Philip Norton, Baron Norton of Louth, (born 5 March 1951), is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

peer. He has been described as "the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's greatest living expert on

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

" and "a world authority on constitutional issues."

Education

The son of George Ernest Norton, Philip Norton was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

, where he now sits as a governor and Warden of the School. He graduated from the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

with the degree of

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and later as a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

, and, after winning a

Thouron Award The Thouron Award is a prestigious postgraduate scholarship established in 1960 by Sir John R.H. Thouron, K.B.E., and Esther D. du Pont, Esther du Pont Thouron. It was created to strengthen the "special relationship" between the United States and th ...

, from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Career

Norton is a professor of government in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

, and was head of the department from 2002 to 2007. Norton's early work is notable for having spearheaded the academic discussion on dissidence in the House of Commons with the publication of his first book in 1975. He was made a professor at the university in 1986, making him the UK's youngest professor of politics at the time at the age of 36. Since 1992 he has been the director of the Centre for Legislative Studies. Since 1988, Norton has been responsible for the university's "Westminster-Hull Internship Programme" (WHIP), a placement scheme which pairs students with some of the UK's top politicians. Norton is the founder and editor of ''

The Journal of Legislative Studies ''The Journal of Legislative Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on legislatures. It was established in 1995 and is published by Routledge. The editor-in-chief is Philip Norton (University of Hull , mot ...

'', most recently editing its 25th anniversary publication: ''The Impact of Legislatures: A Quarter-Century of The Journal of Legislative Studies''. He has also been the chair of the Conservative Academic Group since 2000. Lord Norton has also previously served as president of the British Politics Group in the US, and the Politics Association. Lord Norton chaired the Standards Committee of the City of Hull from 1999 to 2003. In 2016, he was made an

Honorary Freeman The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of the City of Kingston-Upon-Hull. He was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Norton of Louth, of

in the County of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

on 1 August 1998. In 2000 he chaired a commission for

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

to design ideas for the strengthening of the institution of Parliament, and from 2001 to 2004 he served as the first Conservative chairman of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

Constitution Committee The Constitution Committee is a cross-party select committee of the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee's remit is "to examine the constitutional implications of all public bills coming befor ...

. Since 2013, Lord Norton has chaired the Higher Education Commission. In 2007, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' named him the 59th most influential person on the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

of British politics. Norton has contributed t
Lords of the Blog
a collaborative

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

by members of the House of Lords for the purposes of public engagement. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' has described him as "a new star of the blogosphere." He has been a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

since 1995 and the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

since 2018. Lord Norton also has a personal blog in which he often cites some of the many evolving responsibilities he undertakes in political and academic circles. For example, Norton has served as co-chair of the Committee on Higher Education since 2012. He is convenor and co-founder of the Campaign for an Effective Second Chamber: a group which reinforces the utility of the

as a democratic institutio
Second Chamber ,
The campaign argues in favour of the experience and expertise of peers in delivering legislative amendments, scrutiny and effective debate, with recognition that such functions are, at present, fulfilled. The campaign disputes the creation of an elected House of Lords, due to the absence of basic accountability such a format would enabl
The Campaign , Second Chamber
Since 2020, Norton has served as the chair of The History of Parliament Trust and since 2019 has served as president of the Study of Parliament grou
Study of Parliament Group: Home Page
Lord Norton founded and organises the biennial Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and Parliamentarians, which draws scholars and parliamentarians from around the world. Lord Norton has a quiz on the Lords of the Blog and also often has caption competitions on his personal blog. The Norton View attracts readership from around the world. Norton is an Ambassador for

Akt Protein kinase B (PKB), also known as Akt, is the collective name of a set of three serine/threonine-specific protein kinases that play key roles in multiple cellular processes such as glucose metabolism, apoptosis, cell proliferation, tran ...

, a charity that supports LGBTQ+ individuals aged 16–25 who are rendered homeless.

Arms

Norton was granted a coat of arms in 1998 upon his accession to the peerage.

Titles

* Philip Norton, Baron Norton of Louth * Professor The Lord Norton of Louth *

of the

, FRSA 1995 *

Academy of Social Sciences The Academy of Social Sciences is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The Academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of matters, a ...

, FAcSS 2001 *

of the

, FRHistS 2018

Honorary academic degrees

* Hon LLD, Lincoln University, 2011 * Honorary Senior Fellow, Regent's University, 2019

Bibliography

*''Dissension in the House of Commons: Intra-party Dissent in the House of Commons' Division Lobbies, 1945–1974'', Macmillan, 1975, *''Conservative Dissidents: Dissent within the Parliamentary Conservative Party, 1970–1974'', Temple Smith, 1978, *''Dissension in the House of Commons 1974–1979'', Oxford University Press, 1980, *''The Commons in Perspective'', Longman, 1981, *''The Constitution in Flux'', Martin Robertson, 1982, *''The Political Science of British Politics'', (with Jack Hayward) Wheatsheaf Books, 1986, *''Politics UK'', (with Bill Jones) Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 1991 (1st ed.), 2018 (8th ed. with Bill Jones & Oliver Daddow), *''The British Polity'', Longman, 2000 (1st ed.), 2010 (5th ed.), *''Parliament in British Politics'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2005 (1st ed.), 2013 (2nd ed.) *''The Voice of the Backbenchers: The 1922 Committee: The first 90 years, 1923–2013'', Conservative History Group, 2013, *''Reform of the House of Lords'', Manchester University Press, 2017, *''Governing Britain: Parliament, ministers and our ambiguous constitution'', Manchester University Press, 2020,

Education

Career

Arms

Titles

Honorary academic degrees

Bibliography

References

External links