KU News Release

LAWRENCE — On the eve of the British elections, the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will host a public program to discuss the United Kingdom electoral system and 2010 general election.

“The British (Elections) Are Coming!” will take place at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 5, in the Simons Media Room at the Dole Institute. The event will feature British-born Victor Bailey, director of KU’s Hall Center for the Humanities, and Jeremy Taylor, a British Liberal Democrat who moved to the United States in 2004, in an interview with Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute.

“Many Americans are captivated by the British Electoral system, which differs substantially from ours,” said Lacy. “It will be fun not only to speculate on who will be the party in power for the UK but also to get a firsthand look at the British political system.”

The public is invited to enjoy afternoon tea before the program at 3 p.m.

Bailey has been director of the Hall Center since 2000. He also is the Charles W. Battey Distinguished Professor of Modern British History at KU. His research interests include the history of criminal law and criminal justice. Bailey has degrees from Oxford and Cambridge universities, the Centre for the Study of Social History and Warwick University and has held teaching appointments at Oxford and the University of Hull in England and the University of Rochester and Hamilton College in the United States.

Taylor has helped train members of Parliament in communications skills in the run-up to their elections. He worked on the successful leadership campaign for Liberal Democrat Charles Kennedy in 1999. Taylor also was an approved Parliamentary candidate with the Liberal Democrats, a process that requires considerable study to pass a strict set of interviews. In Lawrence, Taylor is a real estate agent and the host of a popular local radio show on KLWN.

The program is free and open to the public.