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242. Conservatism and the Climate Crisis
- Author:
- Sam Hall, Pilita Clark, Rachel Coxcoon, and Robert Saunders
- Publication Date:
- 06-2024
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- he climate crisis poses new challenges to all parties and traditions, and will require the intellectual resources of both right and left to meet it effectively. In this event in May 2024, the Mile End Institute brought together Sam Hall (Director of the Conservative Environment Network), Pilita Clark (leading environmental journalist), Rachel Coxcoon (Director of ClimateGuide) and Dr Robert Saunders to explore what Conservatism can contribute to the climate debate. They explored the Conservative Party's record in government, the place of the environment in the Conservative tradition, and the challenges facing Conservative environmentalists at a time of growing political polarisation.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Politics, Conservatism, Crisis Management, and Polarization
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
243. Remembering John Smith: His Legacy and Lessons
- Author:
- Robert Saunders, David Ward, Richard Johnson, and Dame Pauline Green
- Publication Date:
- 05-2024
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- The night before John Smith QC died in May 1994, he spoke at the Park Lane Hotel to raise money for the Labour Party's campaign for the next general election. To the 500 people in attendance, Smith remarked that 'the opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask'. 30 years on from his death, Smith is often recalled as one of the 'best Prime Ministers we never had' and is still viewed with affection by many people regardless of their political views. However, in his own party, John Smith's legacy has often been more contentious. For supporters of the 'New Labour' project pursued by his successor, John Smith - as David Miliband told the Mile End Institute in May 2022 - failed to 'understand that in 1992 the electorate told us, in no uncertain terms, that they wanted a different offer from Labour'. On Thursday 9 May 2024, the Mile End Institute marked the 30th anniversary of John Smith's death by inviting a distinguished panel of historians and eyewitnesses to consider John Smith's legacy and lessons for the Labour Party today. Chaired by Dr Robert Saunders, it featured David Ward (John Smith's Head of Policy and Adviser from 1988 to 1994), Dr Richard Johnson (Senior Lecturer at QMUL), and Dame Pauline Green (former Chair of the Party of European Socialists).
- Topic:
- Politics, History, Labour Party, and John Smith
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
244. Bad Chaps, Jews and the Failure of British Decency: Antisemitism in Historical Perspective
- Author:
- Simon Schama
- Publication Date:
- 05-2024
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- Sir Simon Schama is one of the most distinguished historians of our time. As a writer, broadcaster, columnist and art-critic, his books and documentaries have covered an extraordinary range of subjects, stretching from the histories of art, slavery and public health to Romanticism, baseball and the American future. His award-winning books include Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (1989), Landscape and Memory (1995), Rough Crossings (2005) and Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations (2023). He has written three volumes on the History of Britain and two volumes on The Story of the Jews, both of which have been made into BBC TV series. He is currently Professor of Art History and History at the University of Columbia, and was knighted in 2018 for ‘services to history’. On Friday 8 March 2024, Sir Simon drew on his long expertise in British and Jewish history to deliver the first in a new series of distinguished 'Hennessy Lectures', celebrating the life of the historian and cross-bench peer Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield. In this inaugural lecture at @QMULSir Simon explored ‘Bad Chaps, Jews and the Failure of British Decency: Antisemitism in Historical Perspective’.
- Topic:
- History, Jews, and Antisemitism
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
245. Yvette Cooper MP: Remembering John Smith
- Author:
- Yvette Cooper
- Publication Date:
- 05-2024
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- On Thursday 9 May 2024, the Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP came to @QMULto give a keynote lecture in memory of the late @labourparty, John Smith. 30 years on from Smith's untimely death, Cooper reflected on working for him before the 1992 election and his legacy on devolution to Scotland and Wales, the creation of the Minimum Wage, Freedom of Information, and the lessons of his leadership for the Labour Party today.
- Topic:
- History, Domestic Politics, Political Parties, and Labour Party
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
246. A History of British Elections with Iain Dale
- Author:
- Robert Saunders, Iain Dale, Philip Cowley, and Jennifer Davey
- Publication Date:
- 04-2024
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- On Wednesday 10 April 2024, the Mile End Institute celebrated the launch of Iain Dale's new book, British General Election Campaigns, 1830-2019. Featuring an essay on every general election since 1830, the book ranges across every aspect of electoral history: from landslides and hung parliaments to corruption, electoral violence and the birth of the modern campaign. With a cast ranging from William Gladstone and Sir Robert Peel to Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson, it explores how elections are won and lost, how they have changed over time, and what lessons can be drawn for the present.
- Topic:
- History, Elections, and Domestic Politics
- Political Geography:
- Britain, United Kingdom, and Europe
247. In Conversation with Sir David Lidington
- Author:
- David Lidington
- Publication Date:
- 04-2024
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- On Tuesday 26 March, the Mile End Institute welcomed the former Conservative MP and Cabinet minister, Sir David Lidington, to @QMUL. Sir David was elected as the Conservative MP for Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire from 1992 and retired from the House of Commons at the 2019 general election. In addition to being the longest-serving Minister for Europe, occupying the post throughout David Cameron's premiership, Sir David served as the Leader of the House of Commons, Secretary of State for Justice, and Minister for the Cabinet Office in Theresa May's administration. As Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between January 2018 and July 2019, Sir David was widely recognised to be Theresa May's de facto Deputy Prime Minister. In a wide-ranging conversation with Dr Robert Saunders five years on from the collapse of Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement, Sir David reflected on his early life in London, working as Douglas Hurd's special adviser at the Home Office and the Foreign Office during Margaret Thatcher and John Major's governments, and the start of his own parliamentary career after 1992. They also explored his work in government after 2010, the Brexit debate which dominated his last three years in Parliament, and the state of the Conservative Party today.
- Topic:
- Elections, Domestic Politics, and Conservative Party
- Political Geography:
- Britain, United Kingdom, and Europe
248. The Inaugural Hennessy Lecture: Sir Simon Schama
- Author:
- Simon Schama and Emma Griffin
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- Sir Simon Schama is one of the most distinguished historians of our time. As a writer, broadcaster, columnist and art-critic, his books and documentaries have covered an extraordinary range of subjects, stretching from the histories of art, slavery and public health to Romanticism, baseball and the American future. His award-winning books include Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (1989), Landscape and Memory (1995), Rough Crossings (2005) and Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations (2023). He has written three volumes on the History of Britain and two volumes on The Story of the Jews, both of which have been made into BBC TV series. He is currently Professor of Art History and History at the University of Columbia, and was knighted in 2018 for ‘services to history’. On Friday 8 March 2024, Sir Simon drew on his long expertise in British and Jewish history to deliver the first in a new series of distinguished 'Hennessy Lectures', celebrating the life of the historian and cross-bench peer Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield. In this inaugural lecture at @QMUL, hosted by Professor Emma Griffin (Head of @qmulschoolofhistory4447 and President of the Royal Historical Society), Sir Simon explored ‘Bad Chaps, Jews and the Failure of British Decency: Antisemitism in Historical Perspective’.
- Topic:
- History, Jews, and Peter Hennessy
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
249. Reforming the Centre of Government
- Author:
- Caroline Slocock and Ray Shostak
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- Ahead of a potential change of government in the United Kingdom during this year, this webinar examines the reform of the centre of government across the world. Chaired by Professor Patrick Diamond, this webinar saw Professor Ray Shostak, Martin Alessandro, and Caroline Slocock explore the lessons that could be learned by British policy practitioners. In every government, the centre of government performs a set of crucial functions: the institutions and units working at the centre provide managerial direction and coherence to the complex governing machinery, not least in accelerating the delivery of priority objectives. In the UK, the operation in Number 10 Downing Street has become the focus of much attention in recent years with its leadership and oversight role increasingly questioned. Over the last decade, crises, and shocks - including global pandemics, climate hazards, economic crises, technological developments, and global conflicts - have enhanced the value of anticipatory governance and foresight, cross-ministerial planning and policy design, alongside real-time performance monitoring and intervention all provided through the centre of government.
- Topic:
- Government, Reform, Crisis Management, and Institutions
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
250. 'An Insane Miracle': 100 years of since the first Labour government
- Author:
- Carolyn Quinn, Jon Cruddas, David Torrance, Jane Ridley, and Richard Johnson
- Publication Date:
- 02-2024
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- On 22 January 1924, the United Kingdom experienced what The Annual Register described as ‘a revolution as profound as that associated with the Reform Act of 1832’ – the formation of the first Labour government. After an inconclusive general election in December 1923, the King invited Ramsay MacDonald to become Prime Minister. For the leader of the so-called ‘Wild Men’ – who had helped to found the Labour Representation Committee in 1900 and been the fledgling party’s leader for a little over a year – the formation of his minority administration was ‘an insane miracle’. While the government was defeated just over nine months later, at a general election in October 1924, it proved to the country and the wider movement that the Labour Party was willing and able to govern. To mark the centenary of MacDonald’s appointment, the Mile End Institute assembled a stellar panel of experts on Labour politics, the constitution, and interwar Britain. In addition to Jon Cruddas MP and Dr David Torrance - whose new books A Century of Labour and The Wild Men had just been published - we were joined by Professor Jane Ridley (the author of George V: Never a Dull Moment) and Dr Richard Johnson. In this fascinating discussion chaired by the journalist and former host of Radio 4’s Westminster Hour, Carolyn Quinn, the panel reflected on King George V's decision to call for MacDonald rather than the governing Conservative or Liberal parties, the changing makeup of the Labour Party and its relationship with the Crown, and the MacDonald administration's political and legislative achievements. With a general election approaching, the panel also considered what lessons, if any, MacDonald’s minority administration offers to future Labour governments.
- Topic:
- Reform, Elections, Domestic Politics, and Labour Party
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe