Last Tuesday the Politics Society received a visit from Bishop Richard Moth, the Catholic Bishop of the Forces.

Upper Sixth students of these subjects have benefited from two talks by visiting speakers recently, as part of their A Level revision programme.

The Society has hosted two meetings in the opening weeks of the Summer Term. Our first guest speaker was Sir Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat MP who served as Armed Forces Minister in the Coalition Government until last September. He gave a very interesting talk on defence policy, focusing on the soaring costs of national security, and offered some reflections on coalition politics.

The St John’s College Politics Society will host a varied programme of speakers for the coming two terms. All meetings begin at the usual time of 7.30 pm, with refreshments from 7.00, apart from Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles’ lunchtime talk on Wednesday 26 June. The meetings will take place in the school’s auditorium.

The Politics Society hosted a debate on the future of Britain’s relationship with the European Union on Monday, which was attended by an audience of close to 300 people, both from St John’s College and the wider community.

Our Politics Society will host a timely evening of debate on Monday 11 February, when Nigel Farage MEP and Councillor Roy Perry, former Conservative MEP, return to the school to discuss the motion whether Britain should leave the EU.

No one can say that the Politics Society does not provide a varied programme of events. Two months ago we heard the fascinating reminiscences of retired senior civil servant Lord Armstrong, who spoke from notes clipped together with Treasury tags, about his long career, which took him to the post of Cabinet Secretary under Margaret Thatcher. Last night we were addressed for the first time by a speaker using notes on an iPad.

On Thursday 4 October the Politics Society welcomed once again as its guest speaker, Mark Hoban, Conservative MP for Fareham since 2001. He was appointed as Employment Minister in the recent reshuffle, after serving for two years as Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

This week saw the second meeting of the Autumn Term, at which the guest speaker was former Cabinet Secretary, Lord Armstrong.

The Society’s first event of the new school year was a thought-provoking address by Labour Party writer and lecturer, Lord Glasman, who was elevated to the House of Lords two years ago.

The first meeting of the term was a very successful one, addressed by the former Bishop of Rochester and Durham, the Rt Rev Michael Turnbull.

Bishop Michael Turnbull served as Bishop of Rochester from 1988 to 1994 and Bishop of Durham from 1994 to 2003. The latter is the fourth most senior appointment in the Church of England, with a seat in the House of Lords. In office he made a notable contribution to the administrative reorganisation of the Church of England.

The last meeting of the Spring Term was a lively gathering attended by at least 200 people, both from within and from outside the College. Ann Widdecombe proved a most thought-provoking speaker on the subject of ‘Faith in Politics’ and then took questions on a wide range of issues.

The Society held its second meeting of the term this week, when the speaker was Professor Gary Sheffield of the University of Birmingham.

On Friday 3 February one of the most recently created Liberal Democrat life peers, Baron Stoneham of Droxford, addressed members of the St John’s College Politics Society on the subject of ‘Politics, Journalism and the Coalition’.

On Friday 3 February one of the most recently created Liberal Democrat life peers, Baron Stoneham of Droxford, will be addressing the St John’s College Politics Society on the subject of ‘Politics, Journalism and the Coalition’.

This is the first Society meeting of the Spring Term, and follows the address of Lord Fowler in November. Lord Stoneham is well qualified to speak on both politics and the press, having been a Labour, Social Democrat Party and Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate and, from 2003-10, serving as the Liberal Democrats’ Operations Director under the leadership of Charles Kennedy and Nick Clegg.