Robert Saunders
@robertsaunders.bsky.social
Historian of modern Britain, singer and political nerd. Author of "Yes to Europe! The 1975 Referendum & Seventies Britain". "A jaw-dislocating page turner"(Andrew Marr). Deputy-director @mileendinstitute.bsky.social, Reader @QMHistory
At some point we have to ask why British politics keeps producing leaders who struggle to do the job.
That's partly about the pressures of the role itself, but it's also about the "pipeline": how likely are our procedures to generate leaders with the skill-set to manage those pressures?
[THREAD] 🧵
That's partly about the pressures of the role itself, but it's also about the "pipeline": how likely are our procedures to generate leaders with the skill-set to manage those pressures?
[THREAD] 🧵
Looking at this graph and wonder if something else might be going on beyond 'poor quality leader'
November 15, 2025 at 2:15 PM
At some point we have to ask why British politics keeps producing leaders who struggle to do the job.
That's partly about the pressures of the role itself, but it's also about the "pipeline": how likely are our procedures to generate leaders with the skill-set to manage those pressures?
[THREAD] 🧵
That's partly about the pressures of the role itself, but it's also about the "pipeline": how likely are our procedures to generate leaders with the skill-set to manage those pressures?
[THREAD] 🧵
Reposted by Robert Saunders
When so many politicians are desperately trying to out-Farage Farage, it's odd how few of them reflect on the most important lesson of his career: that the "centre-ground" of politics is not fixed, but can move, and that arguing for unpopular positions can bring about massive political change.
November 15, 2025 at 11:25 AM
When so many politicians are desperately trying to out-Farage Farage, it's odd how few of them reflect on the most important lesson of his career: that the "centre-ground" of politics is not fixed, but can move, and that arguing for unpopular positions can bring about massive political change.
The first Thatcher govt had a majority of just 43.
Thatcher, like Starmer, was not a natural orator, but she recognised that the battle of ideas mattered.
She saw it as part of her job to go out & win the argument: to shape public opinion, not just react to it.
That's almost wholly missing today.
Thatcher, like Starmer, was not a natural orator, but she recognised that the battle of ideas mattered.
She saw it as part of her job to go out & win the argument: to shape public opinion, not just react to it.
That's almost wholly missing today.
Has a government with a large majority ever *tried* less to impose itself and change the terms of debate?
November 15, 2025 at 11:16 AM
The first Thatcher govt had a majority of just 43.
Thatcher, like Starmer, was not a natural orator, but she recognised that the battle of ideas mattered.
She saw it as part of her job to go out & win the argument: to shape public opinion, not just react to it.
That's almost wholly missing today.
Thatcher, like Starmer, was not a natural orator, but she recognised that the battle of ideas mattered.
She saw it as part of her job to go out & win the argument: to shape public opinion, not just react to it.
That's almost wholly missing today.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
Robbie Gibb was appointed to the BBC Board by Boris Johnson, was an editorial advisor for GB News, and worked as Theresa May's Director of Comms.
He is not impartial or neutral. The government should remove him from the Board immediately to protect the BBC's independence.
He is not impartial or neutral. The government should remove him from the Board immediately to protect the BBC's independence.
November 11, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Robbie Gibb was appointed to the BBC Board by Boris Johnson, was an editorial advisor for GB News, and worked as Theresa May's Director of Comms.
He is not impartial or neutral. The government should remove him from the Board immediately to protect the BBC's independence.
He is not impartial or neutral. The government should remove him from the Board immediately to protect the BBC's independence.
I enjoyed teaching the British anti-apartheid movement today. It's always nice to be able to feature a former student - in this case the future cabinet minister Peter Hain.
November 14, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I enjoyed teaching the British anti-apartheid movement today. It's always nice to be able to feature a former student - in this case the future cabinet minister Peter Hain.
The irony is that the Right used to cast the 1970s as the nadir of Britain's postwar decline, from which it had been "rescued" by Mrs Thatcher.
Labour was invariably said to want to "take us back to the 1970s".
But the 80s is less attractive to Reform's new voters, so the 70s are being repurposed.
Labour was invariably said to want to "take us back to the 1970s".
But the 80s is less attractive to Reform's new voters, so the 70s are being repurposed.
"What is certain, and felt instinctively by almost everybody, is that things cannot go on in their present way" – The Times, May 1975
“It is difficult to imagine a previous period when such an all-pervasive hopelessness was exhibited at all levels of British life” – Professor Stephen Haseler, 1975
“It is difficult to imagine a previous period when such an all-pervasive hopelessness was exhibited at all levels of British life” – Professor Stephen Haseler, 1975
November 14, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The irony is that the Right used to cast the 1970s as the nadir of Britain's postwar decline, from which it had been "rescued" by Mrs Thatcher.
Labour was invariably said to want to "take us back to the 1970s".
But the 80s is less attractive to Reform's new voters, so the 70s are being repurposed.
Labour was invariably said to want to "take us back to the 1970s".
But the 80s is less attractive to Reform's new voters, so the 70s are being repurposed.
This is probably a crazy idea, but wouldn't it be better to react to the *actual* budget, rather than to every leak and piece of speculation in the months beforehand?
November 14, 2025 at 9:48 AM
This is probably a crazy idea, but wouldn't it be better to react to the *actual* budget, rather than to every leak and piece of speculation in the months beforehand?
This is always a danger when authoritarians come under pressure: that they respond either by ramping up the assault on their enemies, to distract attention, or by seizing more power, to fortify their position.
Really unnerving point from Nicole Hemmer, historian of the right: Trump's Epstein fiasco could drive MAGA to push him to go even fuller authoritarian, because the whole project is now in such serious doubt. She's so good on MAGA's future.
Check out this exchange:
newrepublic.com/article/2031...
Check out this exchange:
newrepublic.com/article/2031...
November 13, 2025 at 8:28 PM
This is always a danger when authoritarians come under pressure: that they respond either by ramping up the assault on their enemies, to distract attention, or by seizing more power, to fortify their position.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
I wrote a rather choleric piece about elected Police and Crime Commissioners in 2013.
"This crapulous experiment has failed. It is time to pull the flush".
gladstonediaries.blogspot.com/2013/03/an-e...
"This crapulous experiment has failed. It is time to pull the flush".
gladstonediaries.blogspot.com/2013/03/an-e...
An Experiment That Failed
Last November, for the first time in my life, I boycotted a national election. I don't suppose anyone noticed - the polling station didn...
gladstonediaries.blogspot.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:26 AM
I wrote a rather choleric piece about elected Police and Crime Commissioners in 2013.
"This crapulous experiment has failed. It is time to pull the flush".
gladstonediaries.blogspot.com/2013/03/an-e...
"This crapulous experiment has failed. It is time to pull the flush".
gladstonediaries.blogspot.com/2013/03/an-e...
This is excellent news. You cannot have democratic accountability when nobody knows who the candidates are, what they stand for, what the job involves or how to measure their success.
Police and crime commissioners to be abolished, government to announce
Police and crime commissioners to be abolished, government to announce
System introduced in 2012 across England and Wales has faced criticism from police chiefs
*
UK politics live – latest updates
The controversial system of police and crime commissioners is to be abolished by the government, the Guardian has learned.
Under the system, introduced under the Conservatives, all 43 police forces covering local areas across England and Wales had to answer to an elected official. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:26 AM
This is excellent news. You cannot have democratic accountability when nobody knows who the candidates are, what they stand for, what the job involves or how to measure their success.
"As we wrestle with our own predicaments abroad, the Churchill of history is a better guide than the Disney version".
@patporter76.bsky.social on why we need to engage with the contradictions & compromises of the actual Churchill, not the "loveable bulldog" of myth.
thecritic.co.uk/winston-chur...
@patporter76.bsky.social on why we need to engage with the contradictions & compromises of the actual Churchill, not the "loveable bulldog" of myth.
thecritic.co.uk/winston-chur...
Winston Churchill was not Tony Blair | Patrick Porter | The Critic Magazine
Historian and culture warrior Andrew Roberts is right to rebuke the MAGA fringe and its line of attack on mid-century British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, now a figure of legend and myth.
thecritic.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 9:31 AM
"As we wrestle with our own predicaments abroad, the Churchill of history is a better guide than the Disney version".
@patporter76.bsky.social on why we need to engage with the contradictions & compromises of the actual Churchill, not the "loveable bulldog" of myth.
thecritic.co.uk/winston-chur...
@patporter76.bsky.social on why we need to engage with the contradictions & compromises of the actual Churchill, not the "loveable bulldog" of myth.
thecritic.co.uk/winston-chur...
It was good to hear Ed Miliband making an explicit case on #Today this morning that reducing inequality should be a core objective of economic policy.
He's much the most persuasive advocate of the government's economic strategy, & of the philosophical case for things like the workers' rights bill.
He's much the most persuasive advocate of the government's economic strategy, & of the philosophical case for things like the workers' rights bill.
November 13, 2025 at 9:18 AM
It was good to hear Ed Miliband making an explicit case on #Today this morning that reducing inequality should be a core objective of economic policy.
He's much the most persuasive advocate of the government's economic strategy, & of the philosophical case for things like the workers' rights bill.
He's much the most persuasive advocate of the government's economic strategy, & of the philosophical case for things like the workers' rights bill.
Good piece by David Aaronovitch on the Prescott dossier: observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
The Prescott memo flunks the impartiality test | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Good piece by David Aaronovitch on the Prescott dossier: observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
I agree with this. Thanks to REF pressures, we're all publishing too many articles nobody reads.
When I started teaching, I had several older colleagues who published little until late in life, when thoughtful, well-researched books came out drawing on their life's work.
It's not a terrible model.
When I started teaching, I had several older colleagues who published little until late in life, when thoughtful, well-researched books came out drawing on their life's work.
It's not a terrible model.
“It’s time for the ‘publish more’ mindset to perish.”
Mandy Hill, writing in the Financial Times, calls for reform in academic publishing:
Read the full letter (paywall) 🔗 https://cup.org/3WRVlDm
Mandy Hill, writing in the Financial Times, calls for reform in academic publishing:
Read the full letter (paywall) 🔗 https://cup.org/3WRVlDm
November 12, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I agree with this. Thanks to REF pressures, we're all publishing too many articles nobody reads.
When I started teaching, I had several older colleagues who published little until late in life, when thoughtful, well-researched books came out drawing on their life's work.
It's not a terrible model.
When I started teaching, I had several older colleagues who published little until late in life, when thoughtful, well-researched books came out drawing on their life's work.
It's not a terrible model.
Me, struggling to open a file from a student: "What kind of file is it?"
Student: "A Cahoot".
Me: "A Who?"
[Class gapes at me like I've never heard of water, or tables or the letter B]
Student: "How have you never heard of Cahoot?"
Me: "Because I'm old".
Student: "Yes, I know that. But still!"
Student: "A Cahoot".
Me: "A Who?"
[Class gapes at me like I've never heard of water, or tables or the letter B]
Student: "How have you never heard of Cahoot?"
Me: "Because I'm old".
Student: "Yes, I know that. But still!"
November 11, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Me, struggling to open a file from a student: "What kind of file is it?"
Student: "A Cahoot".
Me: "A Who?"
[Class gapes at me like I've never heard of water, or tables or the letter B]
Student: "How have you never heard of Cahoot?"
Me: "Because I'm old".
Student: "Yes, I know that. But still!"
Student: "A Cahoot".
Me: "A Who?"
[Class gapes at me like I've never heard of water, or tables or the letter B]
Student: "How have you never heard of Cahoot?"
Me: "Because I'm old".
Student: "Yes, I know that. But still!"
"Reform's highest score is with fans of horror" is almost too perfect.
The party also polls well with fans of "crime" and "fantasy".
(Let's not talk about readers of History here...)
The party also polls well with fans of "crime" and "fantasy".
(Let's not talk about readers of History here...)
📕 With the Booker Prize winner set to be announced tonight, how does voting intention vary by favourite book genre. Reform’s highest score is with fans of horror, while Labour enjoys a landslide lead among fans of self-help books. *Read* into that what you will.
November 11, 2025 at 6:46 PM
"Reform's highest score is with fans of horror" is almost too perfect.
The party also polls well with fans of "crime" and "fantasy".
(Let's not talk about readers of History here...)
The party also polls well with fans of "crime" and "fantasy".
(Let's not talk about readers of History here...)
Reposted by Robert Saunders
I'm not sure if others have noticed this, but interesting that one of the Prescott criticisms of the BBC is based on those of the 'History Reclaimed' group, which is also associated with the 'Restore Trust' group's attacks on & so far unsuccessful attempts to take control of the National Trust. 1/3
November 11, 2025 at 3:19 PM
I'm not sure if others have noticed this, but interesting that one of the Prescott criticisms of the BBC is based on those of the 'History Reclaimed' group, which is also associated with the 'Restore Trust' group's attacks on & so far unsuccessful attempts to take control of the National Trust. 1/3
I mentioned Celebrity Traitors in a class today, only to discover that not a single student had ever watched it. Quite a few had no idea what I was talking about.
An anomaly, or more evidence of the young totally disconnecting from conventional, network TV?
An anomaly, or more evidence of the young totally disconnecting from conventional, network TV?
November 11, 2025 at 3:51 PM
I mentioned Celebrity Traitors in a class today, only to discover that not a single student had ever watched it. Quite a few had no idea what I was talking about.
An anomaly, or more evidence of the young totally disconnecting from conventional, network TV?
An anomaly, or more evidence of the young totally disconnecting from conventional, network TV?
Perhaps the BBC could offer Trump one of his beloved deals: they'll apologise for broadcasting sections of his speech, if he apologises for trying to overthrow an election, lying about the result, pressuring election officials, urging a crowd to "fight like hell" & pardoning those who did just that.
November 11, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Perhaps the BBC could offer Trump one of his beloved deals: they'll apologise for broadcasting sections of his speech, if he apologises for trying to overthrow an election, lying about the result, pressuring election officials, urging a crowd to "fight like hell" & pardoning those who did just that.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
@bjennings90.bsky.social absolutely nails it. (www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...)
November 11, 2025 at 6:58 AM
@bjennings90.bsky.social absolutely nails it. (www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...)
I do appear to be delivering this episode from beyond the grave, but it was fun to chat about the long-term decline of the two-party system and the huge structural challenges facing British politics.
Ghostly pallor - but a great pod. @QMUL's finest, @robertsaunders.bsky.social talking Britain going berserk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ8q...
Nick Cohen talks to academic & author Robert Saunders about the bizarre state of UK politics
YouTube video by LowdownNickCohen
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I do appear to be delivering this episode from beyond the grave, but it was fun to chat about the long-term decline of the two-party system and the huge structural challenges facing British politics.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
It takes an obscene amount of hubris to lecture the BBC when you have The Telegraph’s record on truth-telling.
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
The Telegraph’s BBC hypocrisy
A paper that knows a thing or two about editorial f*ck-ups...
writesbright.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:48 PM
It takes an obscene amount of hubris to lecture the BBC when you have The Telegraph’s record on truth-telling.
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
For all the talk of 'Broken Britain', so many things have got better.
Even a simple factoid like this gets overlooked, but it was not long ago that *everyone* directly knew multiple examples of people taken away by this at something preposterous like age 22
November 10, 2025 at 1:48 PM
For all the talk of 'Broken Britain', so many things have got better.
I fear that if Johnson were asked this today, there would be lot of umming & erring, some guff about "the custard of conciliation" & "the tiramisu of time", but he would refuse to answer.
That a US President tried to overthrow an election is now unsayable on the British Right & in much of the media
That a US President tried to overthrow an election is now unsayable on the British Right & in much of the media
In 2020, Boris Johnson said that Trump "encouraged people to storm the Capitol ... I believe that that was completely wrong. ... I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol".
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Boris Johnson condemns Trump after Capitol attack: 'Completely wrong'
YouTube video by Guardian News
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I fear that if Johnson were asked this today, there would be lot of umming & erring, some guff about "the custard of conciliation" & "the tiramisu of time", but he would refuse to answer.
That a US President tried to overthrow an election is now unsayable on the British Right & in much of the media
That a US President tried to overthrow an election is now unsayable on the British Right & in much of the media
Reposted by Robert Saunders
Note that still in post at the BBC is Robbie Gibb, who helped set up GB News, and John McAndrew, formerly director of news and programmes at GB News.
November 10, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Note that still in post at the BBC is Robbie Gibb, who helped set up GB News, and John McAndrew, formerly director of news and programmes at GB News.