Nominations closed on Friday for the position of University Chancellor. Four candidates are now officially in the running to replace Prince Phillip in the role. These are: Labour peer Lord Sainsbury, Mill Road shopkeeper Abdul Arain, actor Brian Blessed, and late entry Michael Mansfield QC.

Each candidate received the required 50 nominations to be considered for the position. The vote has been scheduled for Friday 14 October and Saturday 15 October. All Members of Senate House will be permitted to take part, though votes must be placed in person.

Lord Sainsbury, former chairman of the eponymous supermarket giant, was the first nominee and remains the favourite to win the election. In a statement on Friday, the billionaire Kingsman reaffirmed his commitment to the University: “I have great admiration and affection for the university, built up over all the years since I was an undergraduate at King’s.”

“I also have a life-long interest in education. I have no personal agenda, and if elected, my sole aim would be to help the university in any way that I can.”

However, Lord Sainsbury faces challenges from a number of quarters, not least from underdog Abdul Arain who has attracted much attention with his grassroots ticket.

Although some remain skeptical about his viability as a candidate, the Mill Road shopkeeper has responded to critics by emphasising his local connections: “I believe that every single person who makes up our community has a responsibility.”

“When you look at Prince Philip, he is removed from local life. I believe that bringing that touch back with, what I would call, a normal individual, would make Cambridge more accessible.”

Lord Sainsbury also faces competition from two late entries, Brian Blessed and Michael Mansfield.

After a Facebook campaign successfully secured Blessed’s candidacy, the Shakespearean actor spoke of his admiration for Cambridge: “For me, [it] has always been the centre of the earth, there is a brightness and light there that rivals that on Mount Everest.”

The Facebook group gave his supporters some idea of what a Blessed chancellorship would be like, telling them to: “picture Brian loudly reciting the Latin at graduation ceremonies”.

However, it is the latest entry, respected QC Michael Mansfield, who is seen as the main challenger to Lord Sainsbury. The self-described ‘radical lawyer’, is best known for representing Mohammed Al Fayed at the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. He has been nominated by academics who oppose the Lord Sainsbury’s candidacy.

Dr Jason Scott-Warren, a fellow of Gonville and Caius College, argues that Mansfield: “offers an excellent model for the public value of independent, critical thinking at a time when higher education is increasingly seen as a private good, subject to the laws of the free market.”

Elected for life, the new Chancellor will become the constitutional head of the University. Their principal public role will been the conferment of Honorary Degrees at an impressive annual ceremony.