Strikes of the 20th Century: Heath vs The Miners (1972-4)

In this mid-week episode of Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard examines the constitutional issues raised by Darren Jones MP’s evidence to Parliament about the failures of Keir Starmer’s mission-led government. Were civil servants obstructing the government’s ambitions, or did the real problems lie with confused responsibilities, muddled leadership and a Prime Minister unwilling or unable to take responsibility for the big decisions? Then, Lee takes us to Alberta, where a series of referendums has raised fundamental questions about immigration, constitutional reform and the province’s place within Canada. Why has separatism become an issue on the Canadian right, and what does this tell us about the differences between British and Canadian conservatism? And what do the arguments over the proposed abolition of the Canadian Senate tell us about the role of upper chambers in Canada, the United States and Britain?

In July 1948, just as the National Health Service was coming into being, Aneurin Bevan delivered a speech in which he declared that the Conservatives were “lower than vermin”. But rather than take offence, thousands of Tories decided to embrace the insult - and the Vermin Club was born. In this episode of Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard and Lee explore the curious history of a political organisation that attracted as many as 120,000 members, including a young Margaret Thatcher. Why did Bevan make his infamous attack? How did the Conservatives turn his words into a badge of honour? And why was the Tory leadership so reluctant to embrace a movement that seemed to have captured the imagination of its own supporters?

In this week’s 'Matters of Interest', Lee and Richard share their reflections from Oslo, where they’ve been researching how politicians get their policy advice in different parliamentary systems. After a visit to the Storting, Norway’s parliament, they reflect on the differences between Norwegian and British politics, from proportional representation and party discipline to the relationship between MPs and their constituents. What can we learn from the Norwegian experience, and what might be lost if Britain tried to follow its example? Then Richard tells the story of Samuel Gompers, the British-born trade unionist who became one of the most influential figures in American labour history, but remains largely forgotten in his homeland.

In this week's Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard and Lee explore Labour's long and often fraught relationship with the judiciary. From the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the Taff Vale case to Michael Foot's criticisms of judges in the 1970s, why did the Labour movement so often see the courts as an instrument of the establishment, standing in the way of working-class progress? Richard explains how Labour's historic commitment to parliamentary sovereignty was shaped by the struggle to overcome judicial rulings. Lee, meanwhile, wonders whether Labour's hostility to judges was simply a reflection of the party's political impotence and/or incompetence. They finish by considering why and when Labour's view changed and how the party learned to love the British and European judiciaries.

In this week's Matters of Interest, Richard and Lee reflect on the Conservative Party Conference and consider what it says about the role of Kemi Badenoch, with Lee arguing she is — rarely for the Conservatives in recent years — a leader who is wholly secure in her position. But what will Badenoch's strategy for the Conservatives be? Next, Richard introduces the 'sewer socialists' of Milwaukee, the American socialists who built a hugely successful political movement by concentrating less on Marxist theory and more on improving the lives of working people.