Peter Mandelson has given an insight into Oxford University as he battles to become its next chancellor.

An election will be held for the first-ever time to decide the new Chancellor following 80-year-old Lord Chris Patten’s decision to retire later this year.

More than 250,000 Oxford graduates and former staff members will be able to vote online for the role which has only been held by three people since 1960.

Grandee Labour Party politician Lord Mandelson has officially put his name forward for the role and has now revealed that he has now been in the city for weeks.

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The University of Oxford is looking for a new chancellor.The University of Oxford is looking for a new chancellor. (Image: Unsplash)

“I have spent the past couple of weeks in Oxford rediscovering the art of conversation while campaigning for election as the university’s chancellor,” he wrote in the Spectator.

“I have sung for my supper in Christ Church Cathedral before being questioned in the SCR on my fitness for the role, and I performed again at evensong at Univ before debating postcolonial reparations over vegetable broth and venison.

“I have been gifted cyclamens following visits to St Hilda’s and Corpus. At St Hugh’s my understanding of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act was taken apart by the law don, while at Worcester

“I was challenged on the state of Britain’s naval hard power and the FCDO’s soft power.

“I debated ethics and AI at Balliol and health data anonymity at Reuben, while at LMH I was reminded of my overnight occupation of the Examination Schools in my first term at St Catherine’s in 1973.”

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Peter Mandelson is in the race for chancellor.Peter Mandelson is in the race for chancellor. (Image: Lucy North / PA Wire)

Lord Mandelson also remarked on how the battle to become the historic institution’s chancellor is not similar to what he has faced in the past.

“The race for the chancellorship is a strange, atomised, largely virtual experience in which it is almost impossible to identify, let alone communicate with, anyone who has a vote,” he added.

“Student encounters, high-table dinners and visits to science labs have been rewarding, and thankfully the race has been remarkably free of mudslinging by the candidates.

In the Spectator article, the politician also outlined where the focus should lie for the University of Oxford’s next chancellor.

“William Hague and I offer a rather similar view of the chancellor’s role – not just figurehead but global ambassador and fundraiser for the university,” said Lord Mandelson.

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The University of Oxford.The University of Oxford. (Image: Unsplash)

“Given that the higher education funding system in Britain is teetering and that the financial pressures on government are extreme, I cannot see any alternative to Oxford looking outwards if it is to remain world class.”

“Oxford will always survive because it is too strong to fail. The question is, is it strong enough to remain competitive globally?

“Oxford depends, both for its teaching and its research, on cross-subsidy from within the university.

“Current spending is being bailed out from savings accounts which are not growing fast enough.

“Endowments are nowhere near the size of those in America. So Oxford is going to have to put on its running shoes.

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“This is what the next chancellor will need to focus on, along with the gown-wearing, degree-conferring and after-dinner speeches.”