Will Straw
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Will Straw (born in Lambeth in 1980) is a civil servant best known for being the son of Jack Straw, Leader of the House of Commons.
He received negative media attention in December 1997 when he attempted to sell £10 worth of cannabis to an undercover reporter working for the Daily Mirror.[1] This criminal behaviour, which earned him a police caution, was embarrassing to his father, who was at the time Home Secretary and had taken a hardline anti-drugs stance.
He attended Pimlico state school until the age of 17. He then studied at Oxford University where he was elected to the JCR Presidency of New College. He then went on to be elected President of the Oxford University Student Union in 2001, securing just over half the votes cast but on a low turnout of only 20%.[2]
During his term of office he, like his immediate predecessors and successors in the post, campaigned vocally against top-up fees. In 2001, he and several other OUSU campaigners protested on the steps of Oxford's Bodleian Library by throwing off most of their clothes to reveal gold-painted torsos. [1]. Despite this active approach, he was later criticised by one student opponent of tuition fees as being "not in favour of direct action and ... much happier writing letters".[3]
During his time as President of OUSU, several fellow officers resigned[4]: in total, one sabbatical officer and over half the executive committee resigned during his Presidency. Six months later, the student bodies at a number of Oxford's largest colleges to threatened to disaffiliate from OUSU[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Telegraph article
- ^ The Oxford Student - OUSU Result
- ^ The Oxford Student - Meanwhile, in Wellington Square...
- ^ The Oxford Student - Garlick resigns
- ^ The Oxford Student - The end of the OUSU?
