Since Attlee & Churchill

In this week's Matters of Interest, Richard explores what would happen if Keir Starmer didn't just announce he was going resign, but actually resigned as Prime Minister before a new Labour leader was chosen. The Labour rulebook says one thing, but the British constitution might have other ideas! Then Lee raises political promises and governing reality - including whether or nor our politicians are...

Throughout the past week, frequent reference has been made to the Profumo affair, the benchmark for scandal and outrage in post-war British politics. But what was it? How did it unfold? And does it really deserve its infamous status? In this episode, Lee and Richard look back to the misjudgements of the Secretary of State for War John Profumo in 1961 and how it imploded in 1963 - ruining his caree...

In this mid-week episode, Lee and Richard debate how Labour MPs can trigger a challenge (and maybe even bring about the downfall) of Sir Keir Starmer as Labour Party leader. After disagreeing, they invite rebellious Labour MPs to settle the matter once and for all. They then discuss the Prime Minister's travels, with both defending him from the attack that he is 'Never Here Keir' before exploring...

In this week's episode, Lee & Richard look a little further back than usual to discuss the very first Labour government. Ramsay MacDonald 'kissed hands' upon his appointment as Prime Minister after Stanley Baldwin gambled his premiership on a snap election and lost the Conservatives' majority. But even so, Labour didn't have a majority of their own - and weren't even the largest party. So how...

In a follow-up to the last episode on the history of Prime Minister's Questions, Lee and Richard discuss how Parliament's biggest weekly event works today. What types of questions do MPs ask - and what do they expect to achieve with them? What are the opportunities and risks for party leaders? And is it really true that the public hate the theatrical, adversarial nature of PMQs? Richard and Lee at...

After a special visit to the House of Commons to watch PMQs, Lee and Richard discuss the long history of MPs interrogating the Prime Minister and how its evolved through the premierships of William Gladstone, Harold Macmillan, Jim Callaghan, Tony Blair and others. They finish by reflecting on who performed best in the format - and who flopped. On Wednesday, the next Matters of Interest will consid...

In this mid-week episode of Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard shares his insights on whether, throughout history, it's paid off to be a 'traitor' by defecting away from your political party or a 'faithful' sticking with it - and finds it typically depends to whom you defect. And Lee discusses some newly published research into who joins our political parties - with surprises about, as well as...

Earlier this year, Sir Patrick Duffy died at the remarkable age of 105. As well as being a long-serving MP, with service in the Commons from the 1960s to the 1990s, Duffy saw politics first-hand from the General Strike of 1926 to the Starmer government of today. In this episode, Richard and Lee discuss his life and sometimes complex politics, reflecting on the lessons we can all learn from his mor...

In this mid-week episode of Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard puts David Lammy's reforms to jury trials into the historic context of the Labour movement's fight for more trials by jury. And Lee comments on the approach Kemi Badenoch is taking to recruiting new members of the House of Lords - and commends her focus on creating interesting peers rather than satisfying short-term party political...

One of the most iconic pictures in post-war British politics sees six Prime Ministers - Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Jim Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher - all standing alongside the Queen. The occasion was one of Elizabeth II's rare visits to Number 10 Downing Street, on this occasion marking 250 years since the house became the official residence of the Prime...

In a special live recording, held at The Clement Attlee pub in Limehouse, London, Lee & Richard were joined by 50 listeners to toast the first year of the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast, share a birthday cake, and answer questions in their first ever live Q&A. Topics ranged from who is the best junior minister in post-war history to Britain's most toxic prime minister - via the most...

In the final instalment of their miniseries on the Heath vs Wilson elections, Lee and Richard look back on the October 1974 contest. After a frantic six months in office, Labour's Harold Wilson goes back to the country in search of a majority and a mandate to govern. Everything seems to be going well for him, but has enough changed since the people last voted for them to meaningfully change their...

Richard and Lee mark the new year by looking back on the key events of 2025 that they expect to influence what happens in the year ahead. From Keir Starmer's decision to stick by Rachel Reeves to the removal of the hereditary peers from the House of Lords - via Nigel Farage's continuing centralised leadership style, Kemi Badenoch's growing confidence as Leader of the Opposition, and more. Happy ne...

In the latest instalment of their miniseries on the Heath vs Wilson elections, Lee and Richard consider Edward Heath's gamble on a general election in February 1974. Having u-turned on the policy agenda that got him elected in 1970 and run into intractable issues with the trade unions - leading to a state of emergency and energy rationing - Heath could see few better options than calling an electi...

In a special Christmas edition of Since Attlee & Churchill, Lee and Richard have been searching through diaries, memoirs and other historical sources to find out how our politicians spend Christmas - and what some of them have contributed to our understanding of a traditional British Christmas. Featuring Ramsay MacDonald, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, Tony Benn, Jim Callaghan, Barbara C...

In part two of their miniseries on the Heath vs Wilson elections, Lee and Richard delve into the second of the contests fought between the pair. In May 1970, incumbent Prime Minister Harold Wilson asked the Queen for a dissolution of Parliament, judging it was his best opportunity to win a third successive election for Labour. Almost everyone expected Wilson to triumph. But when the votes were cas...

In this week's Matters of Interest, Richard considers whether the Labour Party's internal rules - especially the power of the National Executive Committee over Parliamentary selections - could stand in the way of Andy Burnham's triumphant return to Parliament. And Lee considers whether the changing electoral landscape of Britain means parties no longer need to really make pacts with one another, b...

Lee and Richard are starting a brand new mini-series looking at some of the most dramatic and consequential general elections in post-war history: the four contests fought between Conservative leader Edward Heath and Labour leader Harold Wilson between 1966 and 1974. In this episode, they discuss Wilson's gamble on a snap election in March 1966. Boosted by a recent by-election win, Wilson thought...

In this Week's Matters of Interest, Richard suggests that the use of the royal prerogative to deprive Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his titles of nobility might have inadvertently set a precedent for allowing prime ministers to eject troublesome members from the House of Lords without legislation. And Lee raises the strategy and success of the Lib Dems. Both Lee and Richard have experience of figh...

In this week's episode, Lee and Richard discuss one of the most dramatic events in Labour history: the emergence of Jeremy Corbyn, a man who had never before sat on the front bench, as the landslide winner of the party leadership. It's a story that covers the fallout of the Iraq war and reforms to Labour's leadership rules, Ed Miliband's decision to resign the leadership straight after election de...

Richard kicks off this episode by looking at the reasons why ministers have resigned historically and what has prompted people to leave government since Labour came into office last year. Lee and Richard then debate whether politicians should rethink what constitutes grounds for resignation - either to make it more, or less, likely. Next, Lee discusses the most important week so far of Kemi Badeno...

As we've just had a Budget in the UK, Lee and Richard look back to one of the most famous - and controversial - Budgets in post-war British politics: the 1981 Budget delivered by Geoffrey Howe in Margaret Thatcher's first term as Prime Minister. This Budget provoked a furious backlash among some Conservatives as well as most of the economic establishment. But by luck or by judgement it marked the...

This week, Richard delves into the Labour rulebook to explain the latest rumours of an attempt to remove Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader; and Lee looks at the extraordinary volatility of local by-election results which offer good news - and bad - for all of the parties, depending on where you look! Enjoy listening to the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast? If so, we would be very grateful if y...

Neil Kinnock’s showdown with Militant Tendency at the 1985 Labour conference is one of the standout moments of his Labour leadership - and of the entire history - of the Labour Party. In this week's episode, Lee and Richard explore the history of ginger groups in the Labour Party; how Militant established themselves in Liverpool in the early 1980s; and how their high-stakes fight with Thatcher's g...

In the latest Matters of Interest, Richard tears apart the complaints made by some employees in government about the condition of Number 10 Downing Street, opening up a discussion about the refurbishments of the building over the years and the power of Number 10 versus other government departments. Then Lee takes issue with a recent report about different types of 'reading' - including digital rea...