With the Union announcing its full termcard on Tuesday, tonight the Tab can provide an exclusive preview of some of the names coming to town in the next eight weeks.

 

Nancy Pelosi

Monday 22nd April

For those go-getters amongst you, tomorrow the Union will host Nancy Pelosi, the first ever woman to have been Speaker of the House and current Democratic leader in the House of Representatives over the pond. She has been at the forefront of radical policy changes such as healthcare reform and student aid, as well as being the highest-ranking female politician in US history.

 

Nate Silver

Sunday April 28th

He may not be a household name and being labelled a ‘statistician’ by Wikipedia doesn’t necessarily ignite much passion, but Nate Silver is a big catch for the Union.  Sport nerds and power-hungry PPEists, as well as fans of Brad Pitt’s latest outing in Moneyball, should unite to hear this mastermind of PECOTA, the computer programme responsible for predicting performances of Major League Basketball players. Silver took his Paul the Octupus-like skills into the political arena and is now a respected analyst, correctly guessing the winner of all 50 states in the 2012 Presidential election

 

Professor David Nutt

Monday 20th May

Those who revelled in the sunshine-bathed glow of 4/20 yesterday will be delighted to hear that Professor David Nutt will be speaking at the Union in May. Sacked from his position as a senior government advisor on drugs for saying that horseriding was as, if not more, dangerous than taking ecstasy, this Nutty Professor is sure to cause a stir.

 

Armin Van Buuren

Tuesday 21st May

Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren perhaps won’t be causing as much controversy as recent Union “invitees” Julian Assange or Nick Griffin, but this 5-time winner of DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs is sure to provide fans with some light stories and showbiz titbits from his collaborations with Deadmau5 and none other than Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

 

Natasha Bedingfield

Thursday 3rd June

You might be forgiven for wondering where Natasha Bedingfield has been since ‘Unwritten’ became the soundtrack for the Hills, but according to her website the star is “deep into the process of writing her new album”. The Union will offer students a remedy for all their Noughties nostalgia when the blonde bombshell comes to town.

 

Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia

Thursday 6th June

This ex-LSE student has been the President of Colombia since he was inaugurated in August 2010, when he steered the country through a diplomatic crisis with neighbouring Venezuela. Those interested in Latin America can observe the extremes of the continent’s politics in this man’s career: having been embroiled in the scandalous discovery of illegal military executions as Minister of Defence, the President was last year awarded the Shalom Prize for commitment to peace both at home and abroad.

 

Katherine Jenkins

Thursday 6th June

The Union will please yet more music fans with their invitation to Katherine Jenkins, one of the world’s best mezzo-sopranos, and certainly the most popular outside the world of classical music. Although her break up with Gethin Jones saw the collapse of TV’s favourite Welsh power-couple, Jenkins went on to woo the hearts of Americans during her stint on Dancing With the Stars and is sure to be a popular 7th Week destination.

 

DEBATE SPEAKERS TO INCLUDE:

Ken Livingstone

Mayor of London from 2000-2008, ‘Red’ Ken-controversy-is-my-middle-name-Livingstone is sure to rile some feathers when he comes to debate at the Union. Responsible for the congestion charge, oyster card and securing London’s Olympic bid, students will be eager to see what topic he will be arguing come Tuesday.

 

Rylan Clark

Who?  The Essex-born star of X Factor and winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2013.  He will be sure to tell students all they need to know about all things reality. Tears are guaranteed we’re told, but whether it’s Ryan or the audience weeping we will have to wait to find out.

Peter Singer

A previous Radcliffe Lecturer at Univ, Peter Singer is considered by many to be one of today’s most influential philosophers. Definitely one for the biologists as well, as Singer is a strong advocate for animal rights and environmental protection.

Baroness Shirley Williams

Adding yet another feisty female to the list, the Union invites Baroness Shirley Williams of Crosby to speak – one of the Gang of Four who left the Labour Party to form the SDP and went on to be the first elected SDP MP. Williams was given a life peerage in 1993 and, at the age of 82, continues to be actively involved in politics, most notably in campaigns against nuclear proliferation.

 

Union President Joseph D’Urso was keen to encourage Tab readers to keep an eye out for the termcard on Tuesday for more big names: “This is by no means an exhaustive list – we are saving some exciting surprises for Tuesday, when the physical termcard is distributed. I hope people are happy with these first few names, and are looking forward to Nancy Pelosi’s visit tomorrow.”

Watch this space.