Events

On Tuesday evening the Politics Society welcomed Jonathan Oliver to the School for a fascinating insight into the world of political journalism and his assessments of the current state of British Politics.

Formally a journalist for the Mail on Sunday, Jonathan Oliver is now the Political Editor of the Sunday Times. Jonathan spends a significant part of each week in the corridors of power and was able to give an insider’s view on the upcoming election.

A small gathering of pupils enjoyed a three course meal with Jonathan in the Mitre (Oliver is himself an OR from the Orchard) which allowed them to ask him some very specific questions about his journalistic career and his assessment of the outcome of the 2010 election in an informal setting.

The evening then continued with a larger audience in the Beldam Hall for Jonathan to talk to the pupils further and take questions from the floor. Jonathan was able to tell the pupils about breaking the news on the Labour Party donor scandal, and also about the moment he asked Tony Blair (the then Prime Minister) whether he had “blood on his hands”. Both stories gave a fascinating insight into his job and pupils responded to his very engaging talk by asking a range of pertinent questions.

These included questions on who was the most interesting politician Jonathan had interviewed and who was the most frightening. Pupils also asked whether or not the UK electoral system should be reformed. There was also some discussion on how significant the Piers Morgan interview with Gordon Brown was in affecting his rating in the polls.

The Society is very grateful to Mr Oliver for the time he took to address the gathering and for his witty and engaging talk.