KCL alumnus and Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis talks to KCLCA

Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis (right) posing for a selfie.

Chairman of the Conservative Party Brandon Lewis spoke to KCL students at an event hosted by the King’s College London Conservative Association on 9th October in Bush House.

An alumnus of King’s College London, Mr Lewis studied an LLM in commercial law while running a business alongside his studies before he eventually turned to law and later on politics.

Dubbed a “Norfolk legend” by the KCLCA committee, Mr Lewis spoke extensively on a number of interesting topics, ranging from the long term repercussions of social media, his responsibilities as chairman of the Conservative party, and the government’s proposed Brexit plan:

“Social Media is a real challenge. Because of the way social media is, many colleagues of mine are struggling because of blogs they made six years ago. This is the first generation of politicians subject to that.

“That being said I believe this attitude to social media will ease off because there will be so many people with a life on social media, and it won’t be such a problem for your generation.”

On his responsibilities as chairman, he said: “There are two big responsibilities for being a chairman. There’s the conference, which was a huge success, and now the local elections which are absolutely critical for the future of this party, as their result builds towards the 2022 general election.

“My responsibilities involve making sure the party continues to grow its digital communications in response to these elections, as one of my objectives has been to turn the Conservative into the most successful campaigning machine in the country.”

On the current Brexit deal proposed, he said: “What we want to get is a deal that respects the referendum and therefore the will of the people. For some, Brexit is about controlling immigration, for other people it’s about global trade.

“The reason the white paper works is because it is the only deal out there that comprehensively covers all these issues: controlling our borders, ensuring a fair fisheries policy, a common agricultural policy, promoting trade with the EU. It delivers!”

Peter Jacob, a member of the KCLCA, said about the event: “Brandon Lewis is an approachable, down-to-earth character, and his willingness to intellectually engage with people in a mature and frank way is what makes him so popular with Conservative supporters.

“Our president, Emily Slatter, did a brilliant job in interviewing Mr Lewis and posed some very thought-provoking questions from the audience.

“Overall, I thought it was an informative talk with one of the party’s big names and, hopefully, a sign of more that is to come.”

On Friday 12th October, the KCLCA will debate the King’s College London Labour Society in the KCL Politics Society annual Conservative vs Labour debate.