Student Life
Exclusive: Oxford Union announces Trinity term card
Cherwell can exclusively reveal that former Home Secretary Sir James Cleverley, President of Goldman Sachs John E. Waldron, and rapper Tinie Tempah are all set to speak at the Oxford Union this term.
The debating society will see political figures such as Prime Minister Kamil Idris of Sudan, who, late last year, proposed an initiative to end the Sudanese civil war to the United Nations. Other speakers include the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, journalist Mehdi Hasan, and the US Senator for Vermont, Democrat Bernie Sanders, who is set to appear virtually.
In addition to this, the Union will host dance coach and TV personality Abby Lee Miller, who gained notoriety on the American reality television show Dance Moms, as well as the former Welsh footballer Ian Rush.
The Trinity term card will include a debate on “whether today’s youth activism is driving meaningful political change or increasingly slipping into performative visibility”. This will see speakers such as Oxford content creator Oliver’s Oxford, Director of the Good Law Project, Jolyon Maugham, and British politician Fiona Lali.
A debate on “whether Israel has ever sincerely pursued peace with Palestine, or whether the peace process has been more symbolic than real” will feature University of Exeter Professor Ilan Pappé, General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, Mustafa Barghouti, and former Israeli politician, Einat Wilf.
There will also be a visit from the controversial Reform Party candidate in the highly-publicised Denton and Gorton byelection earlier this year, Matt Goodwin, who will speak in a debate “on whether Reform is a credible governing force capable of delivering change, or a protest movement better suited to opposition”. He will be joined by speakers including the former leader of the Scottish National Party in Parliament, Ian Blackford, and Liberal Democrat politician Josh Babarinde.
The Union’s term card will also include social events, such as an Al-Andalus-inspired ball taking place on 29th May, and a Union House Party promising cheap drinks and beer pong on 9th May.
In addition, on the 23rd-24th May, the debating society will host The Prince, a play written by Oxford graduate Kofo Braithwaite that follows a fresher’s involvement with the Oxford Union.
Regarding the forthcoming term, Union President Arwa Elrayess told Cherwell: “I’m so proud to present the Oxford Union’s Trinity 2026 Term Card… I hope this term is defined by substance, strong governance, and real momentum.”