CLUBS & SOCIETIES: Students quiz Michael Heseltine

A KEEN history and politics student scored a major coup when he persuaded a prominent political figure to talk with RGS students.

Michael Heseltine, a key member of the governments of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and still active in the House of Lords, discussed the importance of Europe and devolution with members of the school’s history and politics society.

Calum Gilhooley, who feels passionately about devolution and has a particular interest in international relations after being inspired by the foreign policy of the Clinton administration, contacted Lord Heseltine through the House of Lords website.

“A notable Thatcherite minister and former deputy prime minister under John Major, he seemed an interesting figure to talk to due to his key role in Thatcher's government in the 1980s.

“Not only would this offer insight into urban regeneration (due to Lord Heseltine's involvement in the regeneration of Liverpool following the Toxteth riots) but also Britain's relationship with a particularly hawkish America under the Reagan administration.

“During the talk, vis Microsoft Teams, Lord Heseltine spoke powerfully, due to his personal experience Second World War, of the importance of a united Europe for security - particularly against the threat of Russia which is exacerbated by Trump's second term and friendlier approach to Putin.

“He also discussed the need for greater devolution, suggesting the Starmer government's greatest failure was not embracing it further.

“Overall, we heard the argument for a more united Europe and the need for greater devolution and we gained a valuable Europhilic internationalist insight from a former beast of the British political scene.”