A new lecture series which will give audiences the chance to question and hear from leading public figures about the economic crisis and the way the country is governed begins in Cambridge this week.
A new lecture series which will give audiences the chance to question and hear from leading public figures about the economic crisis and the way the country is governed begins in Cambridge this week.
The programme, entitled “Shaping the Future”, will focus on various aspects of public policy and involve speakers from across the political spectrum. Each talk will be open to the public and free to attend.
The first presentation will be given by the Rt. Hon. John Redwood MP, former Secretary of State for Wales, and will be held on Thursday, 17 February, in the McCrum Lecture Theatre, Corpus Christi College, on Benet St at 6pm.
The series as a whole will focus on speakers who have made and are making contributions of notable significance to the political and economic life of the country.
It will seek to address some of the most troubling issues of the moment, among them the severity of the economic crisis, the dramatic reductions being made on public spending and the impact of tax increases.
“The country is in trouble,” Jonathan Haslam, Professor of the History of International Relations, who has co-organised the event with colleague Dr Simon Heffer, said.
“Alongside the economic crisis we are seeing signs of a crisis in governance as well, such as the appearance of a coalition government and scandals over false expenses claims by members of parliament. There seems to be a deep sense of uncertainty about how the country wants to be governed, and by whom.”
“We have started this keynote lecture series because we believe that the University of Cambridge, as a leading institution of learning, can contribute to that debate more effectively by opening it up to the wider community.”
Mr. Redwood’s lecture will focus on the credit and economic crisis, analysing where it has reached and speculating as to what might happen next.
His own political career has had a strong economic focus – in the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the key thinkers and advocates behind the wave of privatisations which took place under successive Conservative Governments.
More recently, Mr. Redwood has written extensively on both the economic crisis and questions of political participation in two books; After The Credit Crunch and I Want To Make A Difference, But I Don’t Like Politics.
The second lecture will take place at Peterhouse on March 3, when Frank Field MP will speak at 6pm.
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