Woke-Bashing of the Week: Theresa May too ‘woke’ for the Athenaeum? Press cries foul over club’s supposed leftward lurch

This was definitely one of those ‘stop and click’ headlines.

“Theresa and Sir Philip May face revolt from ‘anti-woke’ Athenaeum Club members,” barked the Telegraph.

Now, Theresa May’s premiership may feel like a long time ago. And, after everything that came after her, it can even seem vaguely liberal by comparison. But to accuse her of being “woke”?

The Telegraph reports that critics have accused the former prime minister and her husband of pursuing “left-wing policies” and “going woke” during Sir Philip May’s chairmanship of the Athenaeum Club, one of London’s oldest private members’ clubs.

Sir Philip became chairman in June 2024 and, according to the Telegraph, some members have accused him and his wife of “destroying the ethos of the historic establishment.”

The Athenaeum was founded in 1824 by John Wilson Croker, an Anglo-Irish MP, as “a club of the mind.” It was established in opposition to explicitly partisan establishments such as White’s, associated with the Tories, and Brooks’s, a social hub for the Whigs.

In other words, the club’s founding principle was not to become an ideological clubhouse.

Yet the Telegraph says ten current and former members, speaking anonymously, believe the current leadership is pursuing left-wing policies and has “fundamentally changed the club’s make-up.” They claim the club now applies a “strong, left-leaning lens” when selecting speakers, supposedly at odds with its apolitical principles.

Since Sir Philip took over, the paper reports, conservative figures have allegedly been prevented from speaking at the club on several occasions, prompting claims of “cancel culture.”

“I had hoped the club would be a civilised haven from the culture wars,” one member told the Telegraph. “Instead, I found that it was ground zero.”

Among those who apparently failed to secure an invitation was Lord Biggar, the Oxford theology professor and Conservative peer, who resigned from the Athenaeum towards the end of last year.

He reportedly did so after a proposal for him to speak about his bestselling book on colonialism was “turned down flat” by the club’s committee.

Biggar, who had been a member for 15 years, said he held Sir Philip partly responsible, adding: “Naturally, I now prefer to associate myself with a genuinely liberal club, where dissenting voices are welcome.”

Quite what constitutes a “genuinely liberal club” in this context is presumably open to interpretation.

The Telegraph also points to changes to the club’s rules and membership. Lady Limb, a former civil servant and teacher, is portrayed as a moderniser, including for helping to rescind the rule requiring men to wear a jacket and tie inside the club.

Writing previously on the Athenaeum’s website, she described herself as “a butcher’s daughter from Moss Side” who was “honoured to be a member of a club that reflects the vibrant intellects, diverse talents” of its membership.

And perhaps that is where the Telegraph’s culture-war framing begins to look rather strained.

The Athenaeum, like much of private members London circuit, has not exactly been a model of rapid social change. Women were only admitted as full members in 2002.

Yet the club itself notes that, despite its delayed gender integration, it has never excluded anyone “on grounds of race or religion.”

Since when did relaxing a dress code, broadening representation or questioning how a private members’ club operates become evidence of a sinister left-wing takeover?

There is also the slightly awkward question of what, exactly, is so “woke” about Theresa May.

As prime minister, May certainly wasn’t a standard-bearer for the political left. Her government pursued Brexit, introduced tougher immigration measures and maintained the Conservatives’ commitment to fiscal restraint.

But she did occasionally make the mistake, in the eyes of today’s culture warriors, of acknowledging that social problems actually exist.

In her first speech as prime minister in July 2016, May spoke about the “burning injustices” in Britain. She talked about young black men having greater confidence in their relationship with the police and women no longer being paid less than men.

She also argued that social concerns should be given greater weight alongside economic ones.

None of that makes Theresa May a radical left-winger. It makes her a Conservative politician who was willing to acknowledge that inequality, discrimination and social disadvantage exist.

Yet in today’s increasingly binary culture-war landscape, even that can apparently be enough to earn the label ‘woke.’