Our visitor before his crowd.

So far in my time at Wilberforce College I have met two Labour MPs (Diana Johnson and Alan Johnson), one UKIP MEP (Mike Hookem) and an archbishop (Dr John Sentamu). Today the college welcomed Professor Philip Norton, who was both the first Lord Temporal and the first Conservative.

When told at a council meeting two weeks ago of his pending visit I imagined it would be a round-table discussion in the conference room similar to that with Mrs Johnson. Instead his lordship’s appearance bore more in common with that of Sentamu eight months prior, as a hoard of student delegations from various classes (I recall Sociology and Law being singled out) filled out the library to watch his presentation. Whereas for the archbishop’s visit I had been at the edge of the front row, on this occasion I was almost directly in front of our guest, and indeed may have caught some of his saliva at various points in the speech.

His lordship began by asking us all “What Is Politics?” and taking shows of hands from the audience on various contentious political issues. There were majorities in favour of same-sex marriage, assisted dying, and EVEL. Prison suffrage was rather less popular. That done, Norton moved on to explain the role of Parliament in making laws and regulating Her Majesty’s Government. He told us of the work done by the House of Lords in reviewing legislation at great length and in fine detail which the Commons would not have had the capability to manage. He also talked of the value brought to the chamber by the ennoblement of certain surgeons and medical professionals (he brought up The Lord Winston as an example he hoped we would recognize*) and recounted the tale of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology debate in 2007, during which The Lord Brennan collapsed shortly after giving his speech. Norton said that this was the best time and place to do so, as there were numerous leading medical professionals (including the minister leading the debate, The Lord Darzi of Denham) able to rush to his aid.

Once the formal presentation had concluded, Professor Norton held a brief question and answer session. One of my ex-classmates from the history department asked if it was a source of frustration to know that a measure not to his liking was going to pass through parliament. The peer replied that it was a natural part of a parliamentary career, but it at least was not as bad as in the Commons where a member not of the majority party is practically powerless in terms of major legislation. I then asked if, in light of the recent High Court ruling, he believed there was a strong chance of his noble friends and colleagues ultimately blocking Britain’s exit from the European Union. He replied that although the house would certainly subject the decision to a heavy level of scrutiny and criticism, there was little chance of them blocking the move outright. The professor went so far as to suggest that the House of Commons might even resort to the use of the Parliament Acts to ensure that the result of the referendum was implemented.

Sadly my camera found more light in the background than on his lordship’s face.

As the meeting drew to a close and students filed out of the library, I convinced his lordship to pose for a photograph, so that his Wikipedia page could have a profile picture – which it and many others currently lack due to the difficulty of finding public domain images. Now that I have obtained such an image, I can ensure that today’s meeting will have some significance in Norton’s public image.

*I had previously seen Professor Winston at GCSE Science Live in January 2013, but I hesitate to claim I met him given that the enormous lecture hall allowed a substantial chasm between his podium and my upper-gallery seat.

UPDATE (December 2016)

Katherine Oldershaw, the staff member in charge of the student council, requested that I write a report on Norton’s visit in my capacity as secretary. That report was later published in the college’s internal magazine. Through a chain of emails (with so many forwards and replies that it resembled an archaeological dig) I learned that Katherine had passed it on to business liaison manager Clare Shaw, who in turn sent it to Gina Page, assistant private secretary at the Lord Speaker’s office. Miss Page arranged for me to be sent a stack of information booklets from the Palace of Westminster. I wonder what I’d have to write to get a free Bertie sent to me?

UPDATE (April 2018)

My photograph has been made redundant as the Parliamentary Digital Service has released several hundred new free-licence portraits of members of the House of Lords by Chris McAndrew, who did the same for MPs just after the 2017 general election. As of posting, my illustration of the noble lord’s shield of arms is still there.

UPDATE (December 2019)

I have changed the post title from “Meeting Philip Norton FRSA” to “First Time Meeting Philip Norton” and added the tag “Norton of Louth”. When I originally made this post I expected that the presentation would be a one-off event. Since I matriculated at the University of Hull I have found myself attending quite a few events involving the professor and thus have decided that, in retrospect, this post is better viewed as the prelude to a series instead of a standalone occasion.