First MP to come out as gay is named Cambridge chancellor
Lord Smith of Finsbury will replace Lord Sainsbury of Turville, a fellow Labour peer, to become the university's 109th chancellor.
He beat nine rivals to the role, including Sandi Toksvig, the former host of the Great British Bake Off, Gina Miller, the anti-Brexit campaigner, and Lord Browne of Madingley, the former chief executive of BP and a cross-bench peer.
The chancellorship is a largely ceremonial position at the head of the university, representing it at events and in fundraising initiatives. The role is unpaid, but its extensive foreign travel is covered by the university.
Around 25,000 Cambridge alumni and staff cast their votes in the chancellorship race, which was the first to take place both online and in person in the role's 800-year history.
Mohamed El-Erian, an Egyptian-American businessman and the current president of Queen's College, Cambridge, won the most first choice votes in the ballot, but the single transferable vote system saw Lord Smith emerge the victor.
The politician has been the master of Pembroke College, Cambridge since 2015 and became a Labour peer last year, having previously served as the party's MP for Islington South and Finsbury.
Lord Smith's 22-year stint as a Labour MP saw him serve as secretary of state for culture, media and sport for four years during the Blair administration. He later became chairman of both the Environment Agency and the Advertising Standards Authority.
In his candidate statement to become Cambridge chancellor, Lord Smith said his experience as the first openly gay MP showed his commitment to 'diversity, openness and ethics'.
He won 4,500 votes in the initial count compared to Mr El-Erian's 4,818, but scooped up other votes in the ranked ballot to become the overall winner.
In a statement announcing his election, Lord Smith said: 'To be elected as chancellor of the university I love is a huge honour. I'm thrilled. I look forward to being the best possible ambassador for Cambridge, to being a strong voice for higher education more generally, and to working closely together with the vice-chancellor and her team.'
Prof Deborah Prentice, Cambridge's vice-chancellor, said: 'On behalf of everyone at the university, I offer my warm congratulations to Chris on his election. I very much look forward to working with him and building on the strong relationship that we have developed since I became vice-chancellor.
'Chris has had a long involvement with the university, and brings a wealth of relevant experience to this important role. I would like to thank the other nine candidates for standing for the role and their willingness to serve Cambridge.'
Lord Sainsbury stepped down earlier this year after 14 years as chancellor.
Lord Smith, who will serve a reduced term of 10 years under new chancellorship rules, inherits Cambridge's figurehead position at a difficult time for the university sector as it grapples with a worsening financial crisis and increasingly polarised debate over free speech.
His appointment comes on the day Cambridge was been granted a year-long injunction banning pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
Cambridge has been granted several previous injunctions to stop protest activity on campus, but those have all covered specific events, such as forthcoming graduation ceremonies.
Lord Smith has previously supported the university's use of legal action to shut down pro-Palestine encampments on campus, citing potential disruption to students' exams.
The university returned to the High Court on Wednesday seeking a more sweeping 12-month injunction, which will also cover Chestnut Tree Lawn – a plot of land in front of King's College – as well as Senate House, the Old Schools and Greenwich House.
The Russell Group institution said in written submissions to the court that there was 'an increase in the risk and threat of direct action taking place against the university'. It added that 'the possibility of further war in the Middle East involving Israel and Iran amongst other countries is also likely to lead to further unrest over the summer period'.
Kester Lees KC, for the university, said the harm caused to the university by previous protests was 'substantial', including thousands of people being disrupted during graduations, staff being unable to work, and more than £230,000 being spent on extra security, cleaning, and legal costs.
The European Legal Support Centre and the human rights group Liberty both intervened in the case to express opposition to the move, with the university's students' union, which is not involved in the legal proceedings, also criticising the injunction bid.
Mr Justice Butcher, the judge presiding over the case, said he would set out his reasons for granting the injunction at a later date.
The injunction could place Lord Smith in a difficult position, with his pitch for chancellorship centred around a commitment to freedom of speech.
In an interview with The Telegraph last month he criticised those who attempt to 'no-platform' controversial figures in the university, saying: 'Free speech is about allowing people to say controversial things, but then challenging them and debating with them.'
He also criticised the BBC for livestreaming 'Death to the IDF' chants on a Glastonbury stage by the punk duo Bob Vylan last month.
Lord Smith told The Telegraph: 'Urging death to anyone, including the IDF, is completely unacceptable. If I were the BBC, I would have pulled the feed immediately. It's what they should have done.'
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