8 minute read
THE JOURNEY TO LEADERSHIP FROM UWL
Rt Hon James Cleverly MP
UWL alumnus Rt Hon James Cleverly MP
Advertisement
As a politician, James Cleverly has a very busy schedule. But with his degree in Hospitality Management, James is comfortable juggling tasks and took time to talk to us about his memories of studying at the University.
Born and raised in Lewisham, south east London, before moving to Chelmsford in Essex, James initially saw his career as being with the army and signed up as an officer when he left school. But after getting a sports injury, he had to change direction.
as he felt it offered ‘lots of different opportunities and it played to my strengths such as making decisions under pressure’. He decided to do a degree in hospitality management at what was then known as the Ealing College of Higher Education in 1991.
Following graduation, James ended up moving into publishing, before heading into the world of politics in 2002, when he stood for election for the London borough of Lewisham. Despite not winning that election, James persevered with his political ambitions and has since served on the London Assembly, was appointed as the Mayor of London’s youth ambassador in 2009, became the Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority in 2012, and MP for Braintree in 2015. In 2018 he was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party before becoming a junior minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union. He launched a bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party following Theresa May’s resignation but withdrew shortly after. He was appointed Chairman of the Conservative Party in July 2019 following Boris Johnson’s appointment as Prime Minister.
He chatted with Luna Sidhu, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, about his time at the University and how his degree helps him in his present job. ›
Tell us about your time at the University – any fond memories you can share with us? Well I met my wife at university, so that is the fondest of fond memories. It was her first year and my final year. I really enjoyed my time at university. I played a lot of rugby – in fact, just a few days ago I had a catch-up with one of the guys that I played rugby with who now works for the Department for International Trade. I still keep in touch with some of the people I was at university with. It was a great time.
How did your university experience influence your life after graduation? There are elements of the course which I still use in my professional life. To be effective in the hospitality industry you must understand people, you need to understand teamwork. As an industry it is heavily dependent on teams working together at every level and sometimes under serious pressure (time pressure and emotional pressure). It was good learning how to work through team dynamics.
And the financial side of the course – learning about business finance. I was never going to be an accountant but understanding some of those key ratios when looking at a set of accounts is important. I have been able to apply these skills in other areas. And just inter-personal skills. In the hospitality industry you have a diverse set of people from highly trained accountants, lawyers and executives to people at the start of their careers working part-time and you have to be able to interact with everybody, including the clients who are also diverse.
You have been back on campus a couple of times since graduation, the last visit coinciding with the filming of Question Time, how did it feel coming back? I have been back a few times to catch up with the Vice-Chancellor. But this last visit blew me away. The University has transformed itself. Although it’s still on St Mary’s Road with that traditional frontage which has not changed very much, when you go in, it is bright, light and very modern. The campus reflects what the University has chosen to be, which is innovative and modern, and I think the physical space reflects that very well. When I was at university there were some buildings that had been there since the 60s, then the building stock was old and tired but now it looks impressive.
What do you think about London as a city today? London is an amazing city. It has a massive international reputation, and massive international reach, making it absolutely key to the UK economy. It has a gravitational pull for people all over the UK and indeed all over the world. That is one of its real strengths. It is very cosmopolitan – as a city it has been a cultural magpie taking the best bits from temporary visitors, those that have made their homes here, as well as people that have been here for generations. It seems to blend these influences really well and that is one of its biggest strengths.
What job did you want to have as a child? I was unsure for a long time – even up to my A levels I hadn’t really made up my mind. I thought I wanted to be an artist as I was quite good at art so I was thinking of graphic design for a while. Then I got bitten by the army bug and I threw myself into that, but I picked up an injury and my full-time military career came to an end. But then I joined the reserve forces and I have maintained a parallel career with them for over 25 years which I have absolutely loved.
What spurred you into politics? When I was at university, if you had told me that I would end up in politics, I would have probably laughed. I think for me that is one of the things that I would like to get across – there is an opportunity for people to use the skills that they learned through their degrees. Even if they don’t end up doing exactly what they expected, it unlocks all kinds of opportunities.
While I took a bit of a weird meandering route into politics – I tried my hand at banking for a while which I did not really enjoy particularly, but then went into magazine publishing which I absolutely loved and that is what I did for most of my professional life. But as I said, some of the soft skills as well as the actual elements of the degree stood me in really good stead as I ultimately went into a very different career path. You can make choices and that is what I did and today I am in the Government and in Cabinet. I never thought I would be here.
Houses of Parliament
What are the biggest challenges you face as a politician? And the areas you enjoy the most? Politics is not easy, but I was trained in hospitality which is also time consuming: the hours are funny, and you work under pressure, so politics is not unique in those kinds of pressures. However, I suppose you do live your life in the public eye and that takes getting used to. I think sometimes in politics it is very polarised and that is difficult, but ultimately, I love being a Member of Parliament. I love representing my constituents and I love being a Government Minister and feeling that I am part of a team that can make a difference. ›
Rt Hon James Cleverly MP
Who are your role models? This is a bit of a cliché, but my parents are very much my role models. I was an only child. My mother was a midwife in Lewisham Hospital, so she spent her career in the public service and my father was a small businessman, an entrepreneur, and they made a lot of sacrifices, they were not wealthy people at all. They took education incredibly seriously. My dad for a long while worked seven days a week and my mother even worked weekends and I thought that was normal and that is what everybody did. That work ethic is something I admire in them.
What causes are you passionate about? For me politics is about how you enable things that you are passionate about to happen. For a long time, I have been passionate about how education, business and work can liberate people. It’s not just about paying the bills – it is much more than that. At a micro level, it’s about making sure that people are able to get a job that they value and enjoy and obviously education, particularly higher education, has a role to play in that. But at a macro or international level,
I co-chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trade Out of Poverty, which was about helping developing countries establish economies that are sustainable. For me it is all about enabling things to happen through politics.
What would be your top tips to students and graduates of UWL who want to pursue a career in politics? Get involved but recognise that it can be a long road. Sometimes people get lucky and things happen quickly but politics is a very funny world and it can take a long time. Get involved in your local party. But also parallel to that, have something in your life that gives you experience. For me it was reserve forces and a career in business, for others it might be public services or charitable work. But make sure that if you are going to become a full-time politician that you bring something to the table and the thing that you need to bring is experience. It will help to add value to your work. ■
