Making the Weather: Six Politicians Who Changed Modern Britain

A study of six prominent postwar politicians in the United Kingdom.

Making the Weather is the story of six postwar politicians, all of whom exerted an outsized influence on the political life of the United Kingdom--an influence greater than that of most prime ministers. Vernon Bogdanor’s cast includes three from the political Left--Aneurin ＂Nye＂ Bevan, Roy Jenkins, and Tony Benn--and three from the Right--Enoch Powell, Keith Joseph, and Nigel Farage. Each study is a fascinating analysis examining how these men achieved such prominence and influence and how, though very different figures in many ways, they came to dominate the political landscape, often for years.

Each of the six made fundamental contributions to the debate about Britain’s future and to the vibrancy of British democracy. From immigration to Europe, from the National Health Service to devolution, the issues and causes that brought these men to prominence are still relevant.

Vernon Bogdanor is professor of government at the Institute of Contemporary British History, King’s College London. He was for many years a professor of government at Oxford University. He is a fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, and the Academy of Social Sciences. He is a frequent contributor to TV, radio, and the press and was the BBC’s academic expert on the 2016 referendum program. He has written several books on constitutional and political history, including Beyond Brexit and The Strange Survival of Liberal Britain.