Politics
Neville Chamberlain Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain made an error of judgement it is offten argued in seeking a path of appeasement and in particular by seeking to sacrifice other smaller countries in negotiations with Hitler i order to seek to avoid entangling Britain in a further costly war both in human and economic terms that it was currently ill-equipped to fight whilst still recovering from WW1 and the difficult period between the wars that had been book-ended by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and the Depression of the early 1930s. In this series we ask questions of wider Britain and its easy criticism of Chamberlain, who was damned for a short period of a career that had largely bee dedicated to public service. But was he individually to blame or part of a wider political history of Britain which wrongly and rashly seeks to attribute blame to a single man, even the Prime Minister. The outcome of war with Hitler may not have changed irrespective of Chamberlain’s actions but would we have been better prepared and avoided some of the early errors in WW2 when Britain as a nation was so ill-prepared for war?
Read MoreParliament Act 1911
The Barons finally give way to democracy and yield their right of veto against democratically approved laws voted on and approved in the House of Commons. An Act of Parliament settles a bitter dispute from the 1909 Peoples Budget and a vital principle that had taken hundreds of years to establish.
Read MoreConstitutional Crisis People’s Budget 1909
What would cause a king to contemplate the end of the Monarchy and that his son might be the last King? When his Barons, the Lords would rise-up and revolt against the rule of democracy and seek to reinvent the will of the people via its commons from being fulfilled. Lloyd George and Winston Churchill would be the advocates for the poor and common man. Asquith would seek to calm the rage and the King would plead with the Lords to let the Bill pass but it would take two General Elections and never again would this unwritten convention be relied upon without statute to support it.
Read MoreCorn Laws Economic History and Big Data
Learn a little and want to know more then this video by Cambridge University Expert D’Mariss Coffman can help. Find out how this humble grain and cereal returns lead to the “birth of political economy” and the start of Big Data as evidence for economic outcomes. Lecture given as part of the excellent Gresham College series.
Read MoreSir Robert Peel 1st Baronet a Prime Minister’s Father
What makes a Prime Minister? Why does the wealth health and education not ensure the success and happiness of future generations? Famous families as a reflection of our own and national history. Sir Robert Peel the first baronet certainly leads us into some intriguing connections…
Read MoreIntriguing Relationships Presidents and Prime Ministers
An intriguing snippet from David Reynolds (Professor of History at Cambridge University ) and No 10 on the special relationships between prime Ministers and Presidents
Read MoreElizabeth Fry Reformer and Quaker
The work of Elizabeth Fry, Quaker and social reformer inspired others such as Florence Nightingale. Her courage and work was outstanding in a time when women were considered to have few roles outside of the family
Read MoreState Intervention escalates in Victorian Britain
The industrial revolution brought immense benefits to Victorian society but it also brought huge problems to society. Government responded with intervention at every level and an explosion of civil servants and bureaucrats to cope with the fast unraveling problems.
Read MoreMarried Women’s Property Act 1870
Married Women’s Property Act 1870 was one of the most significant acts passed that changed how society and the courts perceived women.
Read MoreFlorence Nightingale and Women’s Suffrage
Florence Nightingale and Women’s Suffrage Florence had a vision that went beyond her incredible organisational and nursing abilities. Her attitudes made her capable of anticipating the dramatic events that would unfold for women in the late stages of the C19th and early C20th. She wrote ‘Till a woman can be in possession of her own…
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