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In praise of politics

Former UK judge Jonathan Sumption on the relationship between law and politics.

This year’s Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Reith Lecturer is Jonathan Sumption, until recently one of England and Wales’s most senior judges, sitting in the UK’s Supreme Court. In his series called "Law and the Decline of Politics" he sets out his argument that the law has moved into the space once occupied by politics.

In his second of five lectures, recorded with an audience at Birmingham University, England, Sumption discusses state legitimacy and how democracy can be effective in accommodating political differences. But he says that politics has shied away from legislating. Sumption argues the resolution of political differences should be the job of politics not the law.

The Reith Lectures are presented and chaired by Anita Anand.

50 minutes

Last on

Sat 1 Jun 2019 03:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 28 May 2019 08:06GMT
  • Sat 1 Jun 2019 02:06GMT
  • Sat 1 Jun 2019 03:06GMT

The Reith Lectures on Radio 4

Archive recordings from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's flagship annual lecture series going back to 1948