Richard Haldane pioneered cross-party and cross-sector cooperation. How might Haldane’s approach – that of the philosopher-statesman – be applied to politics today? Watch the recording of this LSE public event.
Listen to the podcast of this event on LSE Player
A close friend of Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Haldane was involved in the founding of LSE and his visionary thinking also laid the foundations for Imperial College, the “red brick” universities, the University Grants Committee and the Medical Research Council. As Minister for War he shaped the modern British Army, and was instrumental in the creation of the BEF, the Territorial Army, the Imperial General Staff, the RAF, MI5 and MI6. As a lawyer and philosopher and in particular in his judicial work after becoming Lord Chancellor he was deeply concerned with the development of an effective State and Civil Service. His influence extended beyond the UK to the continent of Europe and to the Empire, especially Canada.
This event, Haldane and LSE: applying political philosophy to public service in today’s polarised politics, was hosted by the School of Public Policy at LSE on 10 June 2021 as part of the Shaping the Post-COVID World initiative, and featured a recorded message from Gordon Brown. The speakers were John Campbell, whose book, Haldane: The Forgotten Statesman Who Shaped Modern Britain, was published by Hurst and Co in July 2020; Jill Pellew, Senior Fellow of the Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Studies, University of London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society; Andrés Velasco, Professor of Public Policy and Dean of the School of Public Policy at LSE. It was chaired by Julia Black, Strategic Director for Innovation and Professor of Law at LSE.
