Professor Jonathan Tonge is Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool and the outgoing editor of Parliamentary Affairs. His research concerns include Northern Irish politics and devolution and he’s the co-author of The Democratic Unionist Party: From Protest to Power (Oxford University Press).

Please tell us a little bit about how you entered academia and your academic career

It was a somewhat unusual path. I didn’t go straight from school. I worked in the civil service as an Executive Officer and did my first-degree part-time in the evening. I then wanted to do a MA and the civil service gave me a year’s unpaid leave to do it full-time, which I absolutely loved. I knew deep down. I didn’t want to go back to the civil service at the end of the MA so carried on and did a PhD. Two years into the PhD I landed my first lectureship, at Salford University. All downhill from there.

Which five books/articles (written by someone else) have been most important to you in your academic career?

Memoirs of a Revolutionary by Sean McStiofain – got me interested in the IRA and the conflict in Ireland.

Explaining Northern Ireland by John McGarry and Brendan O’Leary – the best forensic analysis of Northern Ireland, grounded in brilliant political science.

Consociational Theory by Rupert Taylor – See comment above but with a wider exploration of ethno-national conflict.

God Save Ulster! The Religion and Politics of Paisleyism by Steve Bruce – great for understanding the fusion of theology and political thought.

The British General Election series – always absorbing narrative allied to impressive analysis.

Which person has been most influential and important to you in your academic career?

Wife – always supportive and puts up with long hours and absences in Belfast and elsewhere; parents – always wanted pursuit of academic career; eldest son – delighted to see him recently complete his MA (Politics of course!); and Margaret Hopkins – talked me out of going back to the civil service after the MA.

Which of your own pieces of research are you most proud of?

The Democratic Unionist Party: From Protest to Power – although it was very much a team effort. The party had not opened up to a team of academics before.

What has been your greatest achievement in academia?

Standing the bar bill after taking 50 Comparative Peace Processes students for end-of-year drinks on me.

What has been your greatest disappointment in academia?

Marking.

What is the first or most important thing you tell your students about parliaments?

You shouldn’t need communal designations within them.

Where were you born, where did you grow up, and where do you live now?

I was born in Bury. I live in Wirral with a Manchester bolthole when I need peace and quiet to write!

What was your first job?

Civil servant. Downing Street style parties were good but the work was dull.

What was the toughest job you ever had?

Academia hours-wise but it’s fantastic nonetheless. I get well-paid for researching and teaching my obsessions. I genuinely love the job.

What are your hobbies?

Sport. Aintree races, Bury FC, now AFC after we got thrown out of the league, Lancashire County Cricket Club. Beyond sport, I’ve always been interested in meteorology (climate change gets me down – want cold winters!).

What are your favourite novels?

Fiction!? I don’t get time to read fiction. Real life is genuinely so exciting and full of drama that I don’t need people making stuff up to spark the imagination. Not read a novel since childhood.

What is your favourite music?

Two-Tone (Specials, Selecter, Beat) was my favourite era. Loved the music and the political messages. Dexys Midnight Runners also. I was a Mod!

What are your favourite artists?

Lowry – captures the essence of the old North and reminds me of my grandparents in Bury.

What is your favourite film?

Educating Rita. Still moves me. Inspiring to see a working-class person want to learn and enrich their life. Quadrophenia for the ex-mod in me.

What is your favourite building?

Abercromby Square, location of my office. Lovely building and I always enjoy going into work, have a fantastic office and it’s the only place I feel vaguely competent.

What is your favourite tv show?

Partridge always make me laugh. Come Out Ye Black and Tans was one of the greatest TV moments ever. Dad’s Army is brilliant. The pomposity of Captain Mainwaring still makes me snort. I could also recite every episode of The Sweeney. Regan and Carter. John Thaw and Dennis Waterman – magnificent actors. These days I’m a 24 hour news channel bore though.

What is your favourite holiday destination?

In recent years, I’ve enjoyed Italy, Croatia, south of France and Tenerife. The older I get the more I want a villa with a pool. Anywhere I can check work emails though (only half-joking). I get resentful having to pay for holiday though, having seen much of the world all-expenses paid via research grants.

Hybrid proceedings in Parliament: yes please or no thanks?

No. In person only

Appointed or elected upper chamber?

Elected on a regional/national basis and much reduced in size.

Restoration or Renewal?

Restoration I think.

Cat or Dog?

Cat. We’ve got three and they are all far more important in the household than me.

Fish and chips or Curry?

Both. That’s why I’m fifteen-and-a-half stone.

Trains, planes or automobiles?

Trains. I hate flying (fear) even though I do it regularly and driving in towns is tedious.

Scones: Devonshire or Cornish Method?

Cornish.

And, finally, a question asked by Seth, who has recently turned 9: What’s your favourite Star Wars movie and which character would you like to be?

Never actually watched one, sorry! Too busy doing things like module evaluation forms. My lack of hinterland cruelly exposed.