1 minute read
42 Society
Next Article
Our 42 Society series of lunchtime lectures challenges our students to think about different ideas and concepts to broaden their horizons. Named after Douglas Adams’ ultimate answer to the ultimate question in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the programme featured a wide range of impressive and interesting speakers throughout the year.
Who Runs the Country?
Sir Jonathan Jones KCB QC gave an illuminating insight into ‘Who Runs the Country?’
From 2014 to 2020, Sir Jonathan was Head of the Government Legal Service, the branch of the Civil Service which provides legal advice to the government and represents it in court proceedings.
Sir Jonathan explained that while the UK does not have a single written constitution, there are still many important constitutional rules that have been committed to the statute books.
He added that the sovereignty of parliament to make laws is paramount, with Acts of Parliament being bills that have been approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and given royal assent by HM The Queen.
Political pressure, whether from parliament itself, other political parties, pressure groups or the media, can also act as a balance, while unwritten rules, conventions and practices of behaviour and decency that the government is expected to go along with – political historian Peter Hennessy’s ‘good chaps’ theory – help keep it under control.
Other 42 Society lectures included:
• Oliver Rubinstein Baylis (2010) - What does the future of food and farming look like in the UK?
• Kevin Malone - Climate, community, composition
• Steve Stanley (1964) – Crime, punishment and rehabilitation
• Dr Fitzroy Morrissey – A short history of Islamic thought
• Dr Rihab Khalid - Exploring the intersections of gender, energy and space use • Benji Merrison – Composing the wild
• Jessica Hynes - Why drama is so important
• Dr Francesca O’Hanlon – Making drinking water accessible to all
• Hannah Kirk (2015) - Gatekeepers of a safer internet: Using artificial intelligence to detect online harms at scale
• Chris Dodsworth (2016) – Corridors of power: A view from the Civil Service
