Date 29 December 1986 | ||
The 1987 University of Oxford election for the position of Chancellor was called upon the death of the incumbent Chancellor, Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton on 29 December 1986.
Contents
Electorate
The electorate consisted of all members of the University holding the rank of MA. Votes had to be cast in person at Oxford in academic dress. The election was by first past the post. To stand a candidate had to be nominated by two MAs.
Candidates
The election generated much interest and numerous names were raised in the press as potential candidates, including:
A notable feature was the decision of the university dons and authorities to not agree a preferred candidate in advance, thus increasing the possibility of a long list of candidates being nominated.
Eventually four candidates were nominated:
Course of the election
The election attracted huge levels of publicity, at times likened to a parliamentary by-election. Much of the attention focused upon the Jenkins and Heath campaigns, whilst Blake was seen as a non-political candidate. Payne was regarded as an outsider.
Much attention was focused on the issue of government funding for universities, with Oxford facing the effects of cuts in its funding, leading to several chairs being left unfilled.
The requirement for those voting to do so in academic dress resulted in the local tailor selling out. One tactic of the supporters of Jenkins was to lend gowns to voters lacking them.
Result
Polling ran until 14 March 1987. The results were as follows: