Philip Norton, Baron Norton of Louth

"Philip Norton" redirects here. For other uses, see Philip Norton (disambiguation).

This article is about Lord Norton of Louth. For the extant hereditary title, see Baron Norton.

The Right Honourable The Lord Norton of Louth
Member of the House of Lords
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 August 1998
Personal details
Born	Philip Norton (1951-03-05) 5 March 1951 Louth, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	University of Sheffield, University of Pennsylvania
Occupation	Academic

Philip Norton, Baron Norton of Louth (born 5 March 1951), is an English author, academic and Conservative peer. He has been described as "the United Kingdom's greatest living expert on Parliament" and "a world authority on constitutional issues".

Education

Norton was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in Louth. He graduated from the University of Sheffield with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and later as a Doctor of Philosophy, and from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Arts.

Career

Norton is a Professor of Government in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Hull, and was head of the Department from 2002 to 2007. Since 1992 he has been the Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies. Norton has been a member of the Hansard Society advisory council since 1997 and became Director of Studies in 2002.

He was created a life peer with the title Baron Norton of Louth, of Louth in the County of Lincolnshire on 1 August 1998. In 2000 he chaired a commission for Leader of the Opposition William Hague to design ideas for the strengthening of the institution of Parliament, and from 2001 to 2004 he served as the chairman of the House of Lords Constitution Committee.

In 2007 The Daily Telegraph named him the 59th most influential person on the right of British politics.

Norton is a regular contributor to Lords of the Blog, a collaborative blog by members of the House of Lords for the purposes of public engagement. The Guardian has described him as "a new star of the blogosphere." He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts . 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. Currently for example, Norton is serving as co-chair of the Committee on Higher Education and continuing work with the Campaign for an Effective Second Chamber. 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 some readership from around the world.

Bibliography

• Dissension in the House of Commons 1974-1979, Oxford University Press, 1980, ISBN 978-0-19-827430-8
• The Commons in Perspective, Longman, 1981, ISBN 978-0-582-28294-0
• The Constitution in Flux, Martin Roberstson, 1982, ISBN 978-0-85520-521-8
• The Political Science of British Politics, (with Jack Hayward) Wheatsheaf Books, Sussex, 1986, ISBN 0-7450-0367-2
• The British Polity, Longman, 2000, ISBN 978-0-8013-1844-3
• Parliament in British Politics, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, ISBN 978-1-4039-0667-0

External links

• Philip Norton profile at the University of Hull
• Philip Norton profile at the Hansard Society
• Philip Norton blog at The Norton View
• Philip Norton blog at Lords of the Blog
• Philip Norton profile at TheyWorkForYou