Vernon Bogdanor
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Sir Vernon Bernard Bogdanor (; born 16 July 1943) is a British political scientist, historian, and research professor at the Institute for Contemporary British History at
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
. He is also emeritus professor of politics and government at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
and an emeritus fellow of
Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...
. He is one of Britain's foremost constitutional experts and has written extensively on political and constitutional issues. He supports the
British monarchy The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...
and the adoption of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
.


Early life and education

Bogdanor was born in Staines to Harry and Rosa Bogdanor (''née'' Weinger), and grew up in
Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...
."Federalism and the future of Europe" Conference Report
(Basel, 2001), p.48
His father was a pharmacist whose parents came to the UK from Ukraine, while his mother was born in Poland and came to the UK in the 1930s. Both parents were observant Jews. Educated at Bishopshalt School, Vernon Bogdanor gained a first-class honours Bachelor of Arts degree in
Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...
(PPE) from The Queen's College, Oxford, in 1964.


Career

From 1966, Bogdanor was Fellow in Politics, Senior Tutor (1979–85 and 1996–97), Vice-Principal, and (in 2002–03) Acting Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford. He is also a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
, a Fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
and an Honorary Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. He has been a member of Council of the Hansard Society for Parliamentary Government, Specialist Adviser to the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
Select Committee on the European Communities, Member of the Court of Essex University, adviser (as a member of the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
and
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
delegations) to the governments of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, Israel and
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
on constitutional and electoral reform, member of the Academic Panel of Local Authority Associations, member of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process, member of the UK Government delegation on Democratic Institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and Conference on the Protection of Minorities, Consultant to Independent Television News (ITN) on the General Election, member of the Economic and Social Research Council's committee administering the 'Whitehall' programme, special adviser to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
Select Committee on the Public Services, member of the Swedish Constitutional Reform Project, member of the Advisory Group to the High Commissioner on National Minorities, adviser to the President of
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
on the Constitution of Trinidad, and member of the Economic and Social Research Council's committee administering the
devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...
programme. Bogdanor is a frequent contributor to television, radio and newspapers. Between 2004 and 2008 he gave public lectures as Professor of Law at Gresham College, London. He continues to give public lectures at the college, now as Visiting professor of Political History. He has published numerous books and articles. In 2003, he edited ''The British Constitution in the 20th Century'' (published by
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
to mark the centenary of the
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
) and authored ''The New British Constitution'' (2009), which analyses constitutional changes under the Labour government since 1997. Bogdanor is a signatory of the statement of principles of the Henry Jackson Society.


Comments

Bogdanor's most famous former student is
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
, who became Conservative Party leader and served as
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
from 2010 to 2016. Bogdanor described Cameron as "one of the ablest" students he has taught, whose political views were "moderate and sensible Conservative". He has, however, expressed reservations about some of Cameron's policies, including his proposal for a British "Bill of Rights", about which Bogdanor said, "I believe it's ill thought-out and confused.... He ameronmay have forgotten some of the things I've taught him. I'd be happy to give him a few more tutorials on civil liberties." Bogdanor referred to the arrest, search and questioning of the Conservative MP
Damian Green Damian Howard Green (born 17 January 1956) is a British politician who served as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office from June to December 2017 in the second May government. A member of the Conservative Party, he s ...
, for aiding and abetting misconduct in public office by police from Special Branch, as "a storm in a teacup". "The important principle is that MPs - apart from when they're speaking in the chamber and dealing with constituents' correspondence - are subject to the same laws as the rest of us." In 2017, Bogdanor supported a second referendum for
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
on the contents of a final deal, saying that "Brexiters can hardly deny to their opponents the same democratic right that they claim for themselves, unless they secretly fear that the British public has, in fact, had second thoughts". However, by 2019, he had reversed his position, writing that "it has now become clear that a further referendum is not only impractical but could prove dangerous to the cohesion of the country" because it "would give rise to a dangerous narrative of betrayal amongst Leave voters which would be harmful to the democratic spirit". In a 2021 column for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', Bogdanor decried European Commission member Maroš Šefčovič's remark that the EU's patience with the UK was "wearing very, very thin" with regard to British implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol; Bogdanor said the comment was "reminiscent of that of the dictators of the 1930s."


Awards and honours

Bogdanor was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) in the 1998 Birthday Honours for services to constitutional history. In 2009, he was appointed a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur by the
president of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...
, Nicolas Sarkozy, for his work on the law and history of Britain and France; the honour was presented to Bogdanor by the French ambassador to the United Kingdom, Maurice Gourdault-Montagne. He was knighted in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to political science.


Personal life

Bogdanor married Judith Evelyn Beckett in 1972; the marriage was dissolved in 2000. In August 2009 he married Sonia Margaret Robertson.


Publications


Books


Written

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


Edited

* * * *


Articles

* "Power and participation." ''Oxford Review of Education'' 5, No. 2 (1979): 157–168. * "Direct elections, representative democracy and European integration." ''Electoral Studies'' 8, No. 3 (1989): 205–216. * "Founding elections and regime change." ''Electoral Studies'' 9, No. 4 (1990): 288–294. * "The European Community and Sovereignty." ''Parliamentary Affairs'' 44, No. 4 (1991): 481–492. (with Geoffrey Woodcock) * "Overcoming the twentieth century: Democracy and nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe." ''The Political Quarterly'' 66, No. 1 (1995): 84–97. * "Ministerial accountability." ''Parliamentary Affairs'' 50, No. 1 (1997): 71–83. * "Devolution: Decentralisation or disintegration?." ''The Political Quarterly'' 70, No. 2 (1999): 185–194. * "Reform of the House of Lords: A sceptical view." ''The Political Quarterly'' 70, No. 4 (1999): 375–381. *
The Guardian Has Got It Wrong
(Future of the Monarchy online debate) ''The Guardian''. 6 December 2000. * "Civil service reform: a critique." ''The Political Quarterly'' 72, No. 3 (2001): 291–299. * "The Tories need a genuine liberal". ''The Spectator''. 15 October 2005. * "The West Lothian Question." ''Parliamentary Affairs'' (2009) *
Mayors: Good for Britain - in the end.
''Prospect''. 19 March 2012. *
Why English votes for English laws is a kneejerk absurdity
. ''The Guardian''. 24 September 2014. *
Time to ditch 'first-past-the-post
". ''Prospect''. 22 January 2015. *
Who pays for our politics?
. ''Prospect''. 26 March 2015. *
Britain needs a new constitution
. ''Prospect''. 21 May 2015. *
A second Brexit referendum? It's looking more likely by the day
. ''The Guardian''. London. 3 August 2017. *
Parliament had failed on Brexit long before this prorogation
. ''The Guardian''. 29 August 2019.


Notable former students

In addition to David Cameron, Bogdanor's former students include Kate Allen, Camilla Cavendish, Diane Coyle, Guy Spier as well as Toby Young.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogdanor, Vernon 1943 births 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers 21st-century British non-fiction writers 21st-century English male writers Academics of King's College London Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford British political scientists British political writers Knights of the Legion of Honour Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English Jews English constitutionalists English male non-fiction writers English people of Polish-Jewish descent English people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Living people People from Uxbridge Academics of Gresham College British monarchists