Opinion Articles
H&P encourages historians to use their expertise to shed light on issues of the day. If you are interested in submitting an opinion piece for publication, please see our editorial guidelines. We currently have 342 Opinion Articles listed by date and they are all freely searchable by theme, author or keyword.
Is Ed Miliband taking political funding back to 1927?
The funding of political parties has been hugely contentious for centuries – from the days of the pre-reformed Parliaments with their tiny franchises and 'rotten boroughs' in the gift of the aristocracy and nobility. Yet the funding of the reformed Parliament parties after 1832, Whig/Liberal and Conservative/Unionist, by the railway companies and other industrial and […]
Read MoreBritain in Palestine: time to apologise?
The Palestinian Return Centre [PRC] in London is campaigning for an apology from the British Government for British colonial rule in Palestine, from 1917 to 1948. Those behind this campaign will have been galvanised by the Government's recent expression of regret for colonial abuses committed in Kenya during the Mau Mau rebellion. The call for […]
Read MoreBaby George is named, but beware the christening
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have successfully negotiated the politics of naming their new baby son, with George attracting widespread approval. But perhaps they should beware the christening. At the christening of his second son, George, in 1717, and following a dispute with his father about naming the baby, the Prince of Wales (later […]
Read MoreConservative splits: lessons from history?
In the last few months, the news agenda has focussed on the growing splits within the Conservative Party. First, pressure came from the right of the party over Europe, forcing David Cameron to promise a referendum on Britain's continuing EU membership after the next General Election, which alienated the Europhile left of his party. Then […]
Read MoreWhat’s in a name? Naming Baby Cambridge
The world's media have hit fever pitch since the birth of the royal baby on Monday. Before the birth, the big question was whether the baby would be a girl, destined to become the first Queen to rule in her own right following urgent, progressive changes to the royal succession. Now we know that Baby […]
Read More‘Posh boys’ and ‘swivel-eyed loons’: Conservative leaders and grassroots unrest in perspective
Grassroots disaffection in the Conservative Party has been growing for some time, and the dismissive reference to 'swivel-eyed loons', allegedly made by one of David Cameron's inner circle, has highlighted the distance between party leader and party activists. This is nothing new in Conservative politics: there have been dangerous rifts between leaders and followers in […]
Read MoreThe protectionist side of outsourcing
'Unless we wish to remove our mills to China . . . and let our men either emigrate or lie idle,' we need protectionism, thundered the American Economist in 1919. A similar observation had been made across the Pacific 60 years earlier when William Robinson of Melbourne stated: 'Free trade furnishes a premium to capitalists […]
Read MoreWill Thatcher’s historical legacy, like Robert Peel’s, U-turn from beyond the grave?
Since her death on 8 April, Margaret Thatcher's legacy has been described by commentators in many ways. Some saw her as rolling back the socialist state, others as a believer in strong executive government and economic freedom. Electorally, she was the most successful Conservative leader, taking her party to three consecutive General Election victories, but […]
Read More‘Something should be done’: campaigns for choice and human rights in childbirth
Two recently published reports have again put the spotlight on Britain's overstretched maternity services. The National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) and National Childbirth Trust (NCT) researched the experiences of 5,500 women, concluding that choice of place of birth remained 'an aspiration, not a reality' and painting a picture of 'fragmented' antenatal care and lack […]
Read MoreCoalition governments: ‘always unpopular and seldom lasted long’?
In recent British history, six coalition governments have involved Liberal and Conservative parties. The only other peace-time coalition endorsed by two united parties was the 1895-1906 coalition of the Liberal Unionist and Conservative parties, when four senior Liberal Unionists were given Cabinet posts in Lord Salisbury's government after the collapse of Lord Rosebery's government and […]
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