to defend a democratic nation under attack (Ukraine).
“Neither Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher would recognise that as being conservative.”
The final voting for the chancellor position takes place next week.