University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 2011
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The University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 2011 refers to a rare instance of a contested election for this position of
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
that occurred in October 2011, resulting in the choice of
Lord Sainsbury of Turville David John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville, , raeng.org.uk. Accessed 8 September 2022. (24 October 1940) is a British politician, businessman and philanthropist. From 1992 to 1997, he served as chairman of Sainsbury's, the supermarket c ...
to succeed the retiring incumbent
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
. The Duke had retired on 30 June 2011, shortly after his 90th birthday, having been Chancellor since December 1976. Three other candidates were nominated to oppose the candidate proposed by the university's Nomination Board; the post was won by Lord Sainsbury with 52% of the vote, with a simple majority required to avoid a runoff. Contesting the post were actor
Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of ''I, Claudius'', King Richard IV i ...
, who finished second with 25% of the votes cast, barrister
Michael Mansfield Michael Mansfield (born 12 October 1941) is an English barrister and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers. He was recently described as "The king of human rights work" by The Legal 500 and as a Leading Silk in civil liberties and human rights ( ...
, QC with 17%, and local grocery-owner Abdul Arain with 6%. The election was the first time the Chancellorship had been contested since 1950, and the first actively fought contest since 1847. Although the election was conducted by the single transferable vote system, no transfers of votes were needed as Sainsbury secured a majority of first preference votes.


Predecessor

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
retired on 30 June 2011, creating the opening which led to the October 2011 election. The Duke, consort of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, had served as Chancellor since December 1976, and announced departure of the post as he reached his 90th birthday, after more than 30 years in the post.John F. Burns, 2011, "Cambridge Vote Ends With Supermarket Mogul on Top and Grocer in Last," ''The New York Times'' (online), October 16, 2011, se

accessed 14 March 2015.
Prince Philip was quoted by ''The New York Times'' as saying "he wanted a life with 'less frantic rushing about' to ceremonial occasions and 'less trying to think of something to say.'"


Precedent and electorate

The 2011 election for Chancellorship was the first time the post had been contested since 1950, and the first actively fought contest since 1847. The constituency, electorate consisted of the Senate: all members of the
University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
holding a higher degree from Cambridge. In effect, this meant that every Cambridge graduate holding a degree other than a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
(save the BD) had a vote. Cambridge offers an upgrade of a BA to an MA six years and one term after undergraduates
matriculate Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...
, so usually around three and a half years after they first graduate. Additionally, MA degrees are given to some members of staff, to make them a senior member of the university. In addition, all members of the
Regent House The Regent House is the governing body of the University of Cambridge. It consists of most academic and academic-related staff of the University's colleges and departments. It currently has more than 3,000 members. Meetings of the Regent House ...
were also entitled to vote as they are automatically members of the Senate, even if they have no previous Cambridge degree; this included most post-doctoral research staff who were also members of a faculty and also fellows of the colleges who do not hold a Cambridge degree. Votes were cast in person at the Senate House in Cambridge on two polling days. Although not required to wear full
academic dress Academic dress is a traditional form of clothing for academic settings, mainly tertiary (and sometimes secondary) education, worn mainly by those who have obtained a university degree (or similar), or hold a status that entitles them to assum ...
to vote, voters were required to wear the appropriate gown and the university provided gowns, without charge, to voters who did not have them. By contrast, the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
dispensed entirely with such dress requirements for its Chancellor election in 2003. The election was the first election for a Cambridge Chancellor to use the
single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
system. According to the regulations, one of the candidates is nominated by the university's Nomination Board, and anyone else (whether a member of the University or not) can stand as a candidate if nominated by at least fifty senior members of the University holding higher degrees. Beyond the fifty or more nominators, there are no other requirements for candidates.


Candidates

Four candidates were nominated: *Abdul Arain, local grocery-owner *
Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of ''I, Claudius'', King Richard IV i ...
, actor and mountaineer *
Michael Mansfield Michael Mansfield (born 12 October 1941) is an English barrister and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers. He was recently described as "The king of human rights work" by The Legal 500 and as a Leading Silk in civil liberties and human rights ( ...
, barrister *
David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville David John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville, , raeng.org.uk. Accessed 8 September 2022. (24 October 1940) is a British politician, businessman and philanthropist. From 1992 to 1997, he served as chairman of Sainsbury's, the supermarket c ...
, businessman, politician and philanthropist


Procedure

In December 2010, aware that Prince Philip intended to retire at the end of that academic year, the university convened a Nomination Board, composed of the University Council, plus sixteen members appointed by the University Senate. On 20 May 2011, the Nomination Board put forward
Lord Sainsbury Baron Sainsbury was created in 1962 for Alan Sainsbury in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. There have been two other peers with the surname "Sainsbury" who included their surname as part of their titles; all are from the Sainsbury family, nam ...
as their candidate. As per statutory procedure, if nobody had challenged him, he would then have been deemed elected unopposed on 1 July 2011, without the need for a ballot. No election has been opposed since 1950, where one candidate withdrew before the poll; the last election actively contested at a poll was in
1847 Events January–March * January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government. * January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California. * January 16 – John C. Frémont ...
. The announcement on 27 May 2011 by Abdul Arain that he would be standing against Lord Sainsbury triggered the first contested election for the Chancellorship in sixty-one years. In the event of a contested election, a ballot must take place over two days, between 21 and 28 days of
full term Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but can ...
after the close of nominations. Since the date of the close of nominations - 17 June 2011 - fell on the last full day of Easter Term, this meant that an election could not be held until a month after the end of the summer vacation, in October 2011.


The campaign

The election came as a surprise to some, as it had generally been assumed that Lord Sainsbury's candidature would be unopposed, and an initial press announcement from the university seemed to confirm that preparations were underway to install Sainsbury unopposed. On 27 May, local
grocery A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...
-owner Abdul Arain announced that he was standing against Sainsbury, in opposition to an application to build a
Sainsbury's Local Sainsbury's Local (a trading name of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd) is a chain of 770 convenience shops operated by the UK's second largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's. History In 1998, Sainsbury's piloted its first Local shop in Hammersmith. ...
in Cambridge's Mill Road district, which he claimed would harm the character of the area. He argued that, "once again, the university is called upon to be the vanguard of local communities", later adding, "Cambridge should be an institution that nurtures the community as well as world-renowned educational values", and that, "I'm standing for the whole Cambridge community." Speaking to ''
The Grocer ''The Grocer'' is a British magazine devoted to grocery sales, published by William Reed Business Media. It has been published since 1862. The Grocer 33 A feature of the magazine is 'The Grocer 33'. This is a survey of each of the 5 leading s ...
'', Arain commented, "I’m not against Lord Sainsbury personally but the university should defend the local community. Cambridge is becoming a clone town." He also compared his "outsider" status to that of
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
. Despite Arain's early declaration to stand, it took him a while to accumulate the 50 nominations necessary, stating on 3 June that he had 40 signatures, and expected to have another 10 by the close of nominations. On 6 June, he confirmed that he now had 50 nominators. On 31 May, it was announced that over the preceding
Bank Holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...
weekend, a
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campaign by Cambridge graduates to draft veteran
Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
actor
Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of ''I, Claudius'', King Richard IV i ...
as a candidate had resulted in the necessary 50 signatures being generated. Blessed was then approached, and released a statement on 2 June that he was "absolutely staggered" by the nomination, but that he was "delighted to accept", stating in his acceptance letter, "For me, Cambridge has always been the centre of the earth, there is a brightness and light there that rivals that on
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
. The University buildings are architecturally beautiful, the whole setting is wonderful and enchants the soul. I am thrilled to be asked and wish you every success with the campaign." Blessed later added, "To me, being the next Chancellor of Cambridge University would be a miracle, because I’m the son of a
coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
", and he pledged to be an active Chancellor, remarking, "I’d like to inspire them to do expeditions all over the world. I would love to join them in expeditions, and promote adventure, adventure, adventure: I think the key to the new millennium is adventure. And it is ''that'' that I want to urge; and the university has so many projects, so many enterprises, so many departments, it makes my hair stand on end at the prospect of working with them." A poll in ''
The Tab ''The Tab'' is a tabloid-style youth news site, published by Tab Media Ltd. It was launched at the University of Cambridge and has since expanded to over 80 universities in the United Kingdom and United States. The name originates from both an ...
'' amongst their student readers (few of whom can vote) found Blessed to be the overwhelming favourite amongst students, polling 63.2%, compared to 13.5% for none of the candidates, 10% for Abdul Arain, and 5.7% for Lord Sainsbury, with 7.7% voting "I don't care." On 2 June, Cambridge
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Professor and ''
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'' columnist Mary Beard noted that despite "no connection" over Sainsbury's £82 million in donations to Cambridge University, she would "probably" vote for him, branding Arain a "publicity seeker", and describing Blessed's popularity with younger voters and students as "puzzling." On 6 June, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' commented that the election had been expected to be a, "David and Goliath battle between Lord Sainsbury and local shopkeeper Abdul Arain. But this unlikely face-off could be disrupted by the unexpected participation" of Blessed. On 14 June, it was reported that
radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
Michael Mansfield Michael Mansfield (born 12 October 1941) is an English barrister and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers. He was recently described as "The king of human rights work" by The Legal 500 and as a Leading Silk in civil liberties and human rights ( ...
had been nominated by several Cambridge academics, with the lawyer describing his candidature as, "a fine opportunity to defend the principles of
Higher Education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
and critical thinking in particular, which have been steadily eroded by successive governments wedded to market forces." In their supporting letter, his nominators contrasted his stance on several issues with that of Lord Sainsbury, writing that, "even if Mr Mansfield does not win this election, the campaign in his support will be able to articulate very clearly the fundamental opposition between what these two men stand for.". One of Mansfield's nominators elaborated to the ''
Law Gazette ''The Law Society Gazette'' (also known as the ''Gazette'' or the ''Law Gazette'') is a British weekly legal magazine for solicitors in England and Wales published by the Law Society of England and Wales. While it is available to buy and on s ...
'' on why the barrister was standing: "Is it too rude to call (Lord Sainsbury) a plutocrat? He has inherited wealth, and represents some of the
capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
focus that threatens the ideas on which a university is founded. We’d like to see someone who is prepared to question
the establishment ''The Establishment'' is a term used to describe a dominant social group , group or elite that controls a polity or an organization. It may comprise a closed social group that selects its own members, or entrenched elite structures in specific ...
." Nominations closed on 17 June, when a university spokesman confirmed that all four candidates had secured the level of support needed to get on to the ballot paper. Lord Sainsbury made his first public statement on the election since being nominated, stating, "I have great admiration and affection for the university, built up over all the years since I was an
undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
at King's, studying
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and then
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. I also have a life-long interest in
education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
. I have no personal agenda, and if elected, my sole aim would be to help the university in any way that I can." ''
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'' profiled the election on 5 July, identifying Brian Blessed as "the runaway favourite" for the post. On 24 July, Brian Blessed launched his official campaign website. On 22 August, Blessed drew press attention as he released his first campaign video, in which Blessed described his humble origins and argued that the next Chancellor "must sweat blood to help people who are underprivileged", and offered to help in widening access to Cambridge, "with humour, and drive and soul and appreciation." On 14 September, the
Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debatin ...
announced that they had secured the agreement of all four candidates for each to give their own separate
hustings A husting originally referred to a native Germanic governing assembly, the thing. By metonymy, the term may now refer to any event (such as debates or speeches) during an election campaign where one or more of the candidates are present. Devel ...
in the week before the election, with four Q&A sessions scheduled for between 10 and 12 October. None of the candidates would be attending hustings opposite their rival candidates. On 20 September, Lord Sainsbury launched his official campaign website. On 23 September, it was announced in the local press that Blessed intended to spend the afternoon of one of the election days holding court in a Cambridge
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, thanking his supporters as they return from voting. Blessed subsequently received endorsements from Cambridge alumni
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and Sir Derek Jacobi. On 3 October, Lord Sainsbury gave an election interview with the ''Cambridge Evening News'', in which he said "I’m not quite certain why any of the other three" candidates were standing against him, and he described his links to Cambridge as an undergraduate at King's between 1959 and 1963, his strong record in promoting British universities as a government minister, and his support for the introduction of student fees in the 1990s. On 6 October, Abdul Arain revealed that he had the backing of the Cambridge's Mill Road Society, of which he is a former Chairman. He also unveiled several posters of himself, some
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videos in which he set out his case for standing, based on "representing a world-class university which has deep roots in its local community." Subsequently, Cambridge Student paper ''The Tab'' commented, "This leaves radical lawyer Michael Mansfield the quietest contender so far", with Mansfield having made no public statement on the election since his letter accepting nomination four months earlier. On 7 October, IT analysts speculated "a failure by Cambridge University administrators to understand online campaign techniques may result in the defeat of their preferred candidate for the next university chancellor - Lord Sainsbury of Turville", and predicted a possible victory for Blessed. Cambridge alumnus Anthony Zacharzewski, a democracy analyst and founder of the Democratic Society, argued that the University's failure to engage with online campaigning and to adequately publicise the candidates' web presences, "plays into the hands of the Blessed vote", since his supporters had the best-organised online presence. The same analysts also predicted "gridlock in the city centre" on the election days. Neither prediction was borne out by events.


The election and aftermath

It was confirmed by the university authorities on 18 June that the two
polling day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ar ...
s would be held on Friday 14 October and Saturday 15 October 2011, with voting taking place in the Senate House between 10am and 8pm on each day. The results were announced just after mid-day on Sunday 16 October.Samantha Sharman, 2011, "Sainsbury wins Chancellor election," ''Varsity'' (online), October 16, 2011, se

accessed 14 March 2015.
Analysis of the election noted low turnout, with 2.5% of those eligible casting votes. On hearing of his success, Lord Sainsbury said:


External links


Official information on election arrangementsAbdul Arain for Chancellor Facebook pageBrian Blessed for Chancellor - official campaign websiteElection statement from Michael Mansfield QCDavid Sainsbury official site


See also

* List of chancellors of the University of Cambridge


Notes

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University of Cambridge Chancellor election University of Cambridge Chancellor election University of Cambridge Chancellor election Non-partisan elections