When sitting down, the three Gonville & Caius College students who are Chairs of three University of Cambridge Politics Societies make sure they are in order. They enjoy the joke.
Oscar Poulson (History and Politics 2023) sits on the left, as Co-Chair of Cambridge University Labour Club. Zoe Zhang (History and German 2020; Theology MPhil 2024) for the Cambridge University Conservative Association is on the right, and Jack Peters (HSPS 2023) for the Cambridge University Liberal Association, takes the central position.
Oscar, Jack and Zoe believe it is the first time students from one college have chaired the University’s three political societies. The trio are friends and share jokes throughout the conversation. Do they talk politics? Oh, yes.
The local elections have energised them of late, including the divergence from the main political parties.
Jack says: “We have broader reflections on what the future of politics could be and the fragmentation from traditional party systems, locally, domestically and globally.”
“We do have many honest discussions,” Oscar says. “We will have profound disagreements over what that is; but there is more that unites us than divides us. We’re intent that politics isn’t for an electoral fetish. It’s for the common good.”
The trio feel a sense of duty to boost political awareness among young people, and as Zoe says, to “understand politics at a policy level, rather than taking recourse to stereotypes”. The seating position is an exception.
Affordable housing unites young people, Jack says, as he implores his peers to exert their democratic right to ensure issues which are important to them get the attention of politicians.
Oscar, Jack and Zoe acknowledge the Cambridge bubble; encouraging political engagement elsewhere in the country may be more of a challenge. They also shy away from the idea of being career politicians.
“It’s not a career like any other, it is a service,” Zoe adds.
Oscar, who was Gonville and Caius Students’ Union President from 2024-25, believes the College has fostered debate and supported the three of them to take their positions.
“Caius has this reputation of being on the conservative end of Cambridge colleges. I’m not sure that’s completely fair,” Oscar says.
“We hold on to a lot of our traditions, and I think that’s a positive aspect. Through holding on to traditions like MDR, we feel like we’re one student body, in a way other colleges might not have that identity.”
Pictured, from left to right: Oscar Poulson, Jack Peters and Zoe Zhang.
