Vernon Bogdanor

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. 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.

Early life and education Vernon Bernard Bogdanor was born on 16 July 1943 in Staines (then in Middlesex) to Harry and Rosa Bogdanor (née Weinger), and grew up in Uxbridge. His father was a pharmacist whose parents came to England from Ukraine, while his mother was born in Poland and came to England in the 1930s; both were observant Jews.

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". 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."

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."

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". 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, Bogdanor decried the 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."

Bogdanor supports the British monarchy and the adoption of proportional representation.

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. 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.

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, Antonia Romeo, Guy Spier and Toby Young.