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.
Historians respond to the Queen’s speech
Historian and former civil servant Geoffrey Rivett welcomes moves to create a National Care Service, but warns that today's proposals could be 'robbing Peter to pay Paul': “When the NHS started, vast numbers of old people, sick and demented, were cared for in the back wards of the old poor law hospitals. Few doctors were […]
Read More1989: Divided memories, East and West
On 9th November 2009, the world was treated to a recreation of the moment that has come to symbolise the end of Communism and the Cold War: the destruction of the Berlin Wall. On the 20th anniversary of its breach, world leaders arrived in the city and witnessed the toppling of 1,000 foam domino tiles […]
Read MorePinstriped fascism
Those seeking to expose British National Party leader Nick Griffin as a British Nazi on the BBC's Question Time programme last month will have been disappointed. The charge of German Nazism was a red herring, which Griffin managed to evade with claims about his father's role in the Second World War. Meanwhile, Griffin's fascism went […]
Read MoreThe case for historical advisers in government
The Sorbonne-educated Israeli historian, Professor Michael Harsegor, has often suggested, in his programme on Galei Tzaal Radio, that every president or prime minister should have a historian serving as personal adviser. He argues that the whole decision-making process would benefit considerably as many mistakes in modern history could have been avoided had a historian been […]
Read MoreBroadband Terrorism: A new face of fascism
The sentencing of the aspiring far-right bomber Neil Lewington to at least six years in prison serves as a wake-up call. Although neo-fascism has followed the web into the 21st century, policies to counteract it remain stuck in the 20th. Indeed, Lewington's case illustrates just how far the far-right has moved. Not in terms of […]
Read MoreAre school standards slipping?
Conservative spokesman on schools Michael Gove plans to publish past exam papers going back to the Victorian era online, to allow parents to decide for themselves whether school standards are slipping, a concern that has become widespread in recent years. Mr. Gove said recently; “People know there is something wrong with our education system and […]
Read MoreOpen public primaries
At the height of the expenses scandal I suggested that open public primaries would be one way to address the widening gulf between politicians and public, (see The hustings, broadcasters and the future of British democracy) so I naturally welcome recent signs that the main political parties may soon agree. To be fair, the Conservatives […]
Read MoreTalking to the Taliban: Lessons from Northern Ireland
The International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, has become the latest figure in the government to cite the lessons of Northern Ireland as a model for conflict resolution. In raising the possibility that the Coalition might talk to elements of the Taliban, Alexander told the Today programme that: “I think people recognise from the experience of […]
Read MoreDeath of a Speaker
Next Monday, 22 June, MPs will elect a new Speaker after Michael Martin became only the second holder of the office to be forced out by his fellow members, following his handling of the expenses furore. Journalists have reported with glee that as many as seven previous speakers were executed, but can any parallel be […]
Read MoreCar scrapping scheme could learn from green victories of the past
There is nothing green about the design of the recently launched UK vehicle scrappage incentive, which is a shame since recent history teaches us that rapid, real environmental improvement can occur when policy is crafted to change consumer behaviour. The transformation in residential heating that took place during the two decades after the 1956 Clean […]
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