Talk:Cambridge University Liberal Association

List of Alumni
Should we restrict the list to former officers or committee members? Until fairly recently joining a political society didn't require one to support that political party - people used to join to see speakers - and also to help make up their mind between the parties. (Speaking personally I was a member of CUCA [until I was kicked out or resigned - can't remember which], CULC, CUSD - and I vaguely remember being on the University Left mailing list [they didn't have members at the time]. Joining ULS (the Union of Liberal Students) - and thereby becoming a party member - was an extra step].

Secondly, how certain are we that all the people shown were members - being at Cambridge and, later on, being an eminent Liberal Democrat is by no means a guarantee of that someone was a member of CSLD... Mpntod 19:35, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I've deleted Roger Williams, Lord Goodhart, and Lord Lester, all of whom have definitely joined the Lib Dems since their time at university.

Of the remaining alumni, Annette Brooke and Chris Davies need verification. All the others listed either have membership records which still exist in the university archive and can be viewed, or else claim on their CVs to have been a member.

As for the question about restricting the alumni list to committee members, it's a bit complicated. I can see why some people used to passively join all three societies, but it's difficult to determine why people joined a society in every case, and indeed I'd have thought it might be of historical interest to see how some people have switched, i.e. Matthew Parris in his autobiography 'Chance Witness' writes about how he felt closest to the Liberals at university, but switched to the Tories after graduation as he felt they were more relevant to the outside world. Seth Thevoz 15:18, 25 March 2006