Vernon Bogdanor

{{Infobox scientist

| honorific_prefix = Sir

| name = Vernon Bogdanor

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE|FRSA|FBA}}

| image = Vernon Bogdanor (Sep 2015).jpg

| image_size =

| caption = At Gresham College, 2015

| birth_name = Vernon Bernard Bogdanor

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1943|07|16}}

| birth_place = Staines, Middlesex, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| residence =

| nationality = British

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Judith Evelyn Beckett
|23 July 1972|2000|end=div}}
{{marriage|Sonia Margaret Robertson|2009}}

}}

| fields =

| workplaces = University of Oxford
King's College London
Gresham College
New College of the Humanities

| alma_mater = {{nowrap|The Queen's College, Oxford}}

| doctoral_advisor =

| academic_advisors =

| doctoral_students =

| notable_students = David Cameron

| known_for =

| influences =

| children =

}}

Sir Vernon Bernard Bogdanor {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE|FBA|FRSA}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɒ|g|d|ə|n|ɔr}}; born 16 July 1943{{Cite web|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=4c14HHKxzPDXjHSy1jAf5w&scan=1|title=Index entry|access-date=29 November 2013|work=FreeBMD|publisher=Office for National Statistics}}) is a British political scientist, historian, and research professor at the Institute for Contemporary British History at King's College London. He is also emeritus professor of politics and government at the University of Oxford and an emeritus fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.

He is one of Britain's foremost constitutional experts and has written extensively on political and constitutional issues. He supports the British monarchy{{cite news |last=Bogdanor |first=Vernon |date=6 December 2000 |title=The Guardian has got it wrong |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/06/monarchy.comment8 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=14 January 2018}} and the adoption of proportional representation.

Early life and education

Bogdanor was born in Staines to Harry and Rosa Bogdanor (née Weinger), and grew up in Uxbridge.[http://www.europaeum.org/files/publications/reports/Federalism_Report_Basel2001.pdf "Federalism and the future of Europe" Conference Report] (Basel, 2001), p.48{{cite news |last=Edmonds |first=David |date=19 November 2019 |url= https://www.thejc.com/culture/features/jewniversity-vernon-bogdanor-1.493338 |title=Jewniversity: Vernon Bogdanor |work=The Jewish Chronicle. |location= London}} 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 (PPE) from The Queen's College, Oxford, in 1964.{{citation needed|date= September 2023}}

Career

File:VernonBogdanor004.jpg

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, a Fellow of the British Academy 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 Select Committee on the European Communities, Member of the Court of Essex University, adviser (as a member of the Council of Europe and American Bar Association delegations) to the governments of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel and Slovakia 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 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 on the Constitution of Trinidad, and member of the Economic and Social Research Council's committee administering the devolution programme.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

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 to mark the centenary of the British Academy) 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.[https://henryjacksonsociety.org/signatories-to-the-statement-of-principles/ "Signatories to the Statement of Principles"], Henry Jackson Society. Retrieved 25 July 2019.

Comments

Bogdanor's most famous former student is David Cameron, who became Conservative Party leader and served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016. Bogdanor described Cameron as "one of the ablest" students he has taught, whose political views were "moderate and sensible Conservative".{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4502656.stm |work=BBC News |title=The David Cameron story |date=6 December 2005 |access-date=27 May 2010}} 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 [Cameron] may have forgotten some of the things I've taught him. I'd be happy to give him a few more tutorials on civil liberties."{{cite news |last1=Woodward |first1=Will |last2=Travis |first2=Alan |date=27 June 2006 |title=Cameron's call to repeal legislation would not end deportation battles, say ministers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/jun/27/uk.conservatives1 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=27 May 2010}}

Bogdanor referred to the arrest, search and questioning of the Conservative MP Damian Green, 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."{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7757876.stm |title=Row over Green 'grooming' claims |work=BBC News |date=1 December 2008 |access-date=14 January 2018}}

In 2017, Bogdanor supported a second referendum for Brexit 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".{{cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/03/second-brexit-referendum-case-getting-stronger-political-deadlock-life-raft|title = Why Britain's voters must have a second referendum on Brexit|last = Bogdanor|first = Vernon|date = 3 August 2017|accessdate = 23 November 2023|newspaper = The Guardian}} 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".{{cite news|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/10/second-referendum-affront-democracy-remainers-can-stop-brexit/|title = A second referendum is an affront to democracy. Remainers can only stop Brexit by winning an election|last = Bogdanor|first = Vernon|newspaper = The Daily Telegraph|date = 10 October 2019|accessdate = 23 November 2023|url-access = subscription}}

In a 2021 column for The Daily Telegraph, 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."{{Cite news|last=Bogdanor|first=Vernon|date=13 June 2021|title=We cannot stand for the EU's attempt to partition the UK|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/06/13/cannot-stand-eus-attempt-partition-uk/|access-date=14 June 2021|issn=0307-1235}}

Awards and honours

Bogdanor was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1998 Birthday Honours for services to constitutional history.{{London Gazette |issue=55155 |date=15 June 1998 |page=8 |supp=y}} In 2009, he was appointed a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur by the president of France, 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.{{cite news |title=Appointments |date=5 November 2009 |newspaper=Times Higher Education }}

He was knighted in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to political science.{{London Gazette|issue=63918|supp=y|page=N2|date=31 December 2022}}

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==

{{cite book|title = Devolution|isbn = 978-0192191281|year = 1979|publisher = Oxford University Press}}
{{cite book|title = The People and the Party System: The Referendum and Electoral Reform in British Politics|isbn = 978-0521285254|year = 1981|publisher = Cambridge University Press}}
{{cite book|title = Multi-Party Politics and the Constitution|isbn = 978-0521255240|year = 1983|publisher = Cambridge University Press}}
{{cite book|title = What is Proportional Representation?|isbn = 978-0855207403|year = 1984|publisher = Wiley-Blackwell}}
{{cite book|title = The Monarchy and the Constitution|isbn = 978-0198277699|year = 1996|publisher = Clarendon Press}}
{{cite book|title = Power and the People: Guide to Constitutional Reform|isbn = 978-0575064911|year = 1997|publisher = Victor Gollancz Ltd}}
{{cite book|title = Devolution in the United Kingdom|isbn = 978-0192801289|year = 1998|publisher = Oxford University Press|edition = 2nd}}
{{cite book|title = The New British Constitution|isbn = 978-1841131498|year = 2009|publisher = Hart Publishing}}
{{cite book|title = The Coalition and the Constitution|isbn = 978-1849461580|year = 2011|publisher = Hart Publishing}}
{{cite book|title = Beyond Brexit: Towards a British Constitution|isbn = 978-1788316798|year = 2019|publisher = I.B. Tauris}}
{{cite book|title = Britain and Europe in a Troubled World|isbn = 978-0300245615|year = 2020|series = The Henry L. Stimson Lectures Series|publisher = Yale University Press}}
{{cite book|title = The Strange Survival of Liberal Britain: Politics and Power Before the First World War|isbn = 978-1785907623|year = 2022|publisher = Biteback Publishing}}
{{cite book|title = Making the Weather: Six Politicians Who Changed Modern Britain|isbn = 978-1914979088|year = 2024|publisher = Haus Publishing}}

==Edited==

{{cite book|title = Democracy and Elections: Electoral Systems and Their Political Consequences|editor-last1 = Bogdanor|editor-first1 = Vernon|editor-last2 = Butler|editor-first2 = David|year = 1983|isbn = 978-0521272827|publisher = Cambridge University Press}}
{{cite book|title = The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Institutions|isbn = 978-0631138419|year = 1987|publisher = Blackwell Publishers}}
{{cite book|title = Constitutions in Democratic Politics|isbn = 978-0566055751|year = 1988|publisher = Gower Publishing}}
{{cite book|title = Joined-Up Government|isbn = 978-0197263334|year = 2005|publisher = British Academy}}

=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.
"[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/06/monarchy.comment8 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)
"[https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/london-mayoral-election-2012 Mayors: Good for Britain - in the end.]" Prospect. 19 March 2012.
"[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/24/english-votes-english-laws-absurdity-separatist Why English votes for English laws is a kneejerk absurdity]". The Guardian. 24 September 2014.
"[https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/time-to-ditch-first-past-the-post Time to ditch 'first-past-the-post]'". Prospect. 22 January 2015.
"[https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/who-pays-for-our-politics Who pays for our politics?]". Prospect. 26 March 2015.
"[https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/britain-needs-a-new-constitution Britain needs a new constitution]". Prospect. 21 May 2015.
"[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/03/second-brexit-referendum-case-getting-stronger-political-deadlock-life-raft A second Brexit referendum? It's looking more likely by the day]". The Guardian. London. 3 August 2017.
"[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/29/parliament-brexit-prorogue-mps-alternative-no-deal 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.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}