The British General Election of 2019 (Robert Ford, Tim Bale, Will Jennings and Paula Surridge) By Jay Jackson ‘The British General Election of 2019’ – edited by Rob Ford, Tim Bale, Will Jennings, and Paula Surridge is the latest in a series of 21 books stretching back to the epochal contest of 1945. The 2019... Continue Reading →
The Special Relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States may have been shaped by war, but the histories between the two countries and governments go deeper. @scottcresswell1 looks at how Labour have naviagted it over the years It’s the second day of August 1945. President of the United States of America Harry S.... Continue Reading →
As a companion piece to our Chapeltown Road chapter of the Super League War, Michael chats to British labour historian Anthony Broxton about Thatcherism, striking miners, economic depression and how it all relates to Rugby League in England. Was a pleasure to be invited on to the Rugby League Digest podacst this year to talk... Continue Reading →
Celebrating the genius of Only Fools and Horses on its 40th anniversary - but it almost never survived its early struggles in depicting Thatcher's Britain. It was the summer of 1983, and John Sullivan was on a caravan holiday in Hastings with his wife and two children. It had been a difficult few months for... Continue Reading →
This article originally appeared on Political Betting on 4th May 2021 The modern era of political betting began in 1963 when Ladbrokes’ Ron Pollard opened up a book on the Conservative Party leadership contest. Shrewd punters could back the outsider Alec Douglas-Home at 16/1 over the hot 5/4 favourite Rab Butler….. In recent years we... Continue Reading →
Rob Burrow approaches MND like he did Rugby League: with bravery and without fear It was October 2011, and as they do at the end of every season, thousands of rugby league fans descended on Old Trafford to see which way the League title would be decided. Since the creation of a play-off and Grand... Continue Reading →
This article originally appeared in The Times on 28 September 2021 Forty years ago this week Labour members across the country packed up their suitcases and headed down to Brighton to decide their party’s fate. Over the summer of 1981, Denis Healey and Tony Benn fought their deputy leadership battle in every newspaper column, television... Continue Reading →
This article originally appeared in The Times on 6th May 2021 The voters in Hartlepool will soon pass judgment on the Boris Johnson era. In the months that have passed since the Conservative Party hammered away at Labour’s Red Wall there has been much talk of a “new normal”. In the first contest of the... Continue Reading →
TIDES OF HISTORY 