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Peter John Hennessy, Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield, (born 28 March 1947) is an English historian and academic specialising in the history of government. Since 1992, he has been Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University of London.
Hennessy co-founded the Institute of Contemporary British History in 1986. From 1992 to 2000, he was professor of contemporary history at Queen Mary, University of London, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. From 1994 to 1997, he gave public lectures as Gresham Professor of Rhetoric, Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College, London. From 2001, he has been Attlee professor of contemporary British history at Queen Mary, University of London.
His analysis of post-war Britain, ''Never Again: Britain 1945–1951'', won the Duff Cooper Prize in 1992 and the NCR Book Award in 1993.
His study of Britain in the 1950s and the rise of Harold Macmillan, ''Having It So Good: Britain in the 1950s'', won the 2007 Orwell Prize for political writing.
On 5 October 2010 the House of Lords Appointments Commission said Hennessy was to be a non-political Crossbencher, crossbench peer. He was created a life peer on 8 November 2010, taking the title Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield, of Nympsfield in the County of Gloucestershire. He was Introduction (House of Lords), introduced to the House of Lords on 25 November.
"I'm terribly pleased and honoured," Hennessy said at hearing the news. "I hope I can help the House of Lords a bit on constitutional matters. I'll certainly give it my best shot." In August 2014, Lord Hennessy was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''The Guardian'' opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's 2014 Scottish independence referendum, referendum.
Hennessy is married with two daughters.
'Corrected Oral Transcript of Oral Evidence presented to the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee on the publication of political memoirs on 17 November 2005 by Lord Wilson of Dinton and Professor Peter Hennessy'
7 December 2005. Retrieved 31 December 2005
Archives of Peter Hennessy held by Queen Mary, University of London Archives
House of Lords official page
''Guardian'' March 2004
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Peter 1947 births Living people English male journalists English historians English people of Irish descent English Roman Catholics Fellows of the British Academy Harvard University alumni Kennedy Scholarships People from Finchley Academics of Queen Mary University of London Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge The Times people People educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing Crossbench life peers Professors of Gresham College People educated at Marling School Historians of the United Kingdom English constitutionalists English male non-fiction writers Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics People's peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Early life
Hennessy was born in Edmonton, north London, the youngest child of William G. Hennessy by his marriage to Edith (Wood-Johnson) Hennessy. He comes from a large Roman Catholicism in Ireland, Catholic family of Irish descent, Irish provenance. He was brought up in large houses, requisitioned by the council, first in Allandale Avenue and then in Lyndhurst Gardens, Finchley, north London. He attended the nearby Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, and on Sundays he went to St Mary Magdalene Church, where he was an altar boy. He was a subject of the first episode of the BBC Radio 4 series ''The House I Grew Up In'', first broadcast on 6 August 2007, in which he talked about his childhood. Hennessy was educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing, St Benedict's School, an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school in Ealing, West London. When his father's job led the family to move to the Cotswolds, he attended Marling School, a grammar school in Stroud, Gloucestershire. He went on to study at St John's College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a BA in 1969 and a PhD in 1990. Hennessy was a Kennedy Memorial Trust, Kennedy Memorial Scholar at Harvard University from 1971 to 1972.Career
Journalism
Hennessy was a journalist for the ''Times Higher Education Supplement'' from 1972 to 1974. From 1974 to 1982, he wrote leaders for ''The Times'', for which he was also the Whitehall correspondent. He was ''The Financial Times'' lobby correspondent at Westminster in 1976. In June 1977, Hennessy accused Donald Beves of being the "fourth man" in the Cambridge Spy Ring (then-known participants were Kim Philby, Philby, Guy Burgess, Burgess, and Donald Maclean (spy), Maclean), but Geoffrey Grigson and others quickly leapt to the defense of Beves, considering him uninterested in politics. Hennessy wrote for ''The Economist'' in 1982. He was a regular presenter of ''Analysis (radio programme), Analysis'' on BBC Radio 4 from 1987 to 1992. On 17 November 2005, he made a trenchant appearance alongside Richard Wilson, Baron Wilson of Dinton, Lord Wilson of Dinton before the British House of Commons, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee on the publication of political memoirs. In July and August 2013 he was the interviewer for BBC Radio 4's ''Reflections'', a series of four biographical interview programmes featuring Shirley Williams, Jack Straw, Norman Tebbit and Neil Kinnock. Hennessy continues to present the programme. On 17 April 2022, he was interviewed by BBC Radio 4's ''Broadcasting House''. On the subject of the Metropolitan Police fines issued to Boris Johnson for lockdown breaches during the Partygate scandal, he said "I think we're in the most severe constitutional crisis involving a prime minister that I can remember".Academic career
Hennessy co-founded the Institute of Contemporary British History in 1986. From 1992 to 2000, he was professor of contemporary history at Queen Mary, University of London, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. From 1994 to 1997, he gave public lectures as Gresham Professor of Rhetoric, Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College, London. From 2001, he has been Attlee professor of contemporary British history at Queen Mary, University of London.
His analysis of post-war Britain, ''Never Again: Britain 1945–1951'', won the Duff Cooper Prize in 1992 and the NCR Book Award in 1993.
His study of Britain in the 1950s and the rise of Harold Macmillan, ''Having It So Good: Britain in the 1950s'', won the 2007 Orwell Prize for political writing.
Elevation to the peerage
On 5 October 2010 the House of Lords Appointments Commission said Hennessy was to be a non-political Crossbencher, crossbench peer. He was created a life peer on 8 November 2010, taking the title Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield, of Nympsfield in the County of Gloucestershire. He was Introduction (House of Lords), introduced to the House of Lords on 25 November.
"I'm terribly pleased and honoured," Hennessy said at hearing the news. "I hope I can help the House of Lords a bit on constitutional matters. I'll certainly give it my best shot." In August 2014, Lord Hennessy was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''The Guardian'' opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's 2014 Scottish independence referendum, referendum.
Hennessy is married with two daughters.
Bibliography
Hennessy is the author of the following: *''Cabinet'' (1986) Blackwell *''Whitehall'' (1989) Pimlico *:Revised and extended in 2001. *''Never Again: Britain 1945–51'' (1992) Penguin *:Revised and updated in 2006. *''Pathways to the Pigeon Hole?: The Effectiveness of Official Inquiries'' (1993) University of Strathclyde *''The Hidden Wiring: Unearthing the British Constitution'' (1995) Gollancz *''Ready, Steady, Go!: New Labour and Whitehall'' (1997) Fabian Society *''The Blair Centre: A Question of Command and Control?'' (1999) Public Management Foundation *''The Prime Minister: The Office and Its Holders since 1945'' (2001) St. Martin's Press *''The Secret State: Whitehall and the Cold War'' (2002) Penguin *:Republished and extended in 2010, see below. *''Rulers and Servants of the State: The Blair Style of Government, 1997-2004'' (2004) Office for Public Management *''Having It So Good: Britain in the Fifties'' (2006) *''Cabinets and the Bomb'' (2007) Oxford University Press *''The New Protective State: Government, Intelligence and Terrorism'' (2007) Continuum *''The Secret State: Preparing For The Worst 1945–2010'' (2010) Penguin *''Distilling the Frenzy: Writing the History of One's Own Times'' (2012) *''Establishment and Meritocracy'' (2014) Haus Publishing *''Kingdom to Come: Thoughts on the Union Before and After the Scottish Referendum'' (2015) Haus Publishing *''Reflections: Conversations with Politicians'' (2016) Haus Publishing *:Expanded and reissued in 2020, see below. *''The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945'' (2015) with James Jinks Penguin *''Winds of Change: Britain in the Sixties'' (2019) Allen Lane *''The Complete Reflections: Conversations with Politicians'' (2020) Haus Publishing *''A Duty of Care: Britain Before and After Corona'' (2022) Penguin *''The Bonfire of the Decencies: Repairing and Restoring the British Constitution'' (2022) Haus PublishingSee also
* Gresham Professor of RhetoricReferences
Sources
'Corrected Oral Transcript of Oral Evidence presented to the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee on the publication of political memoirs on 17 November 2005 by Lord Wilson of Dinton and Professor Peter Hennessy'
7 December 2005. Retrieved 31 December 2005
External links
Archives of Peter Hennessy held by Queen Mary, University of London Archives
House of Lords official page
''Guardian'' March 2004
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Peter 1947 births Living people English male journalists English historians English people of Irish descent English Roman Catholics Fellows of the British Academy Harvard University alumni Kennedy Scholarships People from Finchley Academics of Queen Mary University of London Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge The Times people People educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing Crossbench life peers Professors of Gresham College People educated at Marling School Historians of the United Kingdom English constitutionalists English male non-fiction writers Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics People's peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II