Sidney Ball Memorial Lectures
Sidney Ball Memorial Lectures

The department’s special annual lectures began in 1917, shortly after Barnett House was founded in 1914. The first lecture was published as the Barnett House Papers No.1 by Oxford University Press in the same year.
When Sidney Ball, chairman of the Barnett House Committee, died in March 1918, the annual talks were renamed as the Sidney Ball Memorial lectures.
The first lecture was delivered on 1 December 1920 by the Right Hon. Sir Horace Plunkett. He began this first lecture with these words:
“I have the honour to inaugurate [the memorial lectures] today. Their aim will be the promotion of an intimate and mutually helpful relationship between the thought of the University Sidney Ball adorned and the working life of the community he lived to serve.”
Barnett House retained copyright over the lectures, except for John Maynard Keynes’ lecture in 1924.
Where available, texts or recordings are linked below.
Barnett House Papers: 1917-1920
Sidney Ball Lectures: 1920 - present
Barnett House Papers No. 7, OUP 1922.
31 October 1923, Barnett House Papers No. 8, OUP 1923.
November, 1924. The essay with the same title, published in 1926 by the Hogarth Press was stated to be based on the 1924 Sidney Ball lecture. The Hogarth Press version has been reprinted many times, including in J. M. Keynes, Essays in Persuasion, Palgrave-Macmillan, 2010.
25 November 1925, Barnett House Papers No. 9, OUP 1926
5 November 1926, Barnett House Papers No. 10, OUP 1927
21 November 1927, Barnett House Papers No. 11, OUP 1928
27 May 1929, Barnett House Papers No. 12, OUP 1929 (A.C. Pigou was invited to speak in 1928 but was delayed by illness).
7 February 1930, Barnett House Papers No. 13, OUP 1930
October 31 1930, Barnett House Papers No. 14, OUP 1930
13 November 1931, Barnett House Papers No. 15, OUP 1931
16 November 1932, Barnett House Papers No. 16, OUP 1932
2 May 1934, Barnett House Papers No.17, OUP 1934
15 November 1934, Barnett House Papers No. 18, OUP, 1935
26 October 1935, Barnett House Papers No.19, OUP 1936
Barnett House Papers No. 20, OUP 1937
16 November 1937, Barnett House Papers No.21, OUP 1938
3 November 1938, Barnett House Papers No. 22, OUP 1938
29 February 1940, Barnett House Papers No. 23, OUP 1940
28 February 1941, Barnett House Papers No. 24, OUP 1941
4 June 1942, Barnett House Papers No. 25, OUP 1942
26 February 1943. Barnett House Papers No. 26 OUP 1943
3 March 1944, Barnett House Papers No. 27, OUP 1944
8 March 1945, Barnett House Papers No. 28, OUP 1945
29 May 1947, Barnett House Papers No. 29, OUP 1947
Barnett House Paper No. 30 OUP 1949. (It is not clear whether this was a Sidney Ball lecture).
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‘Social Work and Recession’ - Dr. Jane Aldgate
‘The Prospects for Social Reform’ - David Donnison
‘Socialism and Freedom’ - Frank Field MP
‘The Social Services in Adversity – a Review’ - Professor A. H. Halsey
‘In Defence of Comprehensive Schools’ - Dr. A. F. Heath
‘The Changing Political Contours of the Welfare State’ - Neville Johnson
‘Innovation, Experiment and Research in Social Services’ - G. A. N. Smith
‘European Demographic Trends and Their Implications for Social Policy’ - Jonathan Bradshaw
‘Are ‘Rights’ an Essential Component of any Theory of Social Policy?’ - David Donnison
'Does the Welfare State Make People Passive and Dependent? A Test Against the Swedish Experience' - Robert Erikson
'Poverty in the European Community: Trends and Responses' - Graham Room
No paper available.
30 November 2000. No paper available.
23 April 2007. No paper available.
In 2007 the Sidney Ball Memorial Lecture series was reinstated as an annual event.
1 November 2007; no paper available.
Professor Greg Duncan, 'Early Childhood Poverty and Adult Attainment', 26 February 2009.
Professor Gosta Esping-Andersen, 'Life Chances and Early Childhood Investments', 13 October 2010
Professor Mark Lipsey, 'Evidence-based interventions in juvenile justice: Concept, research, practice, and frontiers', 9 November 2011
Professor John Hills, 'The Reform of the Welfare State and the Dynamics of People's Lives', 31 October 2012
Baroness Ruth Lister, 'Speaking truth to power: social policy in action', 4 December 2013
Professor Tom Cooke, 'The Major Assumptions of Evidence-Based Policy: Bringing Empirical Evidence to Bear', 4 November 2014
Dr Phyllis Solomon, 'Anti-Deinstitutionalization and Anti-Institutionalization for Persons with Severe Mental Illnesses: Finding Common Ground', 18 December 2015
Professor Colin Crouch, 'Britain, Europe and Social Policy', 11 November 2016
Professor David Spiegelhalter, 'Why should we have trust in numbers?', 26 October 2017. Watch online
Thursday 8 November 2018 at Lady Margaret Hall. Watch here.
Professor Dame Margaret Whitehead presented on 15 November 2019. Video unavailable.
Peter Taylor-Gooby gives the centenary Sidney Ball Lecture on 12 November, 2020. Watch it here.
View this lecture on YouTube.
View this lecture on Youtube.
View this lecture on YouTube.
View this lecture on YouTube.
- 1920: ‘The Universities and Rural Life’ - Sir Horace Plunkett
1 December 1920, printed as ‘Oxford and the Rural Problem’ Barnett House Papers No.6, OUP 1921.
Sidney Ball Lectures: 1920 - present
- 1920: ‘The Universities and Rural Life’ - Sir Horace Plunkett. 1 December 1920, printed as ‘Oxford and the Rural Problem’ Barnett House Papers No.6, OUP 1921.
- 1922 - ‘Scientific Management and the Engineering Situation’ - Sir William Ashley. Barnett House Papers No. 7, OUP 1922.
- 1923: ‘The Historical Causes of the Present State of Affairs in Italy’ - G.M.Trevelyan. 31 October 1923, Barnett House Papers No. 8, OUP 1923.
- 1924: ‘The End of Laissez Faire’ - John Maynard Keynes. November, 1924. The essay with the same title, published in 1926 by the Hogarth Press was stated to be based on the 1924 Sidney Ball lecture. The Hogarth Press version has been reprinted many times, including in J. M. Keynes, Essays in Persuasion, Palgrave-Macmillan, 2010.
- 1926: ‘Natural Instinct: The Basis of Social Institutions’ - Lord Hugh Cecil. 25 November 1925, Barnett House Papers No. 9, OUP 1926.
- 1927: ‘The Statistical Verification of Social and Economic Theory’ - Sir Josiah Stamp. 5 November 1926, Barnett House Papers No. 10, OUP 1927.
- 1927: ‘The English Poor Law: Will it Endure?’ - Mrs Sidney Webb. 21 November 1927, Barnett House Papers No. 11, OUP 1928.
- 1928: ‘The Functions of Economic Analysis’ - A.C. Pigou. 27 May 1929, Barnett House Papers No. 12, OUP 1929 (A.C. Pigou was invited to speak in 1928 but was delayed by illness).
Sidney Ball Lectures: 1930 - 1940
- ‘The Past and Present of Unemployment Insurance' - Sir William H. Beveridge. 7 February 1930, Barnett House Papers No. 13, OUP 1930.
- 1930: 'Foreign Policy’ - Lord D’Abernon. October 31 1930, Barnett House Papers No. 14, OUP 1930.
- 1931: ‘Balance of Trade Delusions’ - Edwin Cannan. 13 November 1931, Barnett House Papers No. 15, OUP 1931.
- 1932: ‘The Machinery of Government’ - The Right Hon. Viscount Cecil of Chelwood. 16 November 1932, Barnett House Papers No. 16, OUP 1932.
- 1934: ‘Juvenile Employment and Education’ - R.H.Tawney. 2 May 1934, Barnett House Papers No.17, OUP 1934.
- 1934: ‘Man: The Master or the Slave of Material Things?’ - The Right Hon. Herbert Morrison. 15 November 1934, Barnett House Papers No. 18, OUP, 1935.
- 1935: ‘The New Aspects of Industrial Combination’ - Professor Dr. Hermann Levy. 26 October 1935, Barnett House Papers No.19, OUP 1936.
- 1936: ‘The Borderland between Public and Voluntary Action in the Social Services’ - Sir Hubert Llewellyn Smith. Barnett House Papers No. 20, OUP 1937.
- 1937: ‘Treatment of Crime’ - Sir Alexander Maxwell. 16 November 1937, Barnett House Papers No.21, OUP 1938.
- 1938: ‘The Average and the Individual’ - Dr. A. L. Bowley. 3 November 1938, Barnett House Papers No. 22, OUP 1938.
- 1940: ‘Some Experiences of Economic Control in Wartime’ - Sir William Beveridge. 29 February 1940, Barnett House Papers No. 23, OUP 1940.
Sidney Ball Lectures: 1940 - 1950
- 1941: ‘Administrative Problems of International Organisation’ - F. P. Walters. 28 February 1941, Barnett House Papers No. 24, OUP 1941.
- 1942: ‘The Historian Looks Forward’ - J. H. Clapham. 4 June 1942, Barnett House Papers No. 25, OUP 1942.
- 1943: ‘The Personnel and Problems of the Higher Civil Service’ - H.E. Dale. 26 February 1943. Barnett House Papers No. 26 OUP 1943.
- 1944: ‘The British Commonwealth and World Order’ - Sir Walter Layton. 3 March 1944, Barnett House Papers No. 27, OUP 1944.
- 1945: ‘War and Unemployment’ - Henry Clay. 8 March 1945, Barnett House Papers No. 28, OUP 1945.
- 1949: ‘Future Developments in Sociology in England' - Edward A. Shils. No paper available.
Sidney Ball Lectures: 1950 - 1960
- 1951: ‘Problems of nationalised industries' - Lord Citrine. No paper available.
- 1953: ‘The full employment economy, with special reference to wages policy' - Sir Douglas Copland. No paper available.
- 1953: ‘The social sciences programme of UNESCO’ - Alva Myrdal. No paper available.
- 1954: ‘The place of the economist in government’ - Sir Robert Hall. No paper available.
- 1955: ‘The control of American foreign policy’ - Mr Francis Biddle. No paper available.
- 1956: ‘Taxation and economic development’ - Professor W. A. Lewis. No paper available.
- 1957: ‘The export of electoral systems’ - W. J. M. Mackenzie. No paper available.
- 1958: ‘The Arbitrator’s Task' - Barbara Wootton. No paper available.
- 1959: ‘Trained manpower for new states – the scope for international action' - Kenneth Younger. No paper available.
Sidney Ball Lectures: - 1960 -1970
- : ‘The common market: From customs union to economic unity’ - Robert Marjolin. No paper available.
- 1962: ’Medical ethics and social change in developing countries’ - R. M. Titmuss. No paper available.
- 1964: ‘Social Welfare Past and Present’ - Asa Briggs. No paper available.
- 1965: ‘A Nation of Regions?’ - D. J. Robertson. No paper available.
- 1966: ‘Prices and Income Policy: reflections after the first six months’ - Aubrey Jones. No paper available.
- 1967: ‘The place for educational expansion’ - Sir Edward Boyle. No paper available.
- 1968: ‘The uses and abuses of economics’ - Sir Eric Roll. No paper available.
- 1968: 'Industrial Relations and the Law: retrospect and prospect’ - Professor Kahn-Freund. No paper available.
Sidney Ball Lectures: 1960 - 1970
- 1971/2: Professor S. Radzinowitz. No further details available.
- 1972/3: Professor James Meade. No further details available.
- 1973: The Role of the Volunteer in the Modern Social Service’ - The Right Honourable Richard Crossman. No paper available.
- 1974/5: Tony Lynes. No further details available.
- 1975/6: Professor Edward Lipinski. No further details available.
Sidney Ball Lectures: 1980 - 1990
- 1983: Lecture series. ‘Social Work and Recession’ - Dr. Jane Aldgate.
- ‘The Prospects for Social Reform’ - David Donnison.
- ‘Socialism and Freedom’ - Frank Field MP.
- ‘The Social Services in Adversity – a Review’ - Professor A. H. Halsey. ‘In Defence of Comprehensive Schools’ - Dr. A. F. Heath.
- ‘The Changing Political Contours of the Welfare State’ - Neville Johnson.
- ‘Innovation, Experiment and Research in Social Services’ - G. A. N. Smith.
- 1988: Lecture series. ‘European Demographic Trends and Their Implications for Social Policy’ - Jonathan Bradshaw.
- ‘Are ‘Rights’ an Essential Component of any Theory of Social Policy?’ - David Donnison.
- 'Does the Welfare State Make People Passive and Dependent? A Test Against the Swedish Experience' - Robert Erikson.
- 'Poverty in the European Community: Trends and Responses' - Graham Room.
- 1993: 'The Population Problem' - Professor Partha Dasgupta - No paper available.
Sidney Ball Lectures: 2000 - 2010
- 2000: 'Trans-Atlantic Influences in Social Policy’ - Professor Howard Glennerster. 30 November 2000. No paper available.
- 2007: ‘The Opt-Out Revolution: Motherhood and Social Policy’ - Professor Neil Gilbert. 23 April 2007. No paper available. In 2007 the Sidney Ball Memorial Lecture series was reinstated as an annual event.
- 2007: 'Winner-Take-All Politics: Policy and Inequality in the New American Political Economy’ - Professor Paul Pierson. 1 November 2007; no paper available.
- 2009: 'Early Childhood Poverty and Adult Attainment' - Professor Greg Duncan. Professor Greg Duncan, 'Early Childhood Poverty and Adult Attainment', 26 February 2009.
- 2010: ' - Professor Gosta Esping-Andersen. Professor Gosta Esping-Andersen, 'Life Chances and Early Childhood Investments', 13 October 2010.
Sidney Ball Lectures: 2010-2020
- 2011: 'Evidence-based interventions in juvenile justice: Concept, research, practice, and frontiers' - Professor Mark Lipsey. Professor Mark Lipsey, 'Evidence-based interventions in juvenile justice: Concept, research, practice, and frontiers', 9 November 2011
- 2012: 'The Reform of the Welfare State and the Dynamics of People's Lives' - Professor John Hills. Professor John Hills, 'The Reform of the Welfare State and the Dynamics of People's Lives', 31 October 2012.
- 2013: 'Speaking truth to power: social policy in action' - Baroness Ruth Lister. Baroness Ruth Lister, 'Speaking truth to power: social policy in action', 4 December 2013.
- 2014: 'The Major Assumptions of Evidence-Based Policy: Bringing Empirical Evidence to Bear' - Professor Tom Cooke. Professor Tom Cooke, 'The Major Assumptions of Evidence-Based Policy: Bringing Empirical Evidence to Bear', 4 November 2014.
- 2015: 'Anti-Deinstitutionalization and Anti-Institutionalization for Persons with Severe Mental Illnesses: Finding Common Ground' - Dr Phyllis Solomon. Dr Phyllis Solomon, 'Anti-Deinstitutionalization and Anti-Institutionalization for Persons with Severe Mental Illnesses: Finding Common Ground', 18 December 2015.
- 2016: 'Britain, Europe and Social Policy' - Professor Colin Crouch. Professor Colin Crouch, 'Britain, Europe and Social Policy', 11 November 2016.
- 2017: 'Why should we have trust in numbers?' - Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter. Professor David Spiegelhalter, 'Why should we have trust in numbers?', 26 October 2017. Watch online.
- 2018: 'Where next for Social Policy?' - Professor Fiona Williams. Thursday 8 November 2018 at Lady Margaret Hall. Watch here.
- 2019: 'The great leap backwards: What is happening with social policy for child health and wellbeing?' - Professor Dame Margaret Whitehead. Professor Dame Margaret Whitehead presented on 15 November 2019. Video unavailable.
- 2020: Centenary Sidney Ball Lecture: 'COVID-19 and the UK Welfare State' - Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby. Peter Taylor-Gooby gives the centenary Sidney Ball Lecture on 12 November, 2020. Watch it here.
Sidney Ball Lectures: 2020 - 2030
- 2021: 'What we owe each other: A new social contract' - Baroness Minouche Shafik. View this lecture on YouTube.
- 2022: 'Who are we? Contesting and transforming racialised histories and futures in the Carolean era' - Professor Ann Phoenix. View this lecture on Youtube.
- 2023: 'Inclusion or Segmentation – The Politics of Welfare Reform in 21st Century Western Europe' - Professor Silja Häusermann. View this lecture on YouTube.
- 2024: 'No more violence by 2030? Where next with the UN global violence reduction goals?' - Professor Manual Eisner. View this lecture on YouTube.