Marking the 100th anniversary of the UK Joint University Council and anticipating the next...

Abstract

In the UK the year 2018 is filled with notable anniversaries. It is particularly notable for being the Centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 extended the franchise to certain women over the age of 30. It is also the centenary of The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 which enabled women over the age of 21 to stand for election to Parliament. Also in 1918 the first ever meeting of the Joint University Council was held at the London School of Economics. Those present included John St. George Heath, Elizabeth Macadam, Edward Johns Urwick and Sidney Webb. In Richard Chapman's comprehensive history of the JUC (Chapman 2007) he highlights in particular the role of Heath as the first JUC Secretary, and Macadam as his successor, in establishing the Joint University Council. More recently Liddle (2017) has outlined the key drivers in the establishment of both the JUC and the Institute for Public Administration (later Royal Institute of Public Administration).