QI host Sandi Toksvig and anti-Brexit firebrand Gina Miller make Cambridge University Chancellor shortlist
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Bake Off and QI star Sandi Toksvig and anti-Brexit firebrand Gina Miller are on the shortlist to be the next chancellor of Cambridge University.
Both are hoping to become the first woman to hold the ceremonial position in its 800-year history.
But fellow candidate Wyn Evans, an astrophysics professor at the university, warned they may lower the tone at the highbrow institution.
‘If Cambridge needs a high-profile or celebrity chancellor to be noticed, we might as well give up and rebrand the university as a reality TV show – Keeping Up with the Cantabrigians,’ he said.
Ms Toksvig, 67, who studied law, archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge, questioned whether it was ‘time for a change’.
She said: ‘The first known chancellor of Cambridge was Richard of Wetheringsett who served sometime between 1215 and 1232.
‘After that we have had a plethora of other Richards, many Johns and an awful lot of Stephens – after over 800 years I wonder if it isn’t time for a change?’
The comedian and TV host once told how she was almost kicked out of the university for having a girlfriend sleep over, and was only allowed to stay because of her ‘excellent academic record’.
Bake Off and QI presenter Sandi Toksvig believes it is time for a change after 800 years of men holding the position of chancellor at Cambridge
Firebrand Gina Miller successfully challenged the government over the way Brexit was handled
Cambridge is one of the world’s leading universities and the third-oldest in continuous operation
‘If you are going to be gay, at least be clever,’ she joked. ‘What [they] don’t want is gay stupid people.’
Gina Miller, 60, who successfully challenged the government in court over the implementation of Brexit, said she would champion ‘civil discourse, fairness, and democratic principles’ at Cambridge.
‘Electing the first woman to the role – while not essential – would be powerful and symbolic, affirming Cambridge’s commitment to modernity and equality,’ she said.
In 2017, Ms Miller won a Supreme Court ruling that MPs should have a say over triggering Article 50, which took the UK out of the EU. She also successfully challenged Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament in 2019 as a Brexit debate was looming.
The other eight people on the shortlist for chancellor are all men. They include Cambridge college presidents Lord Smith and Dr El-Erian, former BP chief executive Lord Browne, professors Tony Booth and Wyn Evans, and Cambridge alumni Ayham Ammora, Ali Azeem and Mark Mann.
