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Between 1886 and 1914, British politics was dominated by the Irish Question, and the Irish nationalist party exerted considerable pressure on British governments. Since 1974, the rise of the SNP has brought the Scottish Question into the forefront of British politics, and in 1998, legislation provided for devolution to the non-English parts of the United Kingdom.
There remain, nevertheless, strong pressures for Scottish independence, and in Wales there is a lively nationalist party, Plaid Cymru. How is the rise of nationalist parties to be explained?
Vernon Bogdanor CBE is Emeritus Gresham Professor of Law, current Visiting Gresham Professor of Political History, Research Professor at King's College London, a Fellow of the British Academy and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. Prior to 2010, Professor Bogdanor was a Fellow of Brasenose College and Professor of Government at Oxford University.
He has been an adviser to a number of governments, including those of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Israel and Slovakia. His books include The People and the Party System, Multi-Party Politics and the Constitution, Power and the People, and Devolution in the United Kingdom. He is a frequent contributor to TV, radio and the press and is a sometimes special advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities (1982-83), and the House of Commons Public Service Committee. Most recently he was awarded the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize for Lifetime Contribution to Political Studies by the Political Studies Association.
Professor Bogdanor's previous lecture series are as follows:
2017/18 British Political Parties
2016/17 The Monarchy
2014/15 Six General Elections
2013/14 Britain and Europe
2012/13 Making the Weather: Six Politicians Who Shaped Our Age
2010/12 Britain in the 20th Century
2007/09 From Roosevelt to Bush: The American Presidency: Transformation and Change
All of Professor Bogdanor's past Gresham lectures can be accessed here.
