British Politics

Let's Dance: The Line of Beauty and the Revenant Figure of Thatcher

by Kim Duff

‘Right to Buy’: The Origins and Development of a Conservative Housing Policy, 1945 – 1980.

by Aled Davies

Draft Working Paper.

The ‘Right to Buy’ scheme was a central policy plank of the radical and reforming Conservative government under... more The ‘Right to Buy’ scheme was a central policy plank of the radical and reforming Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher. This article traces the origins and development of the policy through the post-war Conservative Party, demonstrating the way in which a statutory right of purchase for tenants originated immediately after the war, yet was resisted by Party elites until the late 1960s; at which point it became more feasible in the wake of political conflict at the local and national level. The introduction of the scheme was the culmination of economic and social change transmitted through the existing ideas of the post-war Conservative Party, lending support to the notion of a post-war consensus in British politics; whilst also supporting the challenge to the intellectual novelty of the ‘Thatcherism’.

Introduction to the Political Economy of the Sub-prime Crisis in Britain: Constructing and Contesting Competence

by james brassett

Rhetoric and Anecdotes in British Political Speech

by Alan Finlayson

The Logic, Emotion, and Credibility of British Political Satire in the 1980s

by Andrew Scott Crines

Do local elections predict the outcome of the next general election in the UK?

by Chris Prosser

Working paper

This paper assesses the validity of using local elections in the UK as a predictor of future general elections. Simply... more This paper assesses the validity of using local elections in the UK as a predictor of future general elections. Simply taking the national vote estimates for each party at a local election provides a figure that has a mean difference of 4.76 percentage points different to the vote at the next general election. An improved model is found by running simple regression models using constructed from electoral data, reducing the mean error to 2.748 percentage points. A simple logistic regression model also successfully predicts whether or not a party will win the most votes at the next general election 86.21% of the time.

Universities in a State of Exception. In ASA, Anthropology responds to the UK Crisis in HE

by Dimitris Dalakoglou

See: http://www.theasa.org/he_crisis_dalakoglu.shtml

Until recently the mainstream idea was that higher education (HE) has two major purposes: to create knowledge,... more Until recently the mainstream idea was that higher education (HE) has two major purposes: to create knowledge, following certain methods, and to teach and disseminate this knowledge. I do not deny the complex politics of these processes. Nor do I neglect the exclusion of several social categories from universities and the consequent (re)production of hierarchies through HE that Bourdieu (1988), among others, has analysed. However, the increase (in the UK and globally) of the percentage of the population which enters universities arguably constitutes an index of social advancement. Probably in an ideal world we should had free access to universities for everyone who wanted to study in the tertiary level. But of course in a world of mass starvation, war and exploitation, demands linked with education are too utopian. Nevertheless, the question today is not so much quantitative but qualitative: namely even if we achieve in a magical way access to HE for every person who wants it on the planet, does university works towards resolving fundamentally any of these global problems or is it mostly a useful tool of the economic and political establishment? Moreover, is this so-called restructuring of semi-publicly semi-funded HE in Britain (and elsewhere) a systematic attempt to further this model that wants universities to be an even more integral part of the system of economic and political sovereignty? Do universities and academia after all deserve to be defended?

When the Party Comes Down: The CPGB and Youth Culture, 1976-1991

by Evan Smith

Twentieth Century Communism: A Journal of International History, 4, 2012 (in press)

Guilt and Shame Through Recipients' Eyes: The Moderating Effect of Blame

by Caroline Kamau

Giner-Sorolla, R., Kamau, C.W. & Castano, E. (2010)

Previous research has found that people collectively wronged by an outgroup take insult when its representative offers... more Previous research has found that people collectively wronged by an outgroup take insult when its representative offers compensation, and that an expression of shame but not guilt can lower such insult. This experiment showed a moderating factor: strength of outgroup blame. Black community members were participants, presented with an apology for discriminatory searches of Blacks by the police. The effects – that shame but not guilt reduces insult from compensation – were replicated only among those who strongly blamed outgroup entities. As before, these effects emerged only on insult rather than satisfaction measures, and only when compensation was offered. When blamed by the public, an official body should therefore consider how much its apology conveys shame rather than guilt. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)

Conference: British Art as International Art, 1851 to 1960

by Kate Aspinall

Members of the University of East Anglia’s World Art Studies and Museology Department Greg Salter, Kitty Hudson, Rosanna Eckersley and Kate Aspinall are organising the graduate symposium 'British Art as International Art, 1851 to 1960' on Friday the 20th and Saturday the 21st of April (programme available on website).

Keynote speakers:

Emma Chambers of Tate Britain, presenting “Migrations: Émigré Artists in British Art”, and Michael Hatt of the University of Warwick, presenting “From New England to Nowhere: Edward Carpenter, Fred Holland Day and the Dream of Placelessness”

Registration:

The symposium is free, but spaces are limited, so please register before 2nd April, either by emailing the organisers at britartinternational@gmail.com or on the website: http://www.uea.ac.uk/art/ events-news/event

Nation-freezing: images of the nation and the migrant in citizenship packages

by Semin Suvarierol

published in 'Nations and Nationalism', 2012

New nationalism differs from classical nationalism in terms of its content and focus. Whereas classical nationalism... more New nationalism differs from classical nationalism in terms of its content and focus. Whereas classical nationalism distinguishes itself from other nation-states in defining its national identity, new nationalism distinguishes the ‘native’ national identity from that of its current and prospective citizens of migrant origin. The terms of integration thus become conditions of membership in the national community. Citizenship and integration policies emerge as central arenas where the discourse of new nationalism unfolds. This study looks into the discourses of cultural citizenship by studying the content of the official ‘citizenship packages’ – materials designed to welcome newcomers and assist them in their integration – in three Western European countries: The Netherlands, France and the UK. What images are depicted of the nation-state and the migrant in citizenship packages, and (how) do these images freeze the nation?

Conflictos Locales – Conflictos Nacionales. El laborismo independiente en Glasgow y el estallido de la rebelión irlandesa durante la Gran Guerra (1916-1918): una propuesta interpretativa

by Adrià Llacuna

VIII Congreso de Historia Local de Aragón, 30 de Junio - 2 de Julio 2011 (Rubielos de Mora)

El contexto histórico de la Gran Guerra ofrece la posibilidad de analizar históricamente una múltiple variedad de... more El contexto histórico de la Gran Guerra ofrece la posibilidad de analizar históricamente una múltiple variedad de conflictos internacionales, regionales y locales que catalizaron y se superpusieron a lo largo de una contienda bélica que incentivó episodios de convulsión política y social. En éste caso, el estudio se centra en profundizar en el contexto socio-político británico, y particularmente en la ciudad escocesa de Glasgow durante las postrimerías de la guerra (1916-1918), en directa relación con las reacciones políticas del socialismo de la ciudad (con gran presencia del Independent Labour Party, ILP) con la rebelión política irlandesa de 1916.

NACIÓN Y CLASE EN EL COMUNISMO BRITÁNICO. INTERNACIONALISMO, ANTIFASCISMO Y DEMOCRACIA EN LA CULTURA POLÍTICA DEL PERÍODO DE ENTREGUERRAS (1919-1939)

by Adrià Llacuna

III Encuentro Jóvenes Investigadores, 13 - 16 de Septiembre 2011 (Vitoria-Gasteiz)

El marco interpretativo del período de entreguerras nos ofrece la oportunidad de examinar cuáles fueron los elementos... more El marco interpretativo del período de entreguerras nos ofrece la oportunidad de examinar cuáles fueron los elementos predominantes de los grupos políticos que pasarán a formar el incipiente Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) en 1919/20 y como éstos evolucionan en el tiempo condicionados tanto por el contexto nacional, como por la situación internacional. Partiendo de este modelo, se pretende analizar las manifestaciones políticas y culturales socializadas entre los grupos afines al partido. Principalmente, se debe prestar atención tanto a sus órganos de prensa, como a sus declaraciones públicas en forma de mitin político, discurso, panfleto o celebración conmemorativa. Por otro lado, esta base ideológica propia, formada con los años y heredera de los partidos fusionados en el CPGB (el British Socialist Party o el Socialist Labour Party entre otros), se verá en constante contraste con los análisis y directrices del comunismo internacional (a través del Comintern) y tendrá una traducción práctica en su línea o campañas políticas. Por tanto, siguiendo este esquema, se examinarán de forma contextualizada las campañas a favor de la lucha antiimperialista (Irlanda, la India, Egipto, entre otros) contra “su propia” nación (o contexto nacional), así como la lucha contra el fascismo y la defensa de la democracia en España.

“Supporting excellence in the arts: from measurement to judgement”

by Susannah Eckersley

"John Wesley's Rebuke to the Rebels of British America: Revisiting the Calm Address," Methodist Review (Vol. 4, 2012): 31-55

by Glen O'Brien

This essay revisits John Wesley's A Calm Address to Our American Colonies in an attempt to contribute to the renewed... more This essay revisits John Wesley's A Calm Address to Our American Colonies in an attempt to contribute to the renewed interest in the global and transatlantic dimensions of the American Revolution, particularly its religious aspects. Mapping Methodist responses to the Revolution on both sides of the Atlantic may provide a helpful microcosm of responses in the broader religious world. It cautions against seeing Wesley's political views as extreme Toryism and draws on recent scholarship to demonstrate that Wesley supported a constitutional monarchy since its finely tuned balance of power between king, parliament and people needed only to be preserved in order for genuine liberty to prevail. The myth that Methodists destroyed copies of the Calm Address when they reached America in order to avoid being seen as Loyalists is disproved. Methodist responses to the Revolution were varied, ranging from strong opposition to active support, but Wesley's political views were not unusual in the hotly contested world of eighteenth-century rhetoric on liberty even if Methodists would distance themselves from them in the more politically reformist atmosphere of the nineteenth century.

Keeping Party Programmes on Track: The Transmission of the Policy Agendas of Executive Speeches to Legislative Outputs in the United Kingdom

by Shaun Bevan

2011. European Political Science Review 3(3): 395-417 (with Peter John and Will Jennings)

In the United Kingdom, the transmission between policy promises and statutes is assumed to be both rapid and efficient... more In the United Kingdom, the transmission between policy promises and statutes is assumed to be both rapid and efficient because of the tradition of party discipline, relative stability of government, absence of coalitions and the limited powers of legislative revision in the second chamber. Even in the UK, the transmission is not perfect since legislative priorities and outputs are susceptible to changes in public opinion or media coverage, unanticipated events in the external world, backbench rebellions, changes in the political parties and the practical constraints of administering policies or programmes. This paper investigates the strength of the connection between executive priorities and legislative outputs measured by the Speech from the Throne and Acts of Parliament from 1911 to 2008. These are categorised according to the policy content coding system of the UK Policy Agendas Project (www.policyagendas.org.uk). Time series cross-sectional analyses show that there is transmission of the policy agenda from the speech to acts. However, the relationship differs by party, strengthening over time for Conservative governments and declining over time for Labour and other governments.

The Policy-Opinion Link and Institutional Change: the Legislative Agenda of the United Kingdom and Scottish Parliaments

by Shaun Bevan

2011. Journal of European Public Policy 18(7): 1052-1068. (with Peter John and Will Jennings)

Institutions can affect the degree to which public opinion influences policy by determining the clarity of... more Institutions can affect the degree to which public opinion influences policy by determining the clarity of responsibility in decision-making. The sharing of power between national and devolved levels of government makes it difficult for the public to attribute responsibility for decisions. In the UK this generates the prediction that the devolution of power to territorial units weakens the effect of public opinion on policy both for the UK and Scottish governments. To test this expectation, this paper analyses responsiveness of the legislative outputs of the UK and Scottish parliaments to the issue priorities of the public. It finds the policy-opinion link in the UK appears to be weaker since devolution to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 compared to the period between 1977 and 1998. It shows no evidence of a direct link between issue priorities of the Scottish public and legislative outputs of the Scottish Parliament

What Are Policy Punctuations? Large Changes In the Agenda of the UK Government, 1911-2008

by Shaun Bevan

2012. Policy Studies Journal 40(1): 89-108.. (with Peter John)

In this paper we argue that policy punctuations differ from each other in ways that reflect distinct types of... more In this paper we argue that policy punctuations differ from each other in ways that reflect distinct types of political change. We identify three main kinds. The first are procedural changes that have unique unrelated policies within the same issue area. Within the remaining large policy changes, high-salience punctuations are associated with increased attention in the media, whereas low-salience punctuations do not attract such scrutiny. The analysis applies the typology to data from the UK Policy Agendas Project, identifying punctuations from the content of Acts of the UK Parliament between 1911 and 2008. Using evidence from the historical record and the data series, the analysis places each observation within the typology. We claim that the typology has a more general application and could be replicated in other jurisdictions and time periods. We conclude that attention to the historical record and qualitative studies of punctuations can complement and inform the analysis of aggregate data series.

Did 1989 Matter? British Marxists and the Collapse of the Eastern Bloc

by Evan Smith

in P. Kimunguyi & E. Polonska-Kimunguyi (eds), Transitions Revisited: Central and Eastern Europe Twenty Years after the Soviet Union, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar, Warsaw, 2012 (in press - available June 1, 2012).

http://scholar.com.pl/sklep.php?md=products&id_p=2247

Contact me for a draft version of the paper.

Yet another 'tool for growth'? Labour migration policy and varieties of capitalism in France and Germany

by Regine Paul

presented at the 'Migration, Economic Change and Social Challenge' conference at University College London, 6-9 April 2011

currently revised for submission to Socio-Economic Review (including the British case)

The saliency of international labour migration in the ‘competition state’ and a return to active recruitment across... more The saliency of international labour migration in the ‘competition state’ and a return to active recruitment across the rich world challenges our understanding of national economic coordination processes. Departing from the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) literature, this paper argues that labour reproduction cannot fully be captured in terms of national vocational education and training systems. Instead, we need to better understand to what extent policy forges foreign labour recruitment as yet another complement in a wider macro-economic competitiveness strategy. Evidence from document and interview analyses in France and Germany provokes ambivalent answers to this exploration. With regard to the beneficial treatment of high and specific skills entries, selection mechanisms for extra-EU migrant workers are clearly shaped by nationally distinct competitiveness strategies and narratives. They epitomise the aspirations of the ‘competition state’ bearing distinct characteristics of state-enhanced French and enabling German capitalism par excellence. The sectoral locus of foreign recruitment decisions in both countries and the specific German fixation on VET qualifications in admissions further follow well-studied economic coordination patterns. However, limits to non-EU labour entries for lower skills enforce a highly differential rights regime compared to high skilled entries. We observe a strong political demarcation of the ‘competition state’ logics in skilled and lower skilled segments, noticeably departing from orthodox economic coordination claims. This rests on a political imagination of a self-sufficient resident pool of labour, contained by domestic activation policy targets, EU free movement of labour, and, very distinctly in France, the management of a post-colonial resident population.