The Orwell Memorial Lecture 2022

Tuesday 06 December 2022 @ 19:00

from £8

The Cruciform LT1, UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT

About this event

The Orwell Foundation is delighted to announce that Lisa Nandy MP will deliver this year’s Orwell Lecture. Lisa will be talking about the lessons she has learnt from over a decade at the forefront of British politics as Member of Parliament for Wigan, a town which has been strongly associated with George Orwell ever since the publication of The Road to Wigan Pier in 1937.

Lisa Nandy

Lisa Nandy was first elected as the Labour MP for Wigan in 2010. During her time in Parliament, Lisa has served on the front bench in a number of roles, including Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Shadow Children’s Minister and Shadow Minister for Civil Society. Lisa is also the co-founder of the think tank Centre for Towns which was set up to ensure priority is given to the viability and prosperity of Britain’s towns. Before entering Parliament, Lisa worked for the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint and The Children’s Society.

The Orwell Memorial Lecture

The Orwell Memorial Lecture, given in memory of the author, essayist and journalist George Orwell, has been given annually since 1989 and has attracted notable speakers including Dr Tristram Hunt, Daniel Finkelstein, Kamila Shamsie, Dr Rowan Williams, Dame Hilary Mantel, Robin Cook and Ruth Davidson MSP. Speakers are tasked with discussing any topic ‘Orwell might have been interested in’. Originally held at the University of London, Birkbeck and the the University of Sheffield, the Orwell Memorial Lecture usually takes place each year at University College London, home of the UNESCO-registered Orwell Archive, the most comprehensive body of research material relating to the author’s life anywhere. The Orwell Foundation is based at UCL’s Institute of Advanced Studies. This year’s lecture is generously sponsored and supported by Orwell’s son, Richard Blair.

Join Lisa and The Orwell Foundation at The Cruciform LT1, UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT. Doors open at 18:30 for a 19:00 start.

Book event