@alfiesteer
Historian of the Labour Left. Articles and book reviews in Tribune, Jacobin, Political Insight, Contemporary British History, English Historical Review, Modern British History. Organised 'Beyond the Fragments: 45 Years On.'
Out now - Women, Resistance and Revolution: A History of Women and Revolution in the Modern World by Sheila Rowbotham
"Groundbreaking … One of feminism’s great chroniclers."
- Melissa Benn, Guardian
New blog from me today for @histparl.bsky.social, with a #SixNations theme. It looks at the career of Pat Munro, a former Scotland rugby international who was MP for Llandaff and Barry from 1931. He was the oldest MP to die on war service during WW2. historyofparliament.com/2026/03/02/p...
Can safely say that we can now add the Gorton and Denton by election to the ”unexpected consequences of hyper-factional party management“ pile.
The sudden growth of the Green Party is an extraordinary, and still under analysed, development in British politics, with longer term origins than most people think. A while ago I wrote about the first Green Party elected to Parliament. No it wasn’t Caroline Lucas.
This Thursday the voters of Gorton and Denton will elect their new MP after weeks of media speculation. To mark the occasion, @emmapeplow.bsky.social has delved into our oral history archive to look at another by-election that full under the media spotlight: Christchurch 1993.
Do any historians on here have online access to this book, and would mind sending me a pdf?
www.routledge.com/Trade-Unions...
I realise McSweeney is big news right now, but the story here should be about Josh Simons, a government minister www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
HistParl is now on Substack!
We are very pleased to announce the launch of Scribble Book - a History of Parliament newsletter written by our Director @jhdavey.bsky.social ! Our first post, on the history of the Trust, will be out on Monday.
Be sure to subscribe now to keep up to date!
🔴 BREAKING: Labour Together paid controversial PR firm £30k to investigate journalists who were digging into how its undeclared funding
Reporters from Sunday Times, Guardian and other outlets targetted
*And* Morgan McSweeney knew about it
Full story:
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/exclusive-...
Insightful insider perspective from @fletchersimon.bsky.social on the close relationship between Starmer's office and Mandelson
modernleft.substack.com/p/the-mandel...
IMO the weirdest thing here is that the other main factions in Labour don't seem to recognise this is the case? The soft left, the real ideological centre of the Labour Party, the group that should basically be the dominant faction most of the time, behave like these people are their comrades!
Voters in focus groups are contrasting Labour’s treatment of Burnham and Mandelson – that’s a dangerous comparison for Starmer. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Three scholarships for PhD in Arthur Scargill Archive - quite the opportunity. Believe me when I say that I am sure that some of the stuff in here will be quite the eye-opener! (if the good stuff hasn't been already shredded or slapped with an embargo)
Another moment to remember that none of this was inevitable either. Mandelson rose to prominence under Kinnock but was distrusted and sidelined by John Smith. He was only brought back to prominence by Blair.
There is the Epstein scandal itself, which will surely add a far more sinister edge to his already highly Machiavellian image/reputation (but one that, at their worst, historians and journos have delighted in) but then also his possibly criminal (and certainly unethical) behaviour in 2009.
I think Labour Party historians should get the ball rolling on discussing how we discuss/frame the history of New Labour in light of the latest Mandelson scandal.
That settles it then; the sentence for kicking a vehicle is summary execution without trial.
A three quarter length photograph of a man looking to his left. He is wearing a dark blue suit with a white shirt and dark burgundy tie. He is clean shaven with a pair of thick rimmed brown glasses, and side parted grey hair.
Died #OTD 2017, Sir Tam Dalyell, Labour MP from 1962-2005.
A maverick backbencher known for his staunch anti-devolution and anti-war views, he is the longest-serving MP we have interviewed for our Oral History Project.
It's nice to have been invovled with a post that is so politically timely...
Following the news of another political defection in Westminster, we're resharing our recent #HistParl article on the history of MPs 'crossing the floor' and changing their party affiliation, drawing heavily upon extracts from our #OralHistory archive.
historyofparliament.com/2026/01/16/c...
"Burnham was a chance, *the chance* to turn things around. Instead, the NEC have engaged full steam ahead toward inevitable disaster."
Blocking Andy Burnham from fighting the Gorton by-election is another gift to Reform from a Labour leadership whose entire strategy has so far played directly into their hands
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/morgan-mcs...
How does that labour leader’s speech go?
“Party faction first. Palantir, Oracle and X second. America third. Country, 14th. Elections, as rarely as possible”.
Labour Party history suggests that blatantly factional candidate stitch ups like this, handed down by a micro-managing party leadership, often lead to unintended consequences. I wrote about one example (Liz Davies in 1995) here.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Look what arrived in the mail today!
You can currently get your very own copy with a 40% discount until the end of January via the @manchesterup.bsky.social website.
@d-j-frost.bsky.social
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526179593/
For a Campaign Group MP, I suspect the ideal situation now is that Burnham is allowed to stand, wins, and subsequently challenges for the leadership following a locals/devolved drubbing and Tribune+SCG lash up for nominations. Some may even be fantasising about a junior ministerial job.
Shamelessly using the Andrew Gwynne news to reshare my article for @renewaljournal.bsky.social on the state of the Labour left. I basically argue that there is the potential for unity between soft + hard left in the name of saving the party from disaster.
renewal.org.uk/articles/the...
very pleased to see this out!!!
Me on the state of Labour‘s “hard” left, the rise to prominence of the “soft” left, and the prospects of cooperation between the two in order to save the party from electoral calamity.
very pleased to see this out!!!
Me on the state of Labour‘s “hard” left, the rise to prominence of the “soft” left, and the prospects of cooperation between the two in order to save the party from electoral calamity.
Think they could do with one by you on Degsy!