Dr David Pitt’s experience is now largely forgotten. It shouldn’t be. Fifty years ago this week, Britain went to the polls amidst simmering tensions over race, immigration and our place in the world. Fought in the aftermath of a tumultuous Parliament – where Labour had grappled with divisive legislation such as the Commonwealth Immigrants Act… Continue reading Fifty years On: The Battle to Elect Britain’s First Black MP
Author: Anthony Broxton
Back to the 90s: The Parallels Between John Major and Boris Johnson
By saving Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson has boldly gambled that his special advisor will long be forgotten when voters next enter the polling booth. Students of electoral history can point to similar high profile scandals involving seemingly irreplaceable operators – from Cecil Parkinson to Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell to, more recently, Andy Coulson –… Continue reading Back to the 90s: The Parallels Between John Major and Boris Johnson
The People’s Game: How Rugby League Became the New Political Battleground
The fortunes of Rugby League and the Conservative Party are now intrinsically linked News that the sport of rugby league will be singled out for a special treasury loan will be a handy election fillip for the newly elected Conservative MPs in the ‘Red Wall’. The £16m offer, requested by the Rugby Football League (RFL),… Continue reading The People’s Game: How Rugby League Became the New Political Battleground
The History Boy: The Challenge Facing Keir Starmer
Three opposition leaders have made it into government in the last 40 years. Keir Starmer faces an uphill battle to become the fourth Being a leader of the opposition — it is often said – is the toughest job in British politics. While Prime Ministers decide, opposition leaders can’t even advise. The task facing Keir… Continue reading The History Boy: The Challenge Facing Keir Starmer
1945 at 75: The Week That Made Modern Britain
July 26th 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the 1945 General Election result. The election itself was conducted three weeks earlier. While commentators across the globe predicted a landslide for Churchill, Labour hammered home their plans for social reform. Here is a day by day account of the final week of campaigning in what would… Continue reading 1945 at 75: The Week That Made Modern Britain
2001: Landslides and the Strange Death of Conservative England
England. Summer 2001. A second consecutive Labour Landslide. As many commentators pronounce the ‘Death of Conservatism’, the Tory Party seek to find their next election winner. They promise to ‘listen and learn’ from Blair’s ‘New Britain’. Somehow they end up with Iain Duncan Smith. The leadership of William Hague had been a tough one. Struggling to… Continue reading 2001: Landslides and the Strange Death of Conservative England
Gestapo In Britain: The Speech that Kicked Off the 1945 General Election
Britain. Election 1945. The great war heroes turn on each other. Clement Attlee responds to Churchill’s ‘Gestapo’ Speech in a BBC broadcast with an attack on Conservatism: ‘For years every attempt to remedy crying evils was blocked by the same plea of freedom for the individual. It was in fact freedom for the rich and… Continue reading Gestapo In Britain: The Speech that Kicked Off the 1945 General Election
‘Another Historic Advance’: The Equal Pay Act at 50
May1970. Barbara Castle's Equal Pay Act receives Royal Assent. After decades of campaigning, the bill enables women to make a claim for equal pay if they do the same job as a man. A look back at her battle to introduce equal pay for women #EqualPayActat50 In 1946, the Royal Commission on Equal Pay concluded… Continue reading ‘Another Historic Advance’: The Equal Pay Act at 50
