On Thursday 24th November 2016 Brasenose Alumni and their guests braved the cold and turned out for a breakfast time talk by former Brasenose tutor in politics and leading constitutional expert, Professor Vernon Bogdanor, on the ramifications of the recent public vote to leave the European Union. Vernon held many College posts and now is Professor of Government at Kings College, London. The respect in which he is held was manifest at the event.
Bogdanor focused on the importance of respecting the sovereignty of the people, and accepting the decision to leave the EU as the overwhelming choice of the many, despite being himself a self-proclaimed remainer. He stressed that historically in Britain, the ‘exam-passing classes’ have driven economic success and thus, the majority of people are largely excluded from political influence. If a favourable outcome of Brexit is to be had, he thought that we must operate on Hong Kong or Singapore’s model, where skilled labourers (and not just the academic elite) have a larger influence on economic success. He finished by saying Theresa May’s call for a ‘bespoke deal’ for Britain outside the EU is unlikely to happen, and is symptomatic of Britain’s tendency to place herself at the centre of the world; an attitude that went out of date with the fall of the British Empire.
The talk was followed by a lively Q&A session, compered by Principal John Bowers QC, who had to call time on the questions (still with many hands in the air) in order to bring the session to a timely close.
The free talk was held as part of a series for Brasenose alumni entitled, Breakfast with Brasenose. Brasenose Old Members are invited to venues in central London to hear early morning talks and discussions on topical issues of the moment. March saw Professor Peter Sinclair discuss the UK’s financial future for 2016-2017 and in June, in the run up to the referendum, an expert panel assembled to debate to pros and cons of leaving the EU. November’s instalment was held at Norton Rose Fulbright’s offices near Tower Bridge, by kind invitation of Richard Hughes (1981) a member of our alumni community.