‘The Strange Career of British Democracy’

Professor Peter Hennessy FBA, Baroness O’Neill
(President of the British Academy), and
Professor David Marquand FBA

On 2 March 2009, a group of leading academics, past and present politicians and civil servants, other policy makers and political journalists met at the British Academy for a round-table discussion of the state of British democracy in the current climate.

Edited record of discussion (PDF) 

Article by Martin Kettle in the British Academy Review (PDF)

In a wide-ranging debate, the group discussed the pressures that currently hamper the democratic process. Participants analysed which political forces and trends will emerge in the aftermath of what was described as ‘both market failure and State failure’, and considered how politicians should try to repair the ‘moral economy’.

This first British Academy Forum had been inspired by the influential recent book, Britain since 1918: The Strange Career of British Democracy, by Professor David Marquand FBA, in which he has proposed a new means of describing British political debate and practice during the last ninety years. The meeting was chaired by Professor Peter Hennessy FBA.

About British Academy Forums

This was the first in a new series of British Academy Forums. They are intended to be regular workshops, at which senior academics, policy makers, civil servants and other practitioners, politicians, and journalists can engage in frank, informed debate – without the point scoring. They will provide a neutral forum for argument based on research and evidence, to help frame the terms of public debates and clarify policy options. It will give those immersed in current issues the opportunity to exchange views with others who can bring historical perspectives or other contextual insights.

Meetings will typically be held every two months, normally at lunchtime. Attendance will be by invitation, and Chatham House rules will be observed.

If you would like information on future British Academy Forums, or if you would like to propose a subject for a future Forum, or if your organisation would like to collaborate in organising a future Forum, please contact James Rivington (j.rivington@britac.ac.uk).

The British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. It seeks to bring to bear expertise, scholarly insight and an independent perspective on matters of public concern.