Since Attlee & Churchill

In 2014, the very existence of the United Kingdom was on the ballot when Scotland voted on whether to sever its ties with the rest of the UK. In this episode, Lee and Richard discuss how devolution became the platform from which Alex Salmond and the Scottish National Party made the case for independence; the complacency of the UK Government over the answer Scotland would give; and the scrappy way in which two campaigns made their case. In the end, Scotland voted decisively to stay in the UK. But while the outcome was clear, the issue was far from settled - and the problems of using referendums to resolve such issues were laid bare.

In this episode, the following books are mentioned:
'Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot: The Great Mistake of Scottish Independence' by John Lloyd. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781509542673
'Scotland’s Choices: The Referendum and What Happens Afterwards' by Guy Lodge, Jim Gallagher & Iain McLean. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780748696406

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 episode, Lee and Richard reflect on attending the installation service for the Order of the Garter at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where they witnessed the induction of Peter Hennessy. But instead of being misty-eyed about the ceremony, should they have been more critical of this (allegedly) anachronistic hangover? Next, they turn to the Treasury's Green Book, the framework that guides government investment decisions. At its heart lies the Benefit-Cost Ratio, a measurement that often determines the fate of major infrastructure projects. Can the value of public investment really be reduced to a spreadsheet calculation?

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.

Lee and Richard are kicking off a new miniseries looking at the three major referendums David Cameron held as Prime Minister: on the electoral system, on the status of Scotland, and on Britain’s membership of the European Union. This first vote - widely seen as the least significant and also therefore the least well remembered - nevertheless prompted some important questions about how Britain chooses its MPs and its government. But perhaps more importantly, it helped a generation of campaigners learn how to win a referendum and, Richard argues, instilled a complacency in Cameron that encouraged him to keep on gambling with referendums.

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.

After giving a talk at the Manchester Histories Festival, Richard and Lee were joined by listeners to the show for a live Q&A. Questions ranged from how to get into history (especially if you don't go to university) and which TV programmes offer the most accurate representations of politics, to whether First Past the Post will survive and the political career of local Manchester MP Lucy Powell. Thank you to everyone who came along and asked their questions.

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 special live recording of the podcast at the Manchester Histories Festival, Lee and Richard discuss four MPs, all with Manchester connections, who made an important (but largely forgotten) contribution to British politics: John Robert Clynes, Florence Horsbrugh, Harold Lever and Anthony Barber. Who were they? How did they come to represent Greater Manchester constituencies? And what is their overlooked political legacy?

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.