THE SOVEREIGN SUBJECTS
OF HISTORYClaire Fox
Claire Fox argues that it is incumbent on all of us to reclaim the notion of sovereignty as the essential precondition of political change. She argues that one of the demands embedded in the Brexit referendum of 2016 – to ‘take back control’ – is a vital element of free, democratic life. At a time when lockdown policies have chipped away at public confidence, it is now especially important to reclaim the idea of a sovereign, self-determining subject who can make historical change.
Claire Fox is the director of the Academy of Ideas and convenes the yearly Battle of Ideas festival. She initiated the Debating Matters Competition for sixth-formers and co-founded a residential summer school, The Academy, with the aim to demonstrate ‘university as it should be’. In May 2019, she was elected as an MEP for the North West England constituency of the UK in the European Parliament elections. In September 2020, Claire became a member of the House of Lords as Baroness Fox of Buckley. Claire is frequently invited to comment on TV and radio and is author of I STILL Find That Offensive! and No Strings Attached! Why arts funding should say no to instrumentalism.
