Since Attlee & Churchill

After 13 years in government, the 2010 general election saw Labour ejected from office and on the hunt for a new leader. Curiously, two brothers - David and Ed Miliband - stood against each other in a five-way battle to lead the party. This divisive leadership contest led to accusations of fratricide and, when Ed won, many in Labour conclude that the party had chosen the wrong brother to lead it....

In 1961 and 1963, two by-elections took place that changed British politics, and the fortunes of Tony Benn, forever. The first came after Benn was removed from the House of Commons following the death of his father. This elevated Benn to the peerage as the second Viscount Stansgate and meant, although Benn won the by-election, he was denied his seat in the Commons. After years of political an...

From 1980-1983, Michael Foot led the Labour Party through a disastrous and divisive period in its history, culminating in the famous landslide defeat of 1983. That result has marred how people think of Foot ever since. But Richard believes that Foot's long and remarkable career - as a journalist and a politician - deserves a more generous appraisal from historians. Is he right? In this episode we...

Private members clubs once played a crucial role in British politics, even acting as the organising hubs of the Conservative and Liberal parties. For centuries, politicians of every shade have drunk, dined and gossiped together behind the closed doors of London clubs. But do they still? And do clubs still influence our politics? In this week's episode, Lee and Richard tackle that question and iden...

Since the end of WWII, an increasing number of foreign leaders have been invited to address MPs and peers - whether in Westminster Hall, the Royal Gallery or elsewhere in Parliament. In 2017 and again today, a debate raged about whether Donald Trump should be among them. Lee and Richard look back on the history of foreign leaders addressing Parliament and consider whether it would be reasonable fo...

Prime ministerial resignation honours - first used in 1895 and regularly issued since - have been a perennial embarrassment for outgoing prime ministers. In this episode, Richard and Lee look back on the post-war lists, from Churchill to Sunak, Attlee to Brown, and consider who they chose to honour, why, and whether it harmed their reputation and legacy. In this episode, the following books are me...

The ideas underpinning English socialism go back to before the Norman Conquest, but they have been strangely absent from the Labour Party in recent years. In this week's episode, Lee and Richard discuss the concept of English socialism - what it is, where it comes from, how its distinct (but compatible) with British socialism, and why its values could be a recipe for the rejuvenation of the Labour...

Few people today can recall the man who launched premium bonds, gave us the motorway network, or invited Dr Beeching to swing his axe on the United Kingdom's railway network. It was Ernest Marples, a post-war Conservative MP and ally of Harold Macmillan. Marples has a claim to be one of the most consequential ministers of the 1951-64 Conservative governments, but his personal immorality and financ...

For the past century, many of the most prominent left-wing politicians in Britain, especially Labour leaders, have judged that the institution of monarchy is compatible with their vision of a more equal Britain. Why? In this episode, Richard and Lee discuss the socialist case for monarchy, from the earliest days of the Labour Party right up to the present day. Richard, a socialist himself, makes t...

In 1963, Harold Macmillan resigned as prime minister and triggered one of the most dramatic fights for the Tory leadership in modern history. Four men jockeyed for position at the party's annual conference in Blackpool, with an unassuming fourteenth earl eventually coming out on top. Why did Macmillan resign? Who should have succeeded him? And did the 1964 general election, which brought Harold Wi...

For almost 40 years, Austin Mitchell was a staple of the House of Commons. At the beginning of his career, he was an up-and-coming star with a successful media career. Yet for the vast majority of his time as an MP, he was overlooked by successive leaders and confined to the backbenches. In this episode, Richard and Lee look back on Mitchell's career and consider what lessons can be learned from t...

Edward Heath spent more time in the House of Commons after he was Conservative leader (1975-2001) than beforehand. This long period, in which he was a frequent thorn-in-the-side of Margaret Thatcher and critic of her legacy, has become known as 'The Incredible Sulk.' But is that title fair? Why did Heath stick around for so long? What did he hope to achieve? And was he successful? That's the topic...

The government recently made headlines with its decision to reduce overseas aid to 0.3% of national income. In this episode, we cast our eye back to Labour's most vocal supporter of overseas development and international aid, Judith Hart. Based on her years as a minister in both Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan's governments, we ask: What was her approach to international aid? What did she manage t...

After years of tumult at the top of the Conservative Party, the method by which it removes its leaders has rarely been far from the headlines. In this podcast, Lee and Richard discuss how 'confidence votes' have been used to test the levels of support for Tory leaders among their MPs. It's a dramatic story - from Iain Duncan Smith's downfall in 2003, to Theresa May and Boris Johnson's near misses...

For longer than it's been possible to talk about British politics, the House of Lords has played an essential role in how this country has been governed. But the 20th century saw their Lordships subordinated to the Commons and many of the peers, known as hereditary peers, stripped of their membership of the upper house. In this episode, Lee and Richard chart the history of the House of Lords and c...

Most politicians have at least one hero, someone in whose footsteps they hope to walk and whose achievements they hope to emulate. In this episode, Richard and Lee discuss whom senior Conservative and Labour politicians have named as their heroes - from the sublime to the occasionally ridiculous - and also share their own political lodestars. In this episode, the following books are mentioned: 'Lo...

For much of its history, Labour was Britain's most pro-Zionist party - with MPs on the left of Labour the most supportive of the Jewish state. But from the 1960s, things began to change and, ultimately, the factional dynamics reversed. In this episode, Richard and Lee discuss how Labour went from being an enthusiast for Israel to being fiercely divided about the existence, and actions, of the worl...

February 2025 marks fifty years since the election of Margaret Thatcher as leader of the Conservative Party. To mark this anniversary, Lee and Richard discuss the blockbuster leadership contest that elevated her to the top of the Tories, the first woman to lead a British political party. It’s a story that is full of drama: from the stubbornness of Ted Heath to the rebelliousness of Conservati...

1956 was the year that saw the Suez crisis and the brutal suppression of the Hungarian uprising. But before either of those events, Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev made a nine day visit to the United Kingdom. Included on a packed agenda, which saw the Soviet delegation tour the country, was a dinner with the Labour Shadow Cabinet. Almost immediately, the set-piece between Britain's left-wing party...

In a special episode recorded in Palm Beach, Florida, Lee and Richard interview presidential historian Alvin S. Felzenberg about two centuries of relations between American Presidents and British monarchs. Topics include: who was the first President to meet a monarch - before, during, and after their presidency? And who did the late Queen Elizabeth II like most of her American counterparts? In thi...

From 10 Downing Street to Chequers, Bute House to Dorneywood, senior British politicians love grace-and-favour homes. They are the properties made available to the prime minister and other senior government figures during their period of public service. In this episode, we recall the forgotten story of a woman who tried to leave her estate to the nation for the benefit of the most senior woman in...

Few people remember Peter Walker today. But for more than a decade he was one of the most important figures in Margaret Thatcher's government - in spite of the fact he styled himself as an Macmillanite and not a Thatcherite. In this episode we discuss Walker's career, the role he played in 1980s Britain, and whether or not he was able to exercise much influence as a Cabinet minister. In this episo...

An incoming Labour government gets off to a difficult start, taking tough and unpopular decisions which they say are necessary because of the inheritance left by the Conservatives. It's not Keir Starmer in 2024, but Harold Wilson six decades ago. In this episode, we consider Wilson's tricky start as prime minister, how a controversial and sensational by-election crystallised the issues facing Brit...

If you're British or live in a Commonwealth realm, the Sovereign's Christmas message is synonymous with Christmas. And it's one of those broadcasts that we're talking about in this festive special of 'Since Attlee & Churchill'. In particular, Richard and Lee ask whether, in her 2013 Christmas message, Elizabeth II made a covert reference to the illness of one of her former prime ministers. In...

Two-time Labour leadership candidate Peter Shore represented a version of left-wing politics that has mostly disappeared: constitutional socialism. He opposed Britain's entry into Europe and believed in the power of the House of Commons to deliver a radical socialist agenda. Yet by the time he left the Commons in 1997, the party he had represented for over three decades had abandoned many of his i...