THE former Leader of the Lords has announced she will be running to be the chancellor of the University of Oxford.

Jan Royall, who served as chief whip in the House of Lords and then as leader of the House from 2008 until 2010, announced she would be running for the esteemed role on X this week. 

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

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

In a statement, the principal of Somerville College at Oxford University said she hopes to support the vice chancellor's vision for "securing the local, national and global standing" of the university, and promises she would be a "voice for Oxford" if elected. 

"As a lifelong campaigner for education and inclusion and a passionate believer in the democratic values our university represents around the world, I will be a voice for Oxford, for all," she said. 

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In her statement she acknowledged the "unprecedented change" the university faces, caused by "rapid technological, environmental and geopolitical developments". 

Prior to her parliamentary career, Ms Royall was a senior adviser in the European Commission before heading its office in Wales.

In 2004 she was appointed to the Lords as Baroness Royall of Blaisdon and in 2005 became a government spokesperson for Health, International Development, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.