Chipping Camden Literature Festival Vernon Bogdanor talks to Alan Rusbridger – Making the Weather 5 May | 12:00 | Cidermill Theatre
Vernon Bogdanor discusses with Alan Rusbridger the political careers of three politicians from the Left – Aneurin Bevan, Roy Jenkins, and Tony Benn – and three from the Right – Enoch Powell, Keith Joseph, and Nigel Farage.
Each challenged the consensus of their day and remain strikingly relevant. Analysing their beliefs and characters, Vernon pinpoints the influence they exerted and explains how and why they remain such live figures when so many of their contemporaries have been forgotten.
The profound ideological beliefs of these six, about the NHS, party democracy, electoral reform, Europe, immigration, and the free market, are still of relevance and were at the very heart of the political agenda for the 2024 general election.
Vernon Bogdanor is Professor of government at the Institute of Contemporary British History, King’s College, London. He is a fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, and the Academy of Social Sciences.
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HowTheLightGetsIn Festival Vernon Bogdanor – Power and the Architects of Change 25 May | 13:30 | IAI Academy
For most modern democracies, leaders are the architects of change, shaping the course of history through their ideas, rhetoric, and influence. However, despite never holding the highest offices, some can leave an indelible mark on their nation’s politics. Join Vernon Bogdanor, professor of Government at King’s College London, as he argues that the most radical change doesn’t need to come from the highest offices. From Enoch Powell and Nigel Farage to Tony Benn, political impact is not solely about power or position but about vision, conviction, and the ability to shape public opinion.
Part 1: Beyond office: What makes a politician truly influential?
Part 2: Making the weather: How political outsiders can reshape a nation.
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Proms at St Jude’s Vernon Bogdanor talks with Simon Lewis – Making the Weather 21 June | 10.30 | Henrietta Barnett School
Historian and political scientist Sir Vernon Bogdanor is Professor of Government at the Institute of Contemporary British History, King’s College, London and a fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society and the Academy of Social Sciences.
His latest book, Making the Weather, takes six iconic politicians and examines the major influence they had on post-war politics in the UK.
Making the Weather focuses on three politicians from the Left – Aneurin ‘Nye’ Bevan, Roy Jenkins and Tony Benn – and three from the Right – Enoch Powell, Keith Joseph and Nigel Farage and analyses how they achieved such prominence and influence and how they came to dominate the political landscape.
From immigration to Europe to the NHS, the issues and causes that brought these men to prominence remain of considerable relevance to this day.
Register here.