St George’s Hall Charitable Trust is thrilled to present Lord Michael Heseltine in conversation with Shelagh Fogarty, as part of their 2019 series of talks, which has so far featured TV Historian Professor David Olusoga and award-winning thought leadership author, Matthew Syed.
Lord Heseltine has a strong connection with Liverpool, having played a key role in its regeneration through the 1980s, when he dragged it from the depths of despair and laid down the foundation for the city to develop into the popular destination it has become today. Perhaps the greatest testament of all is that Heseltine – often dubbed “Minister of Merseyside” – holds the distinction of being a Conservative MP who was awarded the Freedom of Liverpool by a Labour-led council back in 2012.
Leading the conversation will be Liverpool-born broadcaster, Shelagh Fogarty. In her 30-year career in news she has covered the social and political trends at home and abroad interviewing thousands of people from all walks of life, all corners of the country and the world. Michael Heseltine was one of her first big political interviews, as a young reporter at BBC Radio Merseyside, when his creative and determined work for Liverpool sat awkwardly with huge opposition here to the Thatcher Government in which he was a senior player. The two have come together many times in the years since, most recently on the issue of Brexit. Shelagh will delve into the pain and powerplay of those turbulent times on Merseyside thirty years ago, and get Lord Heseltine’s thoughts on how a rupture with Europe might impact on us now.
Expect to be both informed and entertained, as these two personalities meet once again.
LORD MICHAEL HESELTINE
Lord Heseltine was a Member of Parliament in Britain from 1966 to 2001. He was a Cabinet Minister in various departments between 1979 and 1986 and between 1990 and 1997. He was Deputy Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997. He is founder and Chairman of the Haymarket Group, a privately owned media company.
In 2015, Lord Heseltine was appointed by the government as an adviser to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Within this remit, he was Chair of the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission, co-Chair of the Estate Regeneration Advisory Panel. He published an independent report making recommendations to further develop the Tees Valley area and was also a Commissioner for The National Infrastructure Commission. In October 2012, he published No Stone Unturned in Pursuit of Growth, an independent review into how the public and private sectors in the UK work together to create wealth. His work for the government came to an end in 2017. In 2018 he published his reply to the government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper – Industrial Strategy by Michael Heseltine and most recently published a report on devolution – Empowering English Cities. In June 2019 he became President of the European Movement.
He has written books on Europe and his political autobiography, Life in the Jungle. His latest book co written with Lady Heseltine, Thenford: The Creation of an English Garden was published in October 2016. Lord Heseltine is an enthusiastic gardener and is a Vice President of the Royal Horticultural Society.
SHELAGH FOGARTY
Shelagh Fogarty is a popular TV and radio presenter and journalist, currently presenting the afternoon show LBC.
She presented the Lunchtime Show for BBC Five Live and alongside Nicky Campbell she co-presented Five Live’s Breakfast show where they won multiple Sony Radio Awards. With her intelligent, sometimes irreverent sense of humour, Shelagh has a knack for making politics and hard-hitting news stories accessible to the widest possible audience.
Shelagh’s BBC career has included anchoring coverage of the American presidential elections, broadcasting live from St Peter’s Square in Rome for the funeral of Pope John Paul II and covering the devastation of the Boxing Day tsunami from Thailand. A compassionate and thoughtful journalist, Shelagh was invited to cover the live service at Anfield marking the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, and has reported on the James Bulger murder trial and the Madrid train bombings. She has reported from the flotilla for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, broadcast from Argentina for the Falkland Islands anniversary and hosted daily Paralympic coverage from the 2016 Games in Rio.
An experienced presenter and writer, Shelagh has been a guest reporter for ITV on Tonight with Trevor McDonald, The Alan Titchmarsh Show, This Morning and BBC’s The One Show. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph, Total Politics and The Tablet.
MORE INFORMATION
Doors Open: 6.00pm (Cash bar available)
Event Starts: 7.30pm, in the Concert Room.
ST GEORGE’S HALL CHARITABLE TRUST
This event is part of a programme of events designed by the Trustees of St George’s Hall Charitable Trust and all proceeds from the event will go towards the restoration, conservation and development of St George’s Hall. St George’s Hall Charitable Trust is registered charity number 1051396.
For more information about the St George’s Hall Charitable Trust and about how you can support their work, visit here: www.stgeorgeshallliverpool.co.uk/about/charitable-trust/.
Event Date: Wednesday 9th October 2019
Categories: In Conversation | Liverpool | St George's Hall | Ticketed
