Latest 300 | LSE Public lectures and events | Audio and pdf London School of Economics and Political Science

Speaker(s): Professor Danny Dorling | When we think of economic inequality we tend to think of a trend that is ever rising and destined to continue rising; that is far from inevitable. There are many statistics today that point at Britain being at a peak of inequality. However, having allowed the gaps between us to grow so wide has had dire implications for our health, housing, education, demography, politics and future. Danny Dorling highlights these and discusses what it will take to begin to descend from the peak of inequality. Danny Dorling (@dannydorling) is a Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oxford. He has also worked in Sheffield, Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds and New Zealand, went to university in Newcastle upon Tyne, and grew up in Oxford. He has published over forty books including many atlases and All That is Solid in 2014; Injustice: Why social inequalities still persist in 2015; A Better Politics: How government can make us happier in 2016; The Equality Effect in 2017; and Do We Need Economic Inequality? – in 2018. His latest book is Peak Inequality - Britain’s Ticking Time Bomb. Jonathan Hopkin (@jrhopkin) is Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, Department of Government, LSE.

Speaker(s): Jesse Norman MP | At a time when economics and politics are both increasingly polarized between left and right, this book, Adam Smith: What He Thought, and Why it Matters, which Jesse Norman will discuss at this event, returns to intellectual first principles to recreate the lost centre of public debate. It offers a Smithian analysis of contemporary markets, predatory capitalism and the 2008 financial crash; it addresses crucial issues of inequality, human dignity and exploitation; and it provides a compelling explanation of why Smith is central to any attempt to defend and renew the market system. Jesse Norman MP (@Jesse_Norman) studied at Oxford, before completing a Masters and PhD in Philosophy at University College London. Before entering politics, he ran an educational project in Communist Eastern Europe and was a Director at Barclays. He has also been an Honorary Fellow at UCL, a Governor of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, and a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. His previous books include a celebrated study of Edmund Burke. He currently serves as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport. Tim Besley is School Professor of Economics of Political Science and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics in the Department of Economics at LSE. The Department of Economics at LSE (@LSEEcon) is one of the largest economics departments in the world. Its size ensures that all areas of economics are strongly represented in both research and teaching. The Centre For Macroeconomics (@CFMUK) brings together world-class experts to carry out pioneering research on the global economic crisis and to help design policies that alleviate it.

Speaker(s): Ann Pettifor | In February 2018, Jeremy Corbyn accused bankers of taking the economy hostage, and said in a speech that Britain's financial sector will be "the servant of industry not the masters of all" if the Labour Party wins the next election. How realistic is that promise? In this lecture Ann Pettifor will argue that given the dependency of the finance sector on the largesse of the state and its taxpayers, a Labour government could transform the relationship between finance and industry. Ann Pettifor (@AnnPettifor) is the author of The Production of Money, director of PRIME economics, and a member of Labour’s Economic Advisory Committee. She was one of a few to predict the Great Financial Crisis in her 2006 book The Coming First World Debt Crisis. Ann Pettifor (@AnnPettifor) is the author of The Production of Money, director of PRIME economics, and a member of Labour’s Economic Advisory Committee. She was one of a few to predict the Great Financial Crisis in her 2006 book The Coming First World Debt Crisis. Natacha Postel-Vinay is Assistant Professor, Economic History Department, LSE.

Speaker(s): Kenneth Clarke, Professor Tony Travers | This event, in memory of Maurice Fraser, will see former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke in conversation with LSE's Tony Travers and Kevin Featherstone. Kenneth Clarke, MP for Rushcliffe since 1970, held several Ministerial offices in the Governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major - as Secretary of State for Health, Secretary of State for Education and Science, Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He also served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and Minister without Portfolio within the Coalition Government. As the Member of the House of Commons with the longest continuous service he is currently the Father of the House. Tony Travers is Interim Dean of the School of Public Policy at LSE. Kevin Featherstone is Head of the European Institute and Eleftherios Venizelos Professor of Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor of European Politics at the LSE. The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) is a centre for research and graduate teaching on the processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) the Institute was ranked first for research in its sector.

Speaker(s): Professor Gilles Kepel | ISIS has been defeated militarily, but the fight for the Middle East is just beginning. At this event Gilles Kepel, author of The Rise of Jihad in the West, discusses the future of the region and how it will shape global politics in the decades ahead. Hear more about how sectarian conflict, bold new leaders, economic changes, and shifting geopolitics will be at the centre of the struggle for power and influence in the Middle East. Gilles Kepel is Chair of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at École Normale Supérieure. Minouche Shafik is Director of LSE. Prior to this she was Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. LSE IDEAS (@lseideas) is LSE's foreign policy think tank. We connect academic knowledge of diplomacy and strategy with the people who use it.

Speaker(s): Sir Nick Clegg | Battered, bruised and blamed for so many of the world's problems, liberal values have found themselves under attack from left and right. But these values have multiple virtues and with many enduring strengths. In his inaugural lecture as a visiting professor in practice at LSE's School of Public Policy, Sir Nick Clegg will set out the case for liberal values at a time when stark social and generational divisions threaten to pull the country apart. If Open versus Closed is the pivotal divide in British politics today, then liberalism, a far richer philosophy than its critics allow, is best placed to bridge that divide. Sir Nick Clegg will explain why liberalism must be defended, must be cherished, but must also adapt to face the challenges of the future - and why there is nothing inconsistent with being both a liberal and a patriot. Nick Clegg (@nick_clegg) served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. He was the MP for Sheffield Hallam from 2005 to 2017 and was a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004. He now heads a think-tank, Open Reason. Tony Travers is Interim Dean of the School of Public Policy at LSE. In September 2018, LSE’s School of Public Policy fully replaces the existing Institute of Public Affairs. The School of Public Policy will be the home for LSE’s Master of Public Administration (MPA), Executive MPA and Executive MPP degrees. Update, Tuesday 12 June: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Anne McElvoy is no longer able to speak at this event.