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.
Open 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 […]
Read MoreHistorian responds to MPs expenses scandal
Greg Rosen of Goldsmiths, University of London, dispels the myth of a golden age of honest politicians, and reminds us why MPs were paid in the first place “Some commentators have looked back admiringly at past generations of politicians, holding up Margaret Thatcher, Keith Joseph, Michael Foot and Tony Benn and their like as 'a […]
Read MoreUK Manufacturing decline is the real story of the Budget
Most of the comment on the Budget has concentrated on the very large government borrowing requirement revealed by the Chancellor. But that figure is just symptomatic of a crisis rooted in Britain's recent economic history; the crisis derives from the contraction of British manufacturing. All developed economies have experienced a reduction in the contribution of […]
Read MoreHistorian responds to Thatcher’s legacy
“Of the two main parties that fought the 1979 general election, one took a tough line with the unions in a bid to keep down inflation, and the other promised inflationary public sector wage increases in an attempt to buy social peace. It was Callaghan's Labour Party that was tough and divisive, and Thatcher's Tories […]
Read MoreCameron’s history lesson
During the Budget debate, David Cameron gave MPs a history lesson. The 'fundamental truth' he claimed, is that 'all Labour Governments run out of money.' He also argued that Gordon Brown 'can never be the future, because he doesn't understand what went wrong in the past'. But Cameron could do with a history lesson himself. […]
Read MoreHistory could have predicted a global financial crisis
During Wednesday's Budget debate, David Cameron rightly ridiculed Gordon Brown's claim to have ended boom and bust. For the leader of any national economy – especially the U.K. with its particularly high exposure to global markets – Brown's claim was risible and irresponsible, and probably now much regretted. Worse, Brown's defence – that this is […]
Read MoreHistorians respond to the budget
Erin Gill of Aberystwyth University and contributing editor to Environment Analyst warns the vehicle scrappage incentive could be a faux green measure: “This is being presented by the Government as a 'green' measure, but there is a real risk that it will not deliver environmental improvement. What is needed is a 'transitional' shift in the […]
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