Outgoing Oxford Chancellor Chris Patten says his university produces ‘bullshitters’

Londoner’s Diary

Oxford University’s outgoing Chancellor Chris Patten has given a farewell interview, shared with university alumni yesterday, as he prepares to hang up his cap. In it, Patten, a former Conservative cabinet minister, gives a rough assessment of Oxford grads who went on to be Tory prime ministers. Asked about David Cameron, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, who all studied the politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) degree, Patten said: “It’s not the subject but the bullshitters that in some cases we produce.”

Of Boris Johnson he was even more cutting, noting “we can’t celebrate some of our prime ministers” when the subject of giving Johnson an official portrait at the university was raised. Johnson does have a portrait at the Tory Carlton Club, pictured, but not yet at Balliol, his old Oxford college.

The portrait of Boris Johnson by Richard Stone at the Carlton Club (Guido Fawkes)

This week, former Labour minister Lord Mandelson joined the race to replace Patten, reminding readers of The Spectator that there has never been a Labour-affiliated politician in the role and that 2024 “might now be the right time”.

Breakfast with Badenoch? Fat chance

Kemi Badenoch is among the favourites (PA) (PA Wire)

A new book on Kemi Badenoch is out just in time for the Tory leadership race, in which she is the current favourite. But what can we glean about the possible future leader of the Opposition from Lord Ashcroft’s Blue Ambition: The Unauthorised Biography of Kemi Badenoch? Well, she’s not a morning person and according to an aide “she’s not worth talking to before 9.30am and she hates the Westminster culture of breakfast meetings”. Another revelation? She hates live broadcast interviews and thinks they are “gotcha” journalism.

This possibly explains her tortuous Today programme interview during the election campaign, after which she rarely appeared on the airwaves again. We also learn that Badenoch “has a problem with lobby journalists”, who cover Westminster, and has a habit of turning up late to meetings (she was 20 minutes overdue at her first Cabinet meeting). Are these the qualities that will make a possible future prime minister? Readers can be the judge of that.