Heavy History British Elections Series

A series of after-dinner chats between Oxbridge academics about British General Elections through time, from 1868 to present day.   EPISODE 5: '1886: THE IRISH QUESTION'   Dr. Luke Blaxill (Hertford College, Oxford)  and Mr. Taym Saleh (Queen's College, Cambridge) discus the 1886 General Election, which was detonated by the Irish Home Rule Crisis. Irish nationalism's star had been ascending rapidly since 1874, but enter Charles Stewart Parnell- the man who galvanised the movement and gave it new electoral, parliamentary, and ideological coherence. In 1886, Gladstone suddenly proposed Irish Home Rule (giving Dublin its own Parliament) which caused a colossal split in the Liberal Party,  leading to the defeat of the bill and a snap general election dominated by the Irish Question.   The 1886 election was a crucial turning point in the history of Irish nationalism, and by extension eventual Irish partition four decades later. It was crucial for the the Liberal Party, whose mid Victorian dominance was abruptly ended.   And for the Conservatives, who became - in what proved an enduring alliance with the Liberal defectors - the Unionists. That Unionist Alliance became the dominant force in British elections moving forwards- a status the Conservative and Unionist Party (to give it its full name) has never really lost to this day.   Dr. Blaxill and Mr. Saleh are amongst the most eminent historians of British Electoral Politics in the world, having authored more than twenty books and articles on the subject, and having been featured on TV and Radio.  Follow Dr. Blaxill on Twitter @BlaxillLuke Visit Dr. Blaxill's Website: www.lukeblaxill.com/  Follow Mr. Saleh on Twitter: @TaymSaleh

Dr. Luke Blaxill (Hertford College, Oxford) and Mr. Taym Saleh (Queens' College, Cambridge) - two noted historians and psephologists - discuss the upcoming British elections, including Scottish Parliament, London Mayor, and Hartlepool By Election, on 6th May 2021

A series of after-dinner chats between Oxbridge academics about British General Elections through time, from 1868 to present day.   EPISODE 4: 'JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN & THE NEW DEMOCRACY' Dr. Luke Blaxill (Hertford College, Oxford)  and Mr. Taym Saleh (Queen's College, Cambridge) discus the 1885 General Election, which was the first election to be held after the landmark 1883-85 electoral reforms which reshaped the British system to something approaching a mass democracy. Step forwards two new titans of late Victorian politics, Joseph Chamberlain - the 'new man' who sought to harness the new democracy to power his vision of municipal socialism. And Lord Salisbury - the old aristocrat who had mastered the modern arts to meet the challenge thrown down by the radical gauntlet.   Dr. Blaxill and Mr. Saleh discuss the role of corrupt practice in elections (and the attempt to eliminate it) and the massive contemporary question of extending the franchise to the rustic and unsophisticated agricultural labourers. They then turn to Chamberlain's 'Unauthorised Programme' of 1885 and its associated red-hot radical contents: wealth and land tax, free education, land reform, and the Disestablishment of the Church of England.   Dr. Blaxill and Mr. Saleh are amongst the most eminent historians of British Electoral Politics in the world, having authored more than twenty books and articles on the subject, and having been featured on TV and Radio.   Follow Dr. Blaxill on Twitter @BlaxillLuke Visit Dr. Blaxill's Website: www.lukeblaxill.com/  Follow Mr. Saleh on Twitter: @TaymSaleh

A series of after-dinner chats between Oxbridge academics about British General Elections through time, from 1868 to present day. Episode 3: '1880: the Masses and the Machine'  Dr. Luke Blaxill (Hertford College, Oxford)  and Mr. Taym Saleh (Queen's College, Cambridge) discus the 1880 General Election, which was the final head-to-head between Gladstone and Disraeli. This election saw two key political modernisations. The first was Gladstone touring the country and addressing huge public meetings through his famous Midlothian Campaign- the first ever 'prime ministerial' campaign. The second was the evolution of a party machine through the National Liberal Federation or caucus, which saw new men - first amongst them Joseph Chamberlain - who understood the new arts of organising politics in a mass democracy, but whose approach elicited enormous controversy amongst traditionalists as saw them as 'entryists' pushing new radical agendas. Dr. Blaxill and Mr. Saleh are amongst the most eminent historians of British Electoral Politics in the world, having authored more than twenty books and articles on the subject, and having been featured on TV and Radio.  Follow Dr. Blaxill on Twitter @BlaxillLuke Visit Dr. Blaxill's Website: www.lukeblaxill.com/  Follow Mr. Saleh on Twitter: @TaymSaleh

Episode 2: '1874: Gladstone vs Disraeli' A series of after-dinner chats between Oxbridge academics about British General Elections through time, from 1868 to present day.   In episode 2 of this series, Dr. Luke Blaxill (Hertford College, Oxford)  and Mr. Taym Saleh (Queen's College, Cambridge) discus the 1874 General Election, which was the second of three head-to-heads between the famous rivals William Ewart Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. Dr. Blaxill and Mr. Saleh discuss these two celebrated political heroes as men, party leaders, and rivals. After cigars, they turn to what both stood for by debating Gladstonian Liberalism vs Disraeli's One Nation Toryism.   Dr. Blaxill and Mr. Saleh are amongst the most eminent historians of British Electoral Politics in the world, having authored more than twenty books and articles on the subject, and having been featured on TV and Radio.   Follow Dr. Blaxill on Twitter @BlaxillLuke Visit Dr. Blaxill's Website: www.lukeblaxill.com/   Follow Mr. Saleh on Twitter: @TaymSaleh

In episode 1, Dr. Luke Blaxill (Hertford, Oxford) and Mr. Taym Saleh (Queen's, Cambridge) discus the 1868 General Election, the first after the major democratisation of the Second Reform Act of 1867. Dr. Blaxill and Mr. Saleh discuss the transformative impact of this landmark Act upon this election as well as its seismic impact on political culture. They also discuss the key election issue of Irish Church Disestablishment, and the election result itself. Dr. Blaxill's Twitter: @BlaxillLuke Dr. Blaxill's Website: www.lukeblaxill.com/ Mr. Saleh's Twitter: @TaymSaleh