12. John Major: An Unsuccessful Prime Minister? - with Dr Ben Williams

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"In stage one, we say nothing is going to happen.  Stage two, we say something may be about to happen, but we should do nothing about it. In stage three, we say that maybe we should do something about it, but there’s nothing we can do......Stage four, we say maybe there was something we could have done, but it’s too late now.”I'm joined by 'my right honourable member' Gareth Allen from the British Sitcom History Podcast constituency to dissect the interminable obfuscations and myriad machinations of this early 1980s gem of political satire: 'Yes Minister'. We hope you enjoy the podcast! Support the show

What are the common myths about the conflict in Northern Ireland? Is understanding history a barrier to peace building in the country, or a vital part of it? And finally, what are the prospects for Irish unification in future?I was joined by Dr Thomas Leahy, Dr Eleanor Leah Williams and Dr Jonathan Kirkup for a full roundtable conversation on all these questions and many more. We hope you enjoy the discussion. Support the show

John Major was prime minister for longer than the last five we've had in the UK. What were his politics? Were they little more than Thatcherism with some of the hard edges taken off; or did he represent a more significant shift of the political dial.  Thanks to Dr Ben Williams for joining me on this one to unpick these questions (and a few more besides!) Ben co-wrote the  edited book John Major: An Unsuccessful Prime Minister? Reappraising John Major with Dr Kevin Hickson.Support the show

Both Smith and Gaitskell died suddenly and never gained political office. What do they tell us about how the Labour party remembers its lost leaders? What might have happened if they had both lived? And finally, where are they best placed on the spectrum of political opinion in the Labour Party?In this episode I'm joined by Dr Martin Farr, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British History at Newcastle University, to take on all these questions and many more. We hope you enjoy the podcast. Support the show

What is the often overlooked role that the EU played in Northern Ireland peacebuilding? What were the challenges of the EU getting buy-in from the Northern Irish community and how were these tackled? What lessons can be learnt from this for other peacebuilding initiatives?For this episode I was very grateful to be joined by Dr Giada Lagana, lecturer in politics at Cardiff university, to discuss all the above and more! Sources highlighted in the episode for those interested to learn more:https://www.iaces.iehttps://peaceplatform.seupb.eu/en/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/wales-governance-centre/publicationsSupport the show

Why are by-elections called; what myths and misconceptions surround them; and how much do they shed light on the national political picture?I was grateful to be joined by Marc Collinson for this episode - lecturer in contemporary politics and history at Bangor University - to tackle these questions and many more.Hope you enjoy the discussion! Recommendations:Chris (Lord) Rennard, Winning Here: My Campaigning Life: Memoirs Volume 1 (2018).David Butler, 'By-Elections and their Interpretation', Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds), By-Elections in British Politics (1973): 1-13.Peter Sloman, '"Take Power - Vote Liberal": Jeremy Thorpe, the 1974 Liberal revival, and the politics of 1970s Britain', English Historical Review, 137 (2022): 1462–1492.T.G. Otte and Paul Readman (eds), By-elections in British Politics, 1832-1914 (2013).Support the show

I'm very grateful to Ieuan Franklin - lecturer in History and Politics at Bournemouth University - for joining me on this one. In this episode, we talk about the Rock Against Racism movement of the late 1970s. What was the National Front and why did its followers join it?How did Rock Against Racism get started and challenge the National Front's rhetoric of intolerance and exclusion? And finally, what have been the enduring legacies of the movement?We discuss all this and more (whilst also dropping in some late 70s punk and reggae music recommendations to add to your playlist!)Suggestions for further watching and reading:White Riot: https://player.bfi.org.uk/rentals/film/watch-white-riot-2019-onlineHuddle R. & Saunders, R. (2021). Reminiscences of RAR: Rock Against Racism (1976-1982), BookmarksRachel, D. (2016). Walls Come Tumbling Down: The Music and Politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge, Publisher.Renton, D. (2018). Never Again: Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League 1976-1982 (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315145037Support the show

I'm delighted to be joined on this one by Ollie Webb-Carter, host of The Aspects of History Podcast.  In this crossover episode, we take on the hefty topic of The Falklands War. How did Britain get drawn into a war on a small set of islands 8000 miles away? How did the conflict play domestically in Britain - both in the House of Commons, the media, and the wider public? We chat about all this and much more, touching on the major milestones of the war whilst stitching our own reflections into the narrative as we go. Link to Ollie's podcast: https://aspectsofhistory.com/podcasts/ Support the show

Why did the Labour Party lose the 1983 election and what changes did the party make to put itself back on the path to recovery?We're joined by another real expert on the period for this episode - associate professor Danny Rye from Liverpool Hope University - to tackle these questions and more! Reading SuggestionsDrucker, H.M., (1979) Doctrine and ethos in the Labour Party (Vol. 12). Routledge.Hayter, D., 2005. Fightback!: Labour's Traditional Right in the 1970s and 1980s. Manchester University Press.Panitch, L. and Leys, C., 2001. The end of parliamentary socialism: from new left to new labour. Verso.Pugh, M., 2010. Speak for Britain!: A new history of the labour party. Random House.Russell, M., 2005. Building New Labour: The politics of party organisation. Springer.Shaw, E., 2002. The Labour party since 1979: Crisis and transformation. Routledge.Support the show