Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats

Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats, the student branch of the Liberal Democrats for students at both Cambridge University and the Anglia Ruskin University campus in Cambridge. It is the successor to the Cambridge University Liberal Club (founded in 1885) and the Cambridge University Social Democrats (founded in 1981) which merged on the creation of the Lib Dems (known initially as the "Social and Liberal Democrats" or SLD) in 1988.

It has long been active in Cambridge politics, with student members recently playing a role in electing David Howarth on a massive 15% swing in the 2005 election, when the student turnout was unusually and noticeably higher than that in the rest of the city. The older of its founder societies, the CU Liberal Club, originally existed side-by-side with a discussion forum for radical Cambridge politics in the late 1880s, entitled 'The Rainbow Circle.' Its founder Treasurer was Oscar Browning, a Fellow of King's and sometime Liberal candidate who was also Treasurer of the Cambridge Union. The society has had varying fortunes as the Liberal Party waned in the mid-twentieth century, and is currently the second largest of the three student parties in Cambridge.

The society today is well-known for attracting high-profile speakers - it has attracted Menzies Campbell, Nick Clegg, Simon Hughes, Chris Huhne, Lord McNally and David Steel in recent months, and it helped organise a rally of 2,500 people with Charles Kennedy in Market Square during the 2005 election. It also holds a range of social events, from cocktail parties and end-of-term dinners to paintballing.

Alumni

As with many Cambridge political societies, CSLD and its predecessor parties CULC and CUSD were the first political organisation to involve many people who went on to political careers - some outside Liberal politics altogether. Notable alumni include:
*Martin Bell, CULC Treasurer in 1960 and later a BBC journalist and Independent MP 1997-2001
*Roderic Bowen, Liberal MP for Cardigan, 1945-1966
*Sal Brinton, businesswoman
*Annette Brooke, Lib Dem MP for Poole North since 2001
*Vincent Cable, ex-CULC President, Lib Dem MP for Twickenham) since 1997, Shadow Chancellor and former Chief Economist of Shell Oil
*Austen Chamberlain, a founder member in 1885 and later a Liberal Unionist and Conservative Leader, Chancellor, Foreign Secretary, and MP in Birmingham 1892-1937
*Chris Davies, MP for Littleborough and Saddleworth 1995-1997, and Leader of the Lib Dem group in the European Parliament
*Clement Davies, Leader of the Liberal Party 1945-1956
*Andrew Duff, Lib Dem MEP for the East of England since 1999
*Lord Ezra, former chairman of the National Coal Board
*Julia Goldsworthy, Lib Dem MP for Falmouth and Camborne since 2005 and Treasury spokesperson
*David Howarth, Lib Dem MP for Cambridge since 2005
*Simon Hughes, ex-CULC Treasurer, Lib Dem MP for Bermondsey since 1983 and party President
*John Maynard Keynes, CULC President in 1905 and Economist
*Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England
*David Laws, Lib Dem MP for Yeovil since 2001 and Work and Pensions spokesman
*Oliver Letwin, Conservative MP for Dorset West since 1997 and former Shadow Chancellor
*Matthew Parris, later a Conservative MP 1979-1986 and journalist
*Michael Ramsey, CULC Chair in the 1920s. Later Archbishop of Canterbury.
*Bertrand Russell, CULC Secretary in 1892, mathematician and philosopher
*Chris Smith, Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, 1983-2005, and cabinet minister
*Sarah Teather, CSLD Treasurer in 1993, Lib Dem MP for Brent East since 2003, and Education spokesperson
*Richard Wainwright, CULC President in 1939, and Liberal MP for Colne Valley 1966-70 and 1974-87
*Jim Wallace, former Lib Dem MP 1983-2001 and Deputy First Minister of Scotland
*Lord Wallace of Saltaire, CULC President in 1961, academic, and civil liberties campaigner

The society's President is Baroness Williams of Crosby, who was the SDP candidate in Cambridge in 1987.

Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats run a subsidiary group, the Keynes Society, for alumni. Membership is free and lasts for life. All known alumni are mailed a quarterly newsletter, and invited to regular reunions as well as CSLD events and dinners.

Current Committee

Recent Chairs of CSLD

*Stephen Warde (1989)
*Nicholas Whyte (1990)
*Kevin Wilkins (1990-1991)
*Anna de Chassiron (1995-1996)
*Havard Hughes (1996-1997)
*Chris Lomax (1999)
*Jonathan Monroe (1999 - 2000)
*Chris Keating (2000-2001)
*Emma Jones (Easter 2001-Lent 2002)
*Simon Radford (Easter 2002-Michaelmas 2002)
*Jonathan Monroe (Lent 2003-Michaelmas 2003)
*Ben Ramm (Lent 2004)
*Mark Gettleson (Easter 2004- Easter 2005)
*Seth Thévoz (Easter 2005-Michaelmas 2005)
*Sam Dennis (Lent 2006-Easter 2006)
*Luke Gardiner (Easter 2006-Michaelmas 2006)
*Henry Vann (Lent 2007-Easter 2007)
*Duncan Crowe (Michaelmas 2007-Easter 2008)
*Joe Rinaldi Johnson

External links

* [http://www.csld.org.uk/ Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats (CSLD)]