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.
Miliband’s ‘One Nation’: stealing the emperor’s clothes?
Ed Miliband's well received speech to the 2012 Labour Party conference was most notable for his repeated use of the phrase 'One Nation', for so long associated with the Conservatives. No doubt One Nation was chosen to evoke a sense of political moderation, and of bringing people together with a shared experience, which Miliband accuses […]
Read MoreSuperhumans or scroungers? Disability past and present
Attitudes towards disability are once again in the spotlight ahead of the Paralympics and, following the participation of disabled South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius in the Olympics, official attempts to classify and categorise disability have come under fresh scrutiny. Public opinion responds positively to those who confound expectations and triumph over adversity. Pistorious' experience shows […]
Read MoreQueen Victoria: the heart of a heartless political world
In 1961 Charles de Gaulle informed the young Elizabeth II that she was: 'the person in which your people perceive their own nationhood'. The British monarchy is, in other words, inherent to Britons' national identity: it helps shape how citizens (or should that be subjects?) imagine their own place within the polity. The centrality of […]
Read MoreTory rebels: the inevitability of backbench revolts
The Queen's Speech provoked warnings of Conservative backbench rebellion and questions about the future of the coalition government. House of Lords reform and gay marriage are lightning rods for Tories concerned about concessions to Liberal Democrats. So far, David Cameron's efforts to balance coalition interests with party unity have met with mixed success. Poor local […]
Read MoreLiberal manoeuvring in the real green economy
The entry of the Liberal Democrats into the Coalition Government in May 2010 inspired a new wave of historical research into the party and its place in British politics. A party policy review, which seeks to identify how to allocate money, skills and research effort, was launched recently by the Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert […]
Read MorePaying for health: Lansley’s woes and pre-NHS healthcare
The Coalition has found few, if any, of its policies to be as controversial as the NHS reforms contained in the Health and Social Care Bill. The pressure has increased in recent weeks, with both British Medical Journal and public polls showing overwhelming opposition, another Lords defeat, reported cabinet concerns and speculation over the future […]
Read MoreEdinburgh v. Westminster: what about the rest of the UK?
David Cameron is adamant that the Westminster parliament has the legal right to play a role in the Scottish independence referendum. Why, then, should the wider Westminster electorate be denied a say in the outcome? There has long been a debate over the plausible separation of the United Kingdom, and the role Westminster should play […]
Read MoreDeprivation of Honours: a brief history
This week headlines have been filled with the news that the former Chief Executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Fred Goodwin, has been stripped of the knighthood he was awarded in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 2004 for 'services to banking'. Comment on the issue has varied from those arguing that this public disgrace […]
Read More‘Responsible capitalism’: a return to ‘moral economy’ in England?
Both Prime Minister David Cameron and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband opened 2012 by calling for 'responsible capitalism'. In a speech on 'moral capitalism' delivered at New Zealand House, London on 19 January this year, Cameron envisaged a market 'fair as well as free', one in which 'the power of the market and the […]
Read MoreAll Aboard! Return of the royal yacht?
1997 saw the retirement of Britannia, and with it the end of a royal institution, the Royal Yacht. The decision to discontinue the monarchy's official floating residence was made by the Queen, with the advice of the Duke of Edinburgh. Thus Britannia was the last of 83 royal yachts, the first of which had been […]
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