Tabloid journalists all over the UK were handed the article of their careers on a plate on the 20th September 2015; no embellishment required. Newspapers went into a frenzy that Britain hadn’t seen since Ed Miliband’s ‘sarnie-gate’, inadvertently continuing the theme of politicians inserting the wrong things into the wrong mouths. On the fateful Sunday that Piggate was first splashed across the headlines, David Cameron himself blew political satire out of the water.
The allegations themselves sketch a disturbing picture of the favoured pastimes of Oxford’s political elite. The society in question goes by the name of Piers Gaveston, a men’s only dining club named after the supposed lover of King Edward II. Founded in 1977, the group offers an intimidatingly exclusive membership of a mere 12 undergraduates (plus pig). Alleged participants, other than our very own DC, included Boris Johnson, Tom Parker Bowles and Hugh Grant. Delving deeper into the existence of the society reveals that it is generally unremarkable. Members include the usual suspects, and events include the usual debauched competitions sandwiched between luxurious annual dinners. The only rule appears to be that disclosing information about the society’s affairs will result in the student’s unceremonious removal.
However, the multitude of famous alumni is concerning. The whole incident smacks of an adolescent desperation to prove toughness, recklessness and indifference. An astounding disregard for consequences suggests that the crux of the issue is a ‘what happens on campus, stays on campus’ mentality. Piggate has grabbed the headlines for implicating Cameron in an act of debauchery that occurred in a diluted Bullingdon Club scenario. Focus is removed from the individual act itself, and displaced collectively onto what rich, young, white, male students think is okay to do when no one is watching.
Incidentally, getting up close and personal with animals for initiations isn’t anything new. Piggate arrives just in time to fondly reminisce about last year’s antics involving a certain sporting initiation and one Colin the Conger eel. Admittedly, in contrast to the pig, the treatment received by Colin was mostly platonic. Undoubtedly, there are thousands of university initiations that go unreported that are the same or worse. However, many of the issues that sprang from Colin’s wild night compare with those raised by Piggate: among the obvious, the naivety of thinking that no one would ever find out.
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On the other hand, it remains uncertain whether anyone actually has found out. An incriminating photograph is allegedly in the possession of Lord Ashcroft’s mysterious source, whom his recent biography Call Me Dave merely refers to as Cameron’s “distinguished Oxford contemporary”. It isn’t difficult to question the validity of these claims, particularly as it is public knowledge that Cameron refused to give Ashcroft a senior government position despite his near £10 million worth of donations. As a result, the story that the tabloids have whipped up has little more substance, and infinitely more irony, than an April fool. Whether Ashcroft’s revelations are permeated by bitterness or not, spearheading his biography with Piggate is publicity at its finest.
A tragic lack of evidence means that Cameron himself has little need to respond to the allegations. A Downing Street statement on his behalf scathingly refused to “dignify” the claims, while the Prime Minister himself is said to be “too busy running the country” to indulge his previous patron. However, it is interesting to consider what the media are waiting for him to say: are they holding out for a full scale confession or preparing for a hasty denial? Does it matter? In a time of international and European tension, Cameron unquestionably has more pressing issues to discuss. Surely bigger and more important things have come out of his mouth aged fifty than what went into the pig’s aged twenty.
the story that the tabloids have whipped up has little more substance, and infinitely more irony, than an April fool
Whether true or not, Piggate has caused Cameron a reasonable amount of personal humiliation. Twitter storms have erupted and eggs have been thrown, over a questionable event with no visible evidence, discovered through a web of unknown sources. The problem here isn’t initiations or the Piers Gaveston society, but the attitude of the general public towards the lives of MPs. The shockwaves emanating from this story have been astonishing, as putting anyone who was once a student on a moral pedestal is asking to be disappointed. Without defending an act that is obviously morally problematic, it must be emphasised that the only person Piggate will ever harm is David Cameron. Unless, of course, putting parts of your anatomy in a pig becomes socially acceptable at university events. Dominos will be pleased to hear of a new marketing opportunity for their Pepperoni Passion.
