Lord Plant was educated at Havelock School in Grimsby, King's College London (BA Philosophy, 1966), and the University of Hull (PhD).
He is an Honorary Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford.
Before moving to Oxford he was Professor of European Political Thought at the University of Southampton, and prior to that was a Senior Lecturer in philosophy at the University of Manchester.
[3][4] He was created a life peer on 24 July 1992 as Baron Plant of Highfield, of Weelsby in the County of Humberside,[5] and was introduced to the House of Lords on 4 November.
He is the author of several books on political philosophy, and was formerly a lay canon at Winchester Cathedral.