Political

Making the case for historical literacy in government.

The ‘pragmatic and principled’ Harold Wilson.

The sacking of a young worker on 20 August 1976 escalated into a defining industrial conflict of the late 1970s.

What relevance do the Norman Conquest and the events of 1066 have to contemporary British politics? Everything and nothing.

Before the secret ballot, voting in Britain was a theatrical, violent and public affair. The Act that made democracy private turned 150 this year.

Three generations of the cursed House of Dudley stained the executioner’s block in 16th-century England. Were its members murderous villains working to overthrow the Tudor crown, or shrewd political agents struggling to survive? 

There is value in a leader who lies – but only if it is done for the greater good.

What were Indian nationalists thinking?

The UK Parliament was not designed for women with children and this continues to present challenges for new parents. How far have things changed? 

For most Egyptians independence came with the revolution of July 1952, not with the end of the British protectorate in February 1922. Yet, as the experiences of three patriotic writers show, independence did not mean freedom.