Professor Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey is Professor and Head of the Department of Government at LSE. She is the author of Deliberative Accountability in Parliamentary Committees (Oxford University Press).

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

I didn’t intend to be an academic at all. When I applied to graduate school, I was only going to do a masters (it was a combined masters/PhD programme) and then move on to the world of corporate work. I only applied to 2 graduate programmes and was accepted by just one, so it was an easy decision on where to go! In any case, I rather liked academia (and it seemed to be going well), so one year led to another year and eventually I ended up with a PhD!

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

Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action;

David Mayhew, The Electoral Connection;

Alan Blinder, Central Banking in Theory and Practice;

Memoirs by the Right Honourable Sir Robert Peel, Part III;

Melvin J. Hinich and Michael C. Munger, Ideology and the Theory of Political Choice.

(but ask me tomorrow, and I may give you another list…)

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

Brian Barry. I was familiar with his work before coming to the LSE, but he was a true mentor and friend to me while he was at LSE.

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

My book on Repeal (From the Corn Laws to Free Trade) and my most recent book, Deliberative Accountability in Parliamentary Committees (mainly because of the cool chapter on nonverbal communication).

What has been your greatest achievement in academia?

Surviving being Head of the LSE Government Department during Covid and enacting some pretty fundamental changes in the department in the process. (However, I still have until 1^st July to serve, so I’m only assuming that I’ll survive!).

What has been your greatest disappointment in academia?

It may sound strange, but I’m not sure that I have a “greatest disappointment”. Sure, there were lots of setbacks and down times, but I wouldn’t say that there was some catastrophic event. Not yet, at least.

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

Incentives matter. But so does deliberation. Or at least it should.

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

Boise, Idaho (USA)—born and raised. I now live in the “leafy suburbs” of London.

What was your first job?

First informal job was babysitting (at age 11, looking after 3 kids—I think that this would be illegal these days!). First formal job (with paycheck) was at age 15 in a music store as a sales assistant.

What was the toughest job you ever had?

Actually there were two. One was working in a printing shop over a summer while in high school. I was unbelievably bored. The second was a graveyard shift (11pm to 7am) for a data processing firm over a summer when I was in graduate school. I hated working graveyard.

What are your hobbies?

Playing the piano and digital photography. Both of these have been drastically curtailed while I’ve been serving as Head of Department, since I have very little leisure time. Only 3 ½ months more to go and then I can resume my hobbies!

What are your favourite novels?

Okay, I rather like romance novels. Sad but true. But there is a back history here. I adored reading novels up to about age 18, but then when I went off to university, I thought that I better stop reading for pleasure. All reading needed to be intellectual and/or academic. That carried on until I was about 42 years old and reading Harry Potter books to my kids. I thought, why on earth did I stop reading novels? It’s relaxing and I enjoy it! What’s wrong with that?

What is your favourite music?

I’m rather eclectic in my music choices, but I do like the soundtrack to the movie, The Mission. It’s a terrific movie, but with a very tragic story. It’s also deeply spiritual and the soundtrack reflects that.

What are your favourite artworks?

Georgia O’Keeffe. I love the microscopic detail.

What is your favourite film?

The Shawshank Redemption; The Martian. I’m sure that there are more, but the basic point is that I like movies that depict human triumph over adversity (who wouldn’t?).

What is your favourite building?

A certain cabin in Idaho. I love the mountains.

What is your favourite tv show?

I’m not sure I have a favourite one. Covid has definitely encouraged us to watch a lot more TV, but mostly those have been series (e.g., Homeland, The Queen’s Gambit, The Americans). On the whole, the ones that I’ve admired all had inherently good stories, excellent acting and oddly enough, somewhat ambiguous endings.

What is your favourite holiday destination?

Idaho (it’s home). But I’ve loved a few other places—e.g., Dubrovnik, the Scottish Highlands, Orvieto, the Canadian Rockies. The ideal combination is a bit of history and a lot of mountains.

What are your favourite sports?

Skiing, swimming, walking. Skiing because the mountains are beautiful, and I can go FAST! Swimming because I feel insulated from the world. And walking because it calms me down and allows me to think.

Hybrid proceedings in Parliament: yes please or no thanks?

No thanks.

Appointed or elected upper chamber?

Elected is more fun, but appointed allows time for reflection and deliberation.

Restoration or Renewal?

What’s wrong with both?

Cat or Dog?

100% dog.

Fish and chips or Curry?

Definitely fish and chips. I think I had curry some 34 years ago and decided it was not for me.

Trains, planes or automobiles?

Trains.

Scones: Devonshire or Cornish Method?

I had to look this one up, but I note that both have cream, so either is fine with me.

And, finally, a question asked by Seth, who is 9 and a half: Which person in history would you most like to have been?

I don’t think that I would actually like to “be” someone else, but I would love to have watched Richard Cobden as he led the Anti Corn Law League or followed Lewis and Clark on their Expedition across the Pacific Northwest.