Dr David Horton

Personal Statement

David was appointed Lecturer in Law at the School of Law and Social Justice in August 2014. Prior to joining the School, David earned his LLB at the University of Sheffield (2003), MA at the University of Manchester (2004) and PhD at the University of Manchester (2013). His doctoral thesis was fully-funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and was examined by Professor Jill Peay (London School of Economics) and Mr David Williamson (University of Manchester). The thesis explores the 'age of health care inquiries and investigation' in the context of mental health homicide inquiries.The study employs empirical research methods, engages social theory and formulates a new understanding of how these inquiries operate - they are spaces of conflict and communication where health care services are understood in different ways, forming barriers to change at the policy level. David has since published his monograph in this area, with Hart Publishing (2019).

David has first-authored two articles (with Gary Lynch-Wood) on health care regulation. 'Rhetoric and Reality: User Engagement and Health Care Reform in England' was published in Medical Law Review in 2018, followed by 'Technocracy, the Market and the Governance of the National Health Service in England' in 2020 in Regulation & Governance - an international journal that is ranked 7th out of 154 Law journals and 12th out of 180 political science journals. He has also published work on social care and the civil regulation of small and medium-sized firms, and is currently working on theoretical innovations in the area of welfare governance and capitalism.

David organised and chaired a major national conference in 2018 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the NHS; he convened esteemed scholars and politicians from around the country to deliver presentations on the development (and future of) of the NHS. He has presented at numerous international conferences in the area of health care regulation and governance, has taught on LLB programmes in both the UK and China, and currently sits on the Editorial Board of Medical Law International.