Since Attlee & Churchill

In this mid-week episode of Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard shares his insights on whether, throughout history, it's paid off to be a 'traitor' by defecting away from your political party or a 'faithful' sticking with it - and finds it typically depends to whom you defect. And Lee discusses some newly published research into who joins our political parties - with surprises about, as well as good and bad news for, almost all of Britain's parties.

Joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon offers ad-free listening and bonus episodes, among other perks, and is also a great way to support the production of the podcast. Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/cw/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

You can find the research into party members here: https://esrcpartymembersproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/britains-party-members-bale-et-al.pdf

Enjoy listening to the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast? If so, we would be very grateful if you could leave us a 5 star review!

Buying books via the Since Attlee & Churchill Bookshop is a great way to support the podcast. Click here to visit the shop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/saac
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Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - literally since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party.

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this year, Sir Patrick Duffy died at the remarkable age of 105. As well as being a long-serving MP, with service in the Commons from the 1960s to the 1990s, Duffy saw politics first-hand from the General Strike of 1926 to the Starmer government of today. In this episode, Richard and Lee discuss his life and sometimes complex politics, reflecting on the lessons we can all learn from his more than a century on this planet.

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

In this episode, the following books are mentioned:

'The Sparrow's Flight' by Lord Hailsham
'Radicals: The Working Classes and the Making of Modern Britain' by Geoff Andrews. Available for pre-order: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780300265897

Buying books via the Since Attlee & Churchill Bookshop is a great way to support the podcast. Click here to visit the shop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/saac

Enjoy listening to the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast? If so, we would be very grateful if you could leave us a 5 star review!
***
Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - literally since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party.

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this mid-week episode of Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard puts David Lammy's reforms to jury trials into the historic context of the Labour movement's fight for more trials by jury. And Lee comments on the approach Kemi Badenoch is taking to recruiting new members of the House of Lords - and commends her focus on creating interesting peers rather than satisfying short-term party political challenges.

Joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon offers ad-free listening and bonus episodes, among other perks, and is also a great way to support the production of the podcast. Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/cw/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Enjoy listening to the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast? If so, we would be very grateful if you could leave us a 5 star review!

Buying books via the Since Attlee & Churchill Bookshop is a great way to support the podcast. Click here to visit the shop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/saac
***
Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - literally since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party.

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the most iconic pictures in post-war British politics sees six Prime Ministers - Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Jim Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher - all standing alongside the Queen. The occasion was one of Elizabeth II's rare visits to Number 10 Downing Street, on this occasion marking 250 years since the house became the official residence of the Prime Minister. In this episode, Lee and Richard discuss the remarkable night they were all reunited and consider what the Queen's various prime ministers were up to in the mid-1980s.

In this episode, the following books are mentioned:
'Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street' by Peter Just. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781785909207
'Time and Chance' by James Callaghan

Buying books via the Since Attlee & Churchill Bookshop is a great way to support the podcast. Click here to visit the shop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/saac

Enjoy listening to the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast? If so, we would be very grateful if you could leave us a 5 star review!
***
Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - literally since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party.

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a special live recording, held at The Clement Attlee pub in Limehouse, London, Lee & Richard were joined by 50 listeners to toast the first year of the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast, share a birthday cake, and answer questions in their first ever live Q&A. Topics ranged from who is the best junior minister in post-war history to Britain's most toxic prime minister - via the most asked question of all: is the two-party system over? Thanks to everyone who joined in to celebrate the first year of the podcast. Here's to another year chewing over delightful morsels of British political history!

Enjoy listening to the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast? If so, we would be very grateful if you could leave us a 5 star review!
Buying books via the Since Attlee & Churchill Bookshop is a great way to support the podcast. Click here to visit the shop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/saac
***
Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - literally since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party.

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.