@jonesemily
Historian of politics and ideas at the University of Manchester. Author of Edmund Burke and the Invention of Modern Conservatism. The Disraeli Myth: The Making of a Conservative Tradition forthcoming with Princeton UP!
Precisely!
Mmm (historian incoming), I mean what is happening to the Conservative Party is without analogy so in fact historically very interesting. The best analogy for Labour I think is the Liberals c.1906.
Literally (as Europe remilitarises)!
Yep, Lib-Lab pact and all of the Irish Parliamentary Party MPs.
Not that anyone asks historians anymore, but I think my sense that the last GE was Labour's 1906 (they are the Liberals in this analogy) still might stand. What remains unique (and so without historical analogy) is that the Conservatives are being *successfully* challenged by a party to the right.
What do you do when you have no ideas? Steal some. Politics for the AI age.
This is in fact a very good illustration of what Paul Sagar was talking about on Past, Present, Future when he said that we need to bring together historical, philosophical, and psychological approaches in politics.
When these actions are connected to a sense of trust or 'authenticity' as we say now, they do matter because they are interpreted through that lens (not policy). One of mine is how you treat very junior front line service staff, having been on the receiving end of a lot of entitled people's ranting.
“Purely cognitive” is it?
Surely they’re not stupid enough to believe that word-juggling software actually thinks?
The whole point of word-juggling software is to produce the illusion of thinking. And that is all it is.
Man who ruined the country suggests more ways to do so www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
“With modern digital communication, and with ChatGPT, people are reading more for information... They’re trying to get the core idea out of something quickly, as opposed to valuing the process of immersing themselves in the text.” bit.ly/49KkcAb
Labour NEC: She'll have the lamb, rare, with very little mint sauce.
The dodo (an actual ideas-based political argument) lives!
'Reform to Conserve' has acquired an entirely new meaning.
The Tories broke Britain, says Tory 🤣
Watching the Jenrick Press Conference:
Really hoping a journalist asks him in the manner of Mrs Merton:
"What was it about losing the Tory leadership contest that helped you realise that the Tories had broken Britain?"
Apparently this summer, which feels like a long way away!: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
It’s not long now until the official publication of the Hardback and Paperback versions of our new edited volume (29 Jan) entitled ‘Writing Politics in Modern Britain’. In anticipation of publication day a blog has been produced and is now live on the CUP website:
cambridgeblog.org/2026/01/what...
I am so excited for this!
Figurines depicting American heiress and British aristocrat
I'm at my mother-in-law's and she has these excellent figurines celebrating the early c20th Anglo-American union 🤣🤣
LOVE Claire's work, hope you enjoyed the book.
When Thatcher did this in the 80s, esp around 'Victorian values', the New Statesman did a special issue with @historyworkshop.org.uk detailing an alternative socioeconomic history, with a great cover of her mocked up as Victoria. I wait with baited breath @newstatesman1913.bsky.social
One Nation conservatism?
A4 proofs of The Disraeli Myth
In case you were wondering if there was a time when people across the political spectrum used the past to think creatively and constructively about present-day problems, may I present the incontrovertible proof(s)!
Cover of The Disraeli Myth
Thrilled to announce that Dizzy's got his beard back!
And I won!! Sadly this was 2005.
Front cover of book about Disraeli
😍😍😍
It exists! Still pondering the cover but... it exists! press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
It's fab, congratulations xx
