This episode focuses on a former Labour MP who tried to return to Parliament in a by-election. If successful, he was expected to launch a challenge to the sitting leader - who was reluctant to see him return. On that occasion, the provocateur wasn’t Andy Burnham, but Tony Benn. In this episode, Richard and Lee discuss the 1984 Chesterfield by-election that Benn contested - how it came about, what it meant for Labour, and how the party hierarchy handled it - before asking what lessons it has to offer for Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham and the voters of Makerfield.

In this episode, the following books are discussed:

'A Prime Minister on Prime Ministers' by Harold Wilson

'Resisting Reagan: Liberal Strategies in a Conservative Age' by Joe Ryan-Hume. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780700638789

BOOK NOW: Tickets are available for our live event in Manchester. Find out more here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/since-attlee-churchill-live-in-manchester-tickets-1989814631126

PRE-ORDER: Lee’s book, ‘Coronations & Defenestrations: Choosing (and losing) Tory Leaders’, is now available for pre-order (released 30 June 2026). Save 30% by using the code AGENDA30 on IndiePubs: https://indiepubs.co.uk/products/coronations-and-defenestrations-1760081414340

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

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 - 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.

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

In this mid-week episode, Lee begins by asking why, given the enormous change in the voting habits of British voters over the last decade, we’ve not seen more defections among MPs. Next, Richard wonders why the hit Disney+ show ‘Rivals’ gets so many of the details wrong about 1980s politics - carelessness, or purposeful Americanisation?

BOOK NOW: Tickets are available for our live event in Manchester. Find out more here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/since-attlee-churchill-live-in-manchester-tickets-1989814631126

PRE-ORDER: Lee’s book, ‘Coronations & Defenestrations: Choosing (and losing) Tory Leaders’, is now available for pre-order (released 30 June 2026). Save 30% by using the code AGENDA30 on IndiePubs: https://indiepubs.co.uk/products/coronations-and-defenestrations-1760081414340

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

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 - 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.

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

In the final episode of their strikes miniseries, Richard and Lee look back to one of the defining moments of Margaret Thatcher’s premiership: the year-long battle with the National Union of Mineworkers in the mid 1980s. Many Conservatives feared another showdown with the miners would bring the government down, as it did under Heath. But having spent years preparing for a strike, Thatcher and her ministers were ready - and their victory never looked in any doubt. But, as Richard argues, that doesn’t mean the government was in the right.

In this episode, the following books are mentioned:

'Barchester Towers' by Anthony Trollope. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780199665860

'The Republican House Divided: Civil War Memory, Civil Rights, and the Transformation of the GOP' by Tim Galsworthy. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781643365084

BOOK NOW: Tickets are available for our live event in Manchester. Find out more here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/since-attlee-churchill-live-in-manchester-tickets-1989814631126

PRE-ORDER: Lee’s book, ‘Coronations & Defenestrations: Choosing (and losing) Tory Leaders’, is now available for pre-order (released 30 June 2026). Save 30% by using the code AGENDA30 on IndiePubs: https://indiepubs.co.uk/products/coronations-and-defenestrations-1760081414340

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

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 - 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.

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