Haldane and LSE: applying political philosophy to public service in today's polarised politics

Contributor(s): Gordon Brown, John Campbell, Dr Jill Pellew, Professor Andrés Velasco | Richard Haldane pioneered cross-party and cross-sector cooperation. How might Haldane's approach - that of the philosopher-statesman - be applied to politics today?

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.

Meet our speakers and chair

Gordon Brown (@OfficeGSBrown) is the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He is Chair of the Global Strategic Infrastructure Initiative of the World Economic Forum and also serves as Distinguished Global Leader in Residence of New York University. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010.

John Campbell is the Co-founder and Chair of Campbell Lutyens. He read Economics at the University of Cambridge, winning an exhibition at Sidney Sussex College for his work in economic history. He began his career in corporate finance at N.M. Rothschild. Married with three children, he has long been inspired by Lord Haldane's example. His book, Haldane: The Forgotten Statesman Who Shaped Modern Britain, was published by Hurst and Co in July 2020.

Jill Pellew is a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Studies, University of London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She is currently a Trustee of the Victoria County History for Oxfordshire, a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar, and a Trustee of the 21st Century Trust.

Andrés Velasco (@AndresVelasco) is Professor of Public Policy and Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Julia Black is LSE Strategic Director for Innovation and Professor of Law at the Department of Law.

More about this event

The School of Public Policy (@LSEPublicPolicy) equips you with the skills and ideas to transform people and societies. It is an international community where ideas and practice meet. Their approach creates professionals with the ability to analyse, understand and resolve the challenges of contemporary governance.

You can order the book, Haldane: The Forgotten Statesman Who Shaped Modern Britain (UK delivery only), from our official LSE Events independent book shop, Pages of Hackney.

Gordon Brown will be joining this event via a pre-recorded talk, and will not be speaking live.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEHaldane