William Hague Speaks to Manchester Students

The room fell silent immediately. Some 60 heads turned to the front now, eagerly listening, as the man in the dark suit with the shiny head raises his voice, ?Politics is never tedious, never boring?. William Hague claims his words are not those of empty promises or preaching, but those of an approachable politician with the ambition to politically mobilise young people. An anecdote here and there and the crowd bursts into a gale of laughter. The Shadow Foreign Secretary knows exactly how to catch the attention of his young audience. And he has a clear message to deliver.

A rare afternoon of active political involvement amongst Manchester?s students. Those who have secretly been craving for an opportunity to welcome some of Britain?s most renowned political figures to the University took a sigh of relief, when the political spotlight turned to ?Kro Bar? on Tuesday, 15th April. William Hague MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, came to campus to speak to students about democracy, how it affects them and why voting makes all the difference. The event was hosted by Rob Ardlard, Conservative candidate for the city centre.

The problem with low turnouts that has consistently dogged Manchester?s Student Union in the past was fortunately not a characteristic of yesterday?s talk. With more than 60 young people attending, the event?s turnout exceeded the expectations of the organisers with ?a massive response and a room jam packed full of students?, says Conservative Future Area Chairman Rob Largan. The event was so popular that people were happy to stand at the sides to be able to join the discussion.

Students had the opportunity to demand real answers from a top politician of both domestic and foreign affairs. Similar to the UMSU General Meeting on the disputed twinning with the Palestinian University of Al-Najah last November, it was predominantly the interest in controversial issues that attracted many of the students. When confronted with the ever-present question of American-British relations, Hague admitted that political developments such as Guantanamo Bay did much to undermine America?s moral authority and stressed that Britain needed a ?solid but frank relationship? with Washington. His comment on the Middle East that one ?can make mistakes if you don?t understand well enough a country?s history? indicated some criticism of Labour?s involvement in Iraq alongside its American allies.

Students were particularly concerned about the future of China and how it might affect Britain. It became clear that the Conservative MP favoured greater responsibilities for the economic giant to ?keep the door open? for a strong friendship. However, Hague remained vague on the controversy surrounding the Tibet issue. Although he pointed to the importance of protecting human rights in the area, his argument revealed that Britain intends to avoid any direct alienation of the Chinese, by refusing to recognise Tibet as a separate state.

Despite the fact that foreign policy issues formed the lifeblood of the discussion, the politician repeatedly emphasised the need for more local democracy in Britain. He said the move towards self-government could be achieved by giving the councils more freedoms in the decision-making process, although it is worth noting that Hague was strongly opposed to Labour’s devolution policies back in 1997. Democracy only works if it directly involves Britain?s citizens at a local level, as ?politics is about nuclear proliferation and globalization, but also about who?s-fixing-the-pavement?, Hague told the Politics Society. The Conservative MP made it clear to the students that politics is relevant and everyone can make a change. He himself was heavily involved in student politics during his time at Oxford University, where he was President of both the Oxford University Conservative Association and the Oxford Union.

Although Hague?s intention was to address the problem of political apathy among the young, he did not really have the platform to reach those of the student population who would abstain from voting, because most people who attended the discussion already had a strong interest in politics or were students of political sciences. Hague believes that, nonetheless, voting abstention remains a major challenge to make democracy work. After all, issues including climate change, nuclear proliferation and our relations with the Middle East ?will matter for the rest of your life, so don?t miss your opportunity to have some say on this.?