In this week’s 'Matters of Interest', Lee and Richard share their reflections from Oslo, where they’ve been researching how politicians get their policy advice in different parliamentary systems. After a visit to the Storting, Norway’s parliament, they reflect on the differences between Norwegian and British politics, from proportional representation and party discipline to the relationship between MPs and their constituents. What can we learn from the Norwegian experience, and what might be lost if Britain tried to follow its example? Then Richard tells the story of Samuel Gompers, the British-born trade unionist who became one of the most influential figures in American labour history, but remains largely forgotten in his homeland.

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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 week's Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard and Lee explore Labour's long and often fraught relationship with the judiciary. From the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the Taff Vale case to Michael Foot's criticisms of judges in the 1970s, why did the Labour movement so often see the courts as an instrument of the establishment, standing in the way of working-class progress? Richard explains how Labour's historic commitment to parliamentary sovereignty was shaped by the struggle to overcome judicial rulings. Lee, meanwhile, wonders whether Labour's hostility to judges was simply a reflection of the party's political impotence and/or incompetence. They finish by considering why and when Labour's view changed and how the party learned to love the British and European judiciaries.

In this episode, the following books are mentioned:

'The House of Commons: An Anthropology of MPs at Work' by Emma Crewe. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781474234573

'The Oxford Handbook of Norwegian Politics'. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780198888581

Find out more about our new 'Right Honourable Friend' Patreon membership here: 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 week's Matters of Interest, Richard and Lee reflect on the Conservative Party Conference and consider what it says about the role of Kemi Badenoch, with Lee arguing she is — rarely for the Conservatives in recent years — a leader who is wholly secure in her position. But what will Badenoch's strategy for the Conservatives be? Next, Richard introduces the 'sewer socialists' of Milwaukee, the American socialists who built a hugely successful political movement by concentrating less on Marxist theory and more on improving the lives of working people.

Find out more about our new 'Right Honourable Friend' Patreon membership here: 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.