HAROLD Macmillan reckoned it to be "one of the last bastions of freedom of speech in the Western world".

But choose the right night and you could well come across Lindi "Miss Whiplash" St Clair in cracking good form, or soccer legend Diego Maradona demonstrating his skills on a golf ball.

For when it comes to the Oxford Union, it seems nothing is too much trouble, whether you happen to be a member of the Cabinet or the star of an Australian soap opera.

Everyone from the Dalai Lama to Kermit the Frog has grabbed the chance to speak - or just be photographed - in the historic debating chamber.

Tonight the Oxford Union, even by its own standards, is pushing the boat out. And no wonder: it is celebrating its 175th birthday.

Speakers will include Tory leader William Hague, ex-Premier Ted Heath and two contenders for the "Best Prime Minister We Never Had" title, Roy Jenkins and Michael Heseltine.

Guests for the big night include a host of ex-ministers, including William Waldegrave and Ann Widdecombe, ex-ambassadors and media celebrities such as Sir Robin Day, Anthony Howard and Sir Jeremy Isaacs.

The Oxford Union knows how to have fun - in the past they have had boxer Chris Eubank, soccer star Vinny Jones and would-be politician Screaming Lord Such as guests - but tonight it's most definitely the turn of the political heavyweights to party. The Union was founded as a debating society in April 1823, when it hosted its first big debate on Oliver Cromwell and the English Civil War. Since then things have become rather more topical.

In the 1960s, Malcolm X came to the chamber and demanded "black empowerment" by any means necessary.

In the 1970s, Richard Nixon, in his first public speech after Watergate, admitted: "I screwed up - and I paid the price."

In recent years, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat chose the Union to make his first international speech after the Israeli elections.

And long before this Easter's Irish peace deal, the Union succeeded in getting Ulster party leaders Ian Paisley, David Trimble and John Hume around the same debating table.

Political interviewer Brian Walden always reckoned the Oxford Union was "the best debating institution in the world", with the standard of debate rated even higher than the House of Commons. It has certainly proved a useful training ground for political leaders, from Gladstone to Hague.

But there are still many who would agree with the ex-Cabinet Minister Shirley Williams, who said it offered excellent training for Parliament because both institutions were dotty, out-of-date gentlemen's clubs.

And some go even further, regarding the Union as an appalling massage parlour for the egos of assorted twits, twerps, toffs and misfits.

The host of tonight's anniversary dinner, current President Ellie Blagbrough, believes her own rise to the top spot offers ample evidence that the Union is moving with the times. Ellie, 21, of St Hilda's College, said: "Over the last year we have had a black president from Ghana and a woman president. In fact, by the end of the year we will have had three women presidents in a row for the first time.

"The majority of Oxford University students are now members. It is not elitist."

Nor should it be too readily seen as the natural home of expensively-clad women as immaculate as debutantes and dinner-jacketed men with swept-back hair.

Ellie said: "Only four officers have to wear white tie for the debates and that's only because it is in the rules."

There are now well over 10,000 resident members. About 85 per cent of new students join every year, attracted not only by the star names but also by the Union's two bars, snooker tables, restaurant and the largest lending library for students in Oxford.

But reports of financial troubles continue to dog the Union, just as they did 40 years ago when the determinedly dashing Michael Heseltine hit on the idea of opening a cellar nightclub.

Tonight, however, for those passing through the gates to the Victorian buildings off St Michael's Street, the evening will have little to do with balance sheets. Nor are we likely to see big demonstrations of the kind that greeted the arrivals of OJ Simpson, Gerry Adams, Ronald Reagan and Sir Keith Joseph.

Tonight will belong to statesmen paying tribute to an institution that, for the likes of Heath and Hague, may be the one thing they have in common.

And best of all for lovers of tradition, there's unlikely to be a footballer, Page Three girl or superstar frog in sight. House that breeds stars

Five British Prime Ministers have been officers at the Oxford Union - William Gladstone, Lord Salisbury, Herbert Asquith, Harold Macmillan and Edward Heath.

Other politicians to have held office include William Hague, Tony Benn, Michael Foot, Edwina Currie and the former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

The Union's most famous debate in 1933 was said to have influenced Hitler. The Union voted by 275 to 153 not to fight for King and country.

Famous Americans to have addressed the Union include Presidents Reagan, Nixon and Carter, Senator Robert Kennedy, Henry Kissinger and OJ Simpson.

Billy Joel, Rory Bremner, Aswad and Frankie Howerd are among the stars to have 'played' the Union. Mick Jagger has also been there - but only to listen to his model wife Jerry Hall speak.

Programmes televised from the Union include Mastermind and The Word.

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