Browse details of previous lectures by year of delivery in descending order. We are very grateful for the work done by Mr Garry Menzies in collecting and collating a great many of these documents. 2020 - present Year Details 2023 Gavin Esler ‘Is Britain better than this?’ Document JPM Lecture - Gavin Esler (2.2 MB / PDF) 2010 - 2019 Year Details 2019 David McAllister MEP "The European Union. What Next?” Document JPM Lecture - David McAllister (313.9 KB / PDF) 2018 To mark the 40th anniversary of the death of John P Mackintosh, a memorial debate was organised jointly by the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Parliament. The memorial debate was titled “Where Now for Democracy?” and took place on 6 September 2018 in the Main Debating Chamber at the Scottish Parliament. The wide ranging discussion, led by a panel of leading figures from political and academic life, considered Mackintosh’s legacy and examined some of the contemporary issues and challenges facing democracy. The event was chaired by the Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament and was followed by a reception in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament with an address by Professor Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, and Iain Gray MSP for East Lothian. The panelists were: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, former leader of the Liberal Democrats Angus Robertson, former Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party Professor Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies, The University of Edinburgh Catherine Stihler, Labour MEP Watch the debate on the Scottish Parliament website (external link) 2017 William Dalrymple, writer and historian "Koh-i-Noor - A History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond" 2016 Professor Linda Colley, Princeton University "Why do constitutions matter?" 2015 Fergal Keane OBE "Revolution in the Family - a journey out of Violence" 2014 The Rt Hon Jack Straw, Member of Parliament "Has British perfidy come back to bite us? Britain and the Middle East in this century and the last" Document JPM lecture - Jack Straw (358.22 KB / PDF) 2013 The Rt Hon The Lord Roy Hattersley "What are MPs for?" Document JPM lecture - Roy Hattersley (1.59 MB / PDF) 2012 The Rt Hon Alastair Darling, Member of Parliament "Better Together” Document JPM lecture - Alastair Darling (374.67 KB / PDF) 2011 Brian Taylor "Scotland's Referendum: who, what, when, where why?" Document JPM lecture - Brian Taylor (343.27 KB / PDF) 2010 The Rt Hon Rhodri Moragan AM, former First Minister for Wales "Wales – the Hypotenuse of the Celtic Bermuda Triangle?" 2000-2009 Year Details 2009 The Rt Hon Lord Steel of Aikwood "Nothing in particular" - Reform of the House of Lords 5 December 2009 in the Playfair Library, Old College The script of the lecture is available here by kind permission of Lord Steel. Document JPM lecture - Lord Steel of Aikwood (552.19 KB / PDF) 2007 Professor Sir Bernard Crick “The Four Nations – interrelations” Document JPM lecture - Bernard Crick (1.68 MB / PDF) 2006 The Rt Hon Jack McConnell MSP, First Minister of Scotland “In the interest of our nation” Document JPM lecture - Jack McConnell (1.4 MB / PDF) 2005 (October) James Naughtie, Presenter of Today on BBC Radio 4 “Anger and Apathy in the Information Age” 2005 (April) Lord Sutherland of Houndwood, President of the Royal Society “Education, education … Targets” Document JPM lecture - Lord Sutherland of Houndwood (98.54 KB / PDF) 2004 The Rt Hon the Lord Robertson of Port Ellen KT, former Secretary General of NATO “Can we make a dangerous world any safer?” 2002 Professor Neil MacCormick, Member of the European Parliament “The Convention – is European Democracy possible?” 2002 The Rt Hon Clare Short, Member of Parliament 2000 Professor Kurt Sontheimer, Academic Analyst “Fifty Years of German Democracy” Document JPM lecture - Kurt Sontheimer (1.61 MB / PDF) 1990-1999 Year Details 1999 The Rt Hon Donald Dewar, First Minister “A Tradition of Excellence” Document JPM lecture - Donald Dewar (1.32 MB / PDF) 1998 (November) Mr William Hutton, Editor, The Observer “Pandora’s ‘Tartan’ Box” 1998 (February) Mr John Hume, Member of Parliament "Europe of the Regions" Document JPM lecture - John Hume (1.84 MB / PDF) 1997 Professor David Marquand, Principal, Mansfield College, Oxford "Social Democracy and the New Capitalism" 1995 Professor Lord Plant, Master, St Catherine's College, Oxford "Human Rights and foreign Policy: Potential Dilemmas" 1993 Barbara Castle, The Rt Hon Baroness Castle of Blackburn "Is the Welfare State Dead?" Document JPM lecture - Barbara Castle (1.63 MB / PDF) 1992 David Martin, Vice-President of the European Parliament "Power to the People" Document JPM lecture - David Martin (2.77 MB / PDF) 1990 Garret Fitzgerald, previously Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland "Ireland and Britain in the New European Context" Document JPM lecture - Garret Fitzgerald (2.62 MB / PDF) 1980-1989 Year Details 1989 Gordon Brown, Opposition Spokesman on Treasury Affairs "Democratic Socialism into the 1990s" Document JPM lecture - Gordon Brown (524.96 KB / PDF) 1987 John Smith, Labour Shadow Chancellor "Prosperity and Justice - The Challenge of Modern Socialism" Document JPM lecture - John Smith (2.46 MB / PDF) 1986 David Lange, New Zealand Premier "The New Welfare State" Document JPM lecture - David Lange (2.17 MB / PDF) Document JPM lecture East Lothian Courier report - David Lange (2.34 MB / PDF) 1985 Neal Ascherson, journalist "Ancient Britons and the Republican Dream" Document JPM lecture - Neal Ascherson (1.46 MB / PDF) 1983 (November) Sir Leo Pliatzky, retired civil servant "Public Expenditure under the Tories" 1983 (June) Neil Kinnock, Leader of the Labour Party "Democratic Socialism and Social Democracy" Document JPM lecture East Lothian News report - Neil Kinnock (326.96 KB / PDF) Document JPM lecture news reports - Neil Kinnock (1.24 MB / PDF) 1982 Sir Ian Gilmour, Conservative Member of Parliament "Tories, Social Democracy and the Centre" Document JPM lecture - Sir Ian Gilmour (1.77 MB / PDF) 1981 John Kenneth Galbraith, economist "From Market to Organisation: The Economics of Accommodation" 10 March 1981 at Knox Academy Document JPM lecture news report - John Kenneth Galbraith (74.69 KB / PDF) 1980 Ralf Dahrendorf, Professor of Politics "Effectiveness and Legitimacy on the 'Governability' of Democracies" 9 May 1980 at David Hume Lecture Theatre A Document JPM lecture - Ralf Dahrendorf (764.76 KB / PDF) This article was published on 2023-12-05
