Last week I blogged on the subject of Free Speech following a lecture I had heard by the journalist and broadcaster Toby Young. By a strange coincidence I then attended another lecture on the same subject, this time delivered by Lord Patten at an event organised by the English Speaking Union of which I am a long-standing member. Chris Patten is of course well known for a a long and varied career in politics. He was the 28th and last governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997, the Chairman of the Conservative party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life peer in 2005 and served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 2003 to 2024.

He studied history at Balliol College, Oxford and after graduating in 1965 he began working for the Conservative party. He was elected Member of Parliament for Bath in 1979. He was appointed Secretary of State for the Environment by Margaret Thatcher in 1989 as part of her third ministry, becoming responsible for implementation of the unpopular poll tax. On John Major’s succession as Prime Minister in 1990 Patten became Chairman of the Conservative party and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. As party chairman he successfully orchestrated a surprise Conservative electoral victory in 1992, but lost his own seat, possibly because of his connection with the poll tax.

He was then appointed the last Governor of Hong Kong to oversee the final years of British administration in the colony and prepare for its transfer to China in 1997. During his tenure his government significantly expanded the territory's social welfare programmes and introduced democratic reforms to the electoral system. Sadly of course these did not survive the takeover of power by China. Following his governorship Patten led the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, a major implementation as part of the Northern Ireland peace process pursuant to the Good Friday Agreement. He was European Commissioner for External Relations from 1999 to 2004 and Chairman of the BBC Trust from 2011 to 2014.

He recently stepped down as Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He was introduced to the audience by my friend Miles Young who as well as being Chairman of the ESU is also the Warden of New College, Oxford, my alma mater, and he spoke very warmly about the strong support that he and other College Principals had had from Lord Patten as the Chancellor, particularly in relation to dealing with the problems of wokery. Hence Chris Patten knows quite a lot about the importance of defending free speech and not allowing the cancel culture to take over universities like Oxford.

Chris Patten, now over 80 years old, spoke for half an hour without a pause and without using a single note. Miles later congratulated him on this when he was giving his thanks for what was an excellent lecture.  Chris explained that as a young MP he and a group of other new MPs resolved to learn how to give their speeches or ask questions in the House of Commons without relying on written preparation and indeed he remarked on the sheer difference in quality one gets in the House of Commons from those members who have written something down at great length and then read it out rather than those who speak off the cuff with clarity and enthusiasm.
Lord Patten is concerned about the threat to free speech that he sees in many countries in the world including our own and fears the long-term consequences of this are potentially highly dangerous. We need to learn how to engage in public debate where there may be two or more sides to the argument without resorting to violence either in word or deed. Democracy with its very long traditions going back to ancient Greece relies on the ability to express one’s opinions in an open forum. Yes, initially there was not universal suffrage which is a relatively recent concept but still even if the only people who were represented in these fora were men with property, nevertheless there would still be great disagreement between them and they needed to find ways to resolve those disagreements rationally and peacefully. That remains true today and even more so given that we have quite rightly expanded the right to vote to all adults who qualify as British citizens.

Lord Patten also spoke eloquently on the subject of oracy which is a core part of the English Speaking Union’s programme of activities. The ESU promotes, encourages and manages debates in schools throughout the country. Some of these are competitive with other schools and the whole point is that we see that oracy is a vital skill for all young people[i]. Those who benefit from such programmes will go on to have much more successful careers because they have the ability to speak articulately on a range of subjects. They will perform better in interviews for jobs.  Once in the job they will perform better because of their enhanced ability to communicate with their colleagues and with their leaders and customers.

Although it was not part of the evening’s agenda, I do not think it is any coincidence that the University has just taken its 9th consecutive first position in the Times Higher Education World University rankings. The result was published last week on the 10th of October just two days after Lord Patten delivered his lecture. The rankings this year were the largest and most inclusive to date with a record 2092 universities having been ranked from 115 countries. Oxford has been world number one since 2016 - the longest time any university has held the position in the 21 annual editions of the rankings - nine consecutive years. Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are the only other universities to have topped the rankings.

 Phil Baty, THES’ Chief Global Affairs Officer said: ‘The Times Higher Education World University Rankings evaluate the performance of the leading global research-intensive universities and it is the truly global nature of Oxford’s work that has helped it to retain the world number one position for a record-breaking nine years.

‘Oxford excels across our wide range of performance indicators, covering teaching, research and industry collaboration, but it stands above its world-leading counterparts in the US for the depth of its international research collaborations and its ability to draw in international talent. Oxford is truly a beacon for global Britain.’

The process for the THE world rankings is a rigorous piece of research with more than 2,800 leading research universities assessed as well as an academic survey based on over 90,000 responses worldwide. In excess of 150 million citations are also analysed to over 18 million research papers.

The ranking is based on 18 specific metrics, covering all core missions of global, research-led universities, incorporated into five ‘pillars’: research environment (including income and reputation data); research excellence; the teaching environment; international outlook (such as research collaboration); and industry (including industry income and patent citations). One of the metrics (study abroad) currently has zero weight but will be counted in future.

Oxford is exceptionally strong across all pillars but has an advantage due to its international outlook and patent citations; an additional metric that has been introduced to the industry score.

During Lord Patten’s time as the Chancellor of Oxford University I am sure he would have made his own strong personal contribution to this clear evidence that Oxford University is the best university in the world. His own international experience both in Europe and Hong Kong will also have helped him contribute to this position.

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