Peter Hennessy Inaugural Lecture, Mile End Institute, QMUL
8 October 2015

“Referendums are not just a device as Attlee described them when suggested by Churchill. They are also a refuge advocated when parliamentary patronage and party political whipping can no longer prevent cross party voting challenging governmental authority. 

“They are usually conceded by governments reluctantly and that reluctance stems from the pressure of public opinion and the unpredictability of the outcome. “

Read the full text here

View the video of the speech and the interview that followed here