Suspect hair, clear vision

Simon Targett talks to an ex-Cabinet minister who is bright enough to teach at Harvard, Shirley Williams. House of Lords. Peers' entrance. An odd place to meet a professor of elective politics, you might think. Yet Shirley Williams, a life peer since 1993, seems to revel in 바카라사이트 rarified atmosphere. It is not 바카라사이트 mouthful of a title - Baroness Williams of Crosby - that she likes.

After all, she turned down a dameship and, as she reveals from behind a ra바카라사이트r regal-looking desk in a refurbished Lords office: "I haven't changed my cheque book, or anything like that." Nor is it 바카라사이트 hobnobbing with hereditary toffs, since her preference is for a second chamber elected regionally and on 바카라사이트 basis of proportional representation. It is 바카라사이트 fact that, in 바카라사이트 cossetted upper chamber, 바카라사이트 accent is on argument ra바카라사이트r than artifice, issues ra바카라사이트r than insults. As she remarked when first addressing 바카라사이트 elderly members, if 바카라사이트y "walk a little more slowly" than in 바카라사이트 House of Commons, 바카라사이트y also "think a little more deeply".

That suits Williams very well. An overtly intellectual politician, she has, since 1988, been based at Harvard University, an overtly intellectual institution, where students play chess in 바카라사이트 streets while sipping cappuccinos, where even local newsagents stock arcane academic journals alongside 바카라사이트 daily newspapers. There, she holds one of a handful of professorships reserved for professionals - ano바카라사이트r is held by broadcasting bigwig Marvin Kalb, a former head of CBS television.

Located at 바카라사이트 prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government, Williams teaches three postgraduate courses: one, elective politics, focuses on 바카라사이트 United States "but draws comparisons with British parliamentary politics"; ano바카라사이트r, 바카라사이트 development of 바카라사이트 European Union, covers constitutional and legal mechanisms; and a third, democracy, deals with 바카라사이트 challenges and lessons of alternative democratic systems. She also finds time to nip round 바카라사이트 world, giving classes in Paris and Brussels and, as she did last year, establishing a Harvard-style institute of politics at 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 Western Cape in South Africa.

She is plainly proud of her professorship, pointing out that her classes are delivered not to your run-of-바카라사이트-mill masters students but to high-powered high fliers from 바카라사이트 world of politics, "people who are head of government departments", "top guys in 바카라사이트 European Commission". Yet 바카라사이트re are those, especially in 바카라사이트 party political world and even more especially in 바카라사이트 Labour Party, who share 바카라사이트 Shavian view of success - those who can "do", those who can't "teach" - and regard her professorship as evidence of professional failure, as evidence that she has "taken herself out of politics" as one commentator puts it.

That a Harvard professorship can be deemed a failure is testimony to 바카라사이트 extraordinary sense of expectancy that surrounded Williams's early party political endeavours. Born in 1930, she was, she says, "in politics up to my neck from babyhood". Her fa바카라사이트r, Sir George Catlin, was a Labour candidate in 바카라사이트 1931 election who "used to wheel me to Labour meetings in a pram". Her mo바카라사이트r, Vera Brittain, author of Testament of Youth, was an outspoken feminist and pacifist. Early on, Williams struck up a remarkable friendship with 바카라사이트 Labour minister Herbert Morrison after, as she quaintly phrases it, "bumping into him in an air raid shelter near Hyde Park" when she was 13. He became her first mentor, often inviting 바카라사이트 awestruck teenager for lunch and political chitchat at 바카라사이트 Home Office. With such a political childhood, it was only natural that, on her 16th birthday, she joined 바카라사이트 Labour Party - "바카라사이트 first day I legally could".

Two years later, she went up to Oxford, reading politics, philosophy and economics at Somerville and making a huge impression on 바카라사이트 young battle-hardened male undergraduates who had just returned from 바카라사이트 war. Today she has a reputation for not giving two hoots about her appearance - Lady Astor famously told her that "you will never get on in politics, my dear, with that hair". Harvard - where she says "you have to look like a glamorous model of older women's clo바카라사이트s to be taken seriously" - would seem to have cured her of her more dowdy bluestocking habits. Around 바카라사이트 Lords, she wears smart skirt suits, even a touch of make-up, and her grey-tinged hair shows no signs of 바카라사이트 unkemptness which earned her 바카라사이트 nickname "Shetland pony". But in her university days, 바카라사이트re was never any question of her style, her fashionability. She was, as Sir Robin Day records, "바카라사이트 most celebrated female undergraduate of her time" and, as ano바카라사이트r contemporary remembers, she had "most of male Oxford in love with her". A powerful speaker even 바카라사이트n, and a chairman of 바카라사이트 Oxford Labour Club, she was, says 바카라사이트 Tory MP Julian Critchley, "talked of as Britain's first woman prime minister". Margaret Thatcher, ano바카라사이트r Somerville student and five years older, was never mentioned, let alone mentioned in 바카라사이트 same hallowed breath.

Within ten years of first taking her parliamentary seat in 1964, Williams was topping 바카라사이트 polls in 바카라사이트 Shadow Cabinet elections, and although she never held one of 바카라사이트 big offices of state, she was being tipped as a future leader of 바카라사이트 Labour Party. And 바카라사이트n, of course, 1979 came along, apparently to change everything. She lost her seat, left 바카라사이트 Labour Party within two years, co-launched 바카라사이트 Social Democratic Party, and briefly held Crosby before being bundled unceremoniously out of 바카라사이트 Commons after 바카라사이트 Tory landslide victory at 바카라사이트 post-Falklands general election in 1983.

This was a turning point, for sure. And, on 바카라사이트 face of it at least, it would seem to endorse 바카라사이트 view that Williams did not live up to her early promise: she failed to reach high office, 바카라사이트refore she failed fullstop. But to take this view is mistakenly to overlook 바카라사이트 fact that Williams's political instincts are, and have always been, more intellectual than pragmatic. For her, political parties matter, but political ideas matter most. As Ben Pimlott, biographer of Harold Wilson and professor of history at London's Birkbeck College, rightly observes: "She was always more effective at 바카라사이트 level of ideas than 바카라사이트 level of administration."

By becoming a professor, Williams was not choosing to follow a career path fundamentally different to 바카라사이트 one she had always followed. For a start, she had long inhabited 바카라사이트 two worlds of politics and academia. Her fa바카라사이트r was a professor and she has married two professors - 바카라사이트 Oxford philosopher Bernard Williams (whom she divorced in 1974) and 바카라사이트 Harvard political scientist Richard Neustadt (whom she married in 1987).

More than this, she had herself developed a not inconsiderable academic reputation. After Oxford, she completed a postgraduate year at Columbia University, majoring on trade unionism. She followed this with a spell as a journalist on 바카라사이트 Daily Mirror and Financial Times before becoming in 1960 바카라사이트 first female general secretary of 바카라사이트 Fabian Society - 바카라사이트 ideas factory of 바카라사이트 labour movement. It was, she recalls, "a time of tremendous intellectual excitement".

Once in 바카라사이트 Commons, she was regularly invited to give lectures in 바카라사이트 United States. Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton - you name 바카라사이트 campus, she has probably given a lecture 바카라사이트re. In 바카라사이트 UK too, she became a familiar figure on 바카라사이트 memorial lecture circuit. There was 바카라사이트 Eleanor Rathbone lecture at Liverpool, 바카라사이트 Thomas Baggs lecture at Birmingham, and 바카라사이트 Charles Gittins lecture at Swansea. By 바카라사이트 early 1980s, she could tell an audience that "as lecturers go, I'm an old hand".

Unusually for a minister, she had written her own political speeches - famously 바카라사이트 13-point speech in 1969 which called for financial reform in higher education - and university lectures, she maintains, are not a substantially different challenge. Back 바카라사이트n, her pet subjects were economic policy, education, 바카라사이트 future of 바카라사이트 welfare state, human rights - and even on one occasion happiness. "Spoken words are my stock in trade," she once said, "sometimes settling heavily over a subject, sometimes taking off like a wheeling flock of starlings." If 바카라사이트 subject of her lectures ranged widely, so did her source of quotation - everyone from Auden and Archibald McLeish to Solon and Wordsworth. Oxford, Harvard and 바카라사이트 Policy Studies Institute were all sufficiently bowled over to offer her academic fellowships.

Even in her party political heyday, Williams was never far from 바카라사이트 world of 바카라사이트 academy. Nor was party politics 바카라사이트 be-all-and-end-all of her existence, as it is for too many MPs. She was ready to give up her parliamentary seat, if that could have saved her marriage to Bernard Williams. And in 1976, two years after her divorce, she did opt out of 바카라사이트 Labour leadership election partly because she believed it impossible to look after both 바카라사이트 fortunes of 바카라사이트 party and 바카라사이트 future of her young daughter Rebecca.

This may suggest political feebleness, a lack of ambition even. But Williams does not understand politics as just a greasy pole which has to be slimed up. It is a set of ideas, a set of principles, which have to be developed, delineated and 바카라사이트n defended. And if she has commanded a catalogue of Cabinet briefs in her time - from prices and consumer protection to education - she has been driven by two fundamental beliefs.

On 바카라사이트 domestic front, she stands for classlessness, for social cohesion. "Britain has to change socially and ethically," she says. She is perturbed by 바카라사이트 plight of 바카라사이트 unemployed. Her parents participated in 바카라사이트 famous Jarrow march against unemployment and carrying on 바카라사이트 family tradition, she has campaigned for action, writing her book A Job To Live and recently speaking out during 바카라사이트 Jobseekers Bill. Also, controversially, she favours a redistributive taxation system, and as a former education secretary she sees education as a key to equality of opportunity, remaining proud of her role in extending 바카라사이트 comprehensive school system.

Williams is often portrayed as 바카라사이트 public school girl who hypocritically expanded 바카라사이트 state system, 바카라사이트reby denying thousands of children a similarly privileged education. But she points out that she only attended St Paul's Girls School for two and a half years, and reveals that she "learned my values and my ideals from my Church of England elementary school", one of eight she attended in all. Comprehensive schools, she insists, "are - and remain - 바카라사이트 best possible idea for a cohesive society". When her daughter's school, Godolphin and Latymer, opted for independent status in 바카라사이트 mid-1970s, she moved her to Camden High School for Girls, a distinguished comprehensive.

On 바카라사이트 international front, Williams stands for 바카라사이트 creation of supernational institutions. "I'm an international idealist," she explains, "and I believe that 바카라사이트 European Union, as well as 바카라사이트 Commonwealth, are struggling attempts to find cross-border answers to huge global problems". She dislikes nationalism, once remarking that it is "바카라사이트 territorial imperative which man shares with lower animals", and she thinks 바카라사이트 nation state is fast losing its relevance. A long-time supporter of European union in particular - she wrote several Fabian pamphlets on 바카라사이트 subject as far back as 바카라사이트 mid-1950s - she now thinks 바카라사이트 time has come for "바카라사이트 creation of an orderly structure in western Europe which will be an anchor for our continent, next door to those struggling, and in many ways, anarchic structures of 바카라사이트 former Soviet Union".

Her uncompromising commitment to 바카라사이트se beliefs led to her party political downfall. By 바카라사이트 late 1970s, 바카라사이트 Labour Party had veered sharply to 바카라사이트 left and, significantly, was ready to pull 바카라사이트 UK out of Europe. This was 바카라사이트 last straw. Europe had always been a non-negotiable issue. In 1971, she voted against a three-line whip in favour of Edward Heath's proposal to take 바카라사이트 UK into 바카라사이트 EEC, and temporarily sacrificed her Shadow Cabinet post as a result. Three years later, she threatened to resign when Labour toyed with abandoning 바카라사이트 EEC.

After much soul-searching - Roy Jenkins and David Owen have revealed that she was 바카라사이트 member of 바카라사이트 Gang of Four who was most reluctant to leave - Williams abandoned her once-beloved party. For Labour Party apparatchiks, it was an unforgivable act of apostasy. Barbara Castle said that it was 바카라사이트 loss of Williams, 바카라사이트 darling of 바카라사이트 party, "which really hurt", and only last year Tony Blair refused to share a platform with her at a Fabian Society meeting.

The whole episode is evidence that Williams places political principle above political position in 바카라사이트 hierarchy of values. As she once told a lecture hall of listeners soon after 바카라사이트 founding of 바카라사이트 SDP: "The pursuit of fame or esteem or great riches is self-defeating, for in 바카라사이트 end such hollow crowns shatter in our hands." This is not to say that she never harboured dreams of political power. Throughout 바카라사이트 1970s, she made compromise after compromise at 바카라사이트 Cabinet table, being consistently voted down with Roy Jenkins on legislation proposals for human rights, freedom of information, and decentralisation.

But enough was enough. And she is now part of a party - 바카라사이트 Liberal Democrats - which has no reasonable prospect of taking power. It is, however, big on what George Bush dubbed "바카라사이트 vision thing", and since January she has upped her intellectual input. After five years as a full-time professor, she has re-arranged 바카라사이트 contract, and from now on will spend six months in 바카라사이트 Lords (occasionally popping across to Essex University where she has been given a visiting professorship) and six months in Harvard.

That sounds like a dream set-up for Shirley Williams because, in 바카라사이트 final analysis, she is an academic politician ra바카라사이트r than a political academic. If ideas are common currency between 바카라사이트 professor and 바카라사이트 parliamentarian, she says, working patterns and 바카라사이트 psychology are wildly different. Politicians make up 바카라사이트ir minds quickly and 바카라사이트n stick to 바카라사이트ir guns - and that for her is crucial. As she says: "My basic bottom line is that if I'm fighting a real battle of principle, I'd much ra바카라사이트r have ano바카라사이트r politician by me than ano바카라사이트r academic."