Scott Cresswell begins a new series looking at the relationship between Labour leaders and the monarchy Destiny is a strange force. Sometimes, politicians and leaders rise through the ranks to power as if they were created both ambitious and hungry for it. For others, power is an accidental gift. Both King George Vi and Clement … Continue reading Labour and the Monarch: Clement Attlee and King George VI
Author: scottcresswell1
Labour and the Monarch: Ramsay MacDonald and King George V
Labour Leaders and the Monarchy: A History (Part One) Scott Cresswell begins a new series looking at the relationship between Labour leaders and the monarchy “From his childhood onward this boy will be surrounded by sycophants and flatterers by the score and will be taught to believe himself as of a superior creation. A line … Continue reading Labour and the Monarch: Ramsay MacDonald and King George V
Books in 100: Edith Summerskill – Life and Times of a Pioneer
Scott Cresswell looks at the life of a pioneering Labour MP in 100 words History is littered with the names of those who deserve to be remembered. Unfortunately, some parliamentarians are forgotten. Edith Summerskill is one. Her progressive and feminist beliefs in the conservative thirties make her an ideal candidate for a biography; Mary Honeyball’s … Continue reading Books in 100: Edith Summerskill – Life and Times of a Pioneer
1992 at 30: What if Kinnock had won it?
All general elections produce their winners and losers. Landslide victories are often remembered for their scale and become personal vindications for Prime Ministers. As we reach the 30th anniversary of the 1992 election @scottcresswell1 wonders whether this was one that Labour were glad to lose... Whether it be Attlee in 1945, Thatcher in 1983, or … Continue reading 1992 at 30: What if Kinnock had won it?
Born in the USA: Labour and the Special Relationship
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 Born in the USA: Labour and the Special Relationship
Rock Bottom: What Can Labour Learn From Its Worst Defeat?
By Scott Cresswell Like every democratic political party around the globe, there are victories, and then there are defeats. Labour has had its fair share of the latter. There are some years of electoral disaster that Labour must never cease to remind itself of. 1983 and 2019 both spring to mind. None of them, however, … Continue reading Rock Bottom: What Can Labour Learn From Its Worst Defeat?
EVERY LABOUR LEADER RANKED: FROM HARDIE TO CORBYN
By Scott Cresswell Since 1906, Labour has had 19-elected/permanent leaders. Six of those went on to become Prime Minister. Remarkably for a political party that started at the dawn of the 20th Century, it first experienced power during the First World War, before it formed its first government in 1924, and won a landslide victory … Continue reading EVERY LABOUR LEADER RANKED: FROM HARDIE TO CORBYN
Must Labour Always Lose?
Scott Cresswell finds Denis MacShanes's book a thought-provoking mixture of history and memoir It should remain and always be a worrying thought for British progressives, social democrats, and democratic socialists that the Labour Party rarely wins general elections. Since June 1970, there have only been eighteen years of Labour government: 1974-79, 1997-2010. Countless numbers of … Continue reading Must Labour Always Lose?
Tides of History 