Labour History Research Unit

04/07/2025

Rohan McWilliam of the LHRU has written about the anniversary of the 2024 election here:

On the first anniversary of the 2024 election, a Labour historian puts Keir Starmer’s government in context.

11/06/2025

There is still time to book for the conference Starmer Year One taking place at Anglia Ruskin University this Saturday 14 June 2025. The link now includes all the Abstracts for the conference so yo can see what is being discussed.. Have a look.

Book your place on the conference "Starmer Year One" on 14 June 2025, organised by the Labour History Research Unit at ARU Cambridge.

05/05/2025

The Labour History Research Unit is delighted to announce that booking for its conference 'Starmer Year One' is now open. Details in link below. It will take place at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge on 14 June 2025. Do please share this announcement.

It's going to be an important event. This will be the first conference (and hopefully book down the line) which will evaluate the record of the Starmer government. By the time we get to 14 June the government will have been in power for almost a year and politics may be a little different. The results of the local elections show that that the political landscape of Britain is changing. We have assembled a fabulous panel of experts who will probe the government's record to date and analyse the challenges of governing Britain in the mid-2020s. We will talk about domestic and foreign policy.. Hopefully it will lead to policy recommendations and further political initiatives. It will be a great day of political discussion. Everyone who attended the conference 'How Labour Governs' last year really enjoyed it. All welcome (including people who do not support the government!).

Starmer: Year OneA conference organised by the Labour History Research UnitAnglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1PT14 June 2025Price £25Conf

16/03/2025

Call for Papers for our next Labour History Research Unit conference:

Starmer: Year One
14 June 2025
Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge Campus) 10-6

This conference will examine what will by then be the first year of Keir Starmer’s Labour Government. What does Labour’s record in power teach us about the challenges of governing in the mid-2020s?

The global order is changing fast in the age of Trump and Putin. There is a need to rebuild Britain’s public realm as increasing demands are made on public services. The far right is claiming increased legitimacy for its policies. Labour has a huge majority and yet its approach to challenging times seems to be one of caution. Why is this?

Starmer: Year One will be the first attempt by politicians, scholars and policy specialists to address the characteristics of the new government. A range of experts will explore aspects of government policy and the impact of the new administration.
This conference follows on from the 2024 conference ‘How Labour Governs’ which reviewed Labour’s first hundred years in power. This event will no doubt feature tentative viewpoints but is intended to produce discussion and a subsequent publication which will be the first attempt to define how Labour is adjusting to power.

If you would like to contribute a paper, please email [email protected] by 4 April 2025.

Possible topics

Starmer and the EU
The relationship with Trump and Putin
Is Atlanticism over?
Ukraine
China
Whither the Left of the labour Party?
Immigration
The Environment: Towards Net Zero
International Development and the idea of a Global Britain
Performance of individual cabinet ministers
Crime, Policing and Prisons
The rise of Reform UK and the response of Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative
Local Government and Metro Mayors
The ideology of Starmerism
Political Communication
The role of Morgan McSweeney
The constitution
Education
The influence of Blue Labour
Economic and fiscal policy under Rachel Reeves
The NHS
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland—and England
Labour members and party branches

28/01/2025

Following the success of our conference 'How Labour Governs' last January, we arWe now thinking of a follow up event to take place in the summer of 2025 at Anglia Ruskin University. It will be about the Starmer Government One Year In. We would like to bring together analysts, policy specialists and politicians to reflect on the Government's record so far, the challenges it has faced and the way it has met those challenges. We would like us to achieve some deep analysis of the nature of governing in these times. We would like to reach out to colleagues in History, Politics, Sociology, Public Policy, Criminology and Economics departments but also to political journalists, think tanks, trade unions and people in business as well as foreign policy specialists. It will, for obvious reasons, not have the deep historical focus of 'How Labour Governs' but will, hopefully, generate some important historical perspectives (for example, about the challenges of populism).

If you (or anyone you know) might have something to offer, can you email [email protected] or contact him on Facebook. At the moment we are just trying to find out who is out there with expertise. The line up at the Fabian conference last Saturday has provided some ideas. Whilst we cannot at this stage guarantee an invitation to speak, we will appreciate all offers, suggestions and any kind of input.

09/01/2025

Rohan McWilliam of the Labour History Research Unit is interviewed on the Why Curve podcast about what they label as 'Labour's Poor Start'. It was a great experience talking with journalists Phil Dobbie and Roger Hearing about Keir Starmer's challenges. It's about half an hour.
https://whycurve.com/?fbclid=iwzxh0bgnhzw0cmteaar03_gbi3vowhcugfk9kjrefmashhdkj9ho_lks2otnasliydy9o2nvh7sw_aem_mzitqgrqszqmd9fu_t30rq

Each week Phil Dobbie and Roger Hearing get to grips with one issue that impacts our lives. It could be economic, social, technological or geopolitical. Whatever the subject, they'll talk to the experts who can give help explain what's really going on. And Phil and Roger back it up with their own re...

26/11/2024

At Anglia Ruskin we are sorry that Professor John Shepherd died last week. He helped found the Labour History Research Unit, organising events and publications. John taught History in the 1980s at the institution which which became Anglia Ruskin, serving our university in multiple roles. Rn recent years he became Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield. John did a PhD with Eric Hobsbawm at Birkbeck and went on to became a very distinguished historian of the Labour Party. His biography of Labour leader George Lansbury in 2004 is a standard work. It says something that John cheekily gave it the sub-title 'At the Heart of Old Labour'. John presented a copy to Tony Blair at the Labour Party conference. He then went on in 2013 to publish the standard history of the 1979 Winter of Discontent, a pivotal moment in modern British history. It was titled Crisis, What Crisis? He researched it in archives not only in Britain but in Australia as well where he interviewed former Prime Minister Bob Hawke. These are only two highlights amongst his many books and articles. John enjoyed a wonderful marriage to his wife, Jan, also an historian. They wrote books together and travelled. It was clear from his conversation how much he loved her and was clearly so proud of her. He was also a devoted member of the Labour Party and tried to live his politics in everyday life, especially in his firm commitment to the importance of comprehensive education and trade unions. In Cambridge he was an active member of the Historical Association. He was always decent and kind to others. John was a teacher who loved his students. He embodied so much of what our university is about. A sad loss.

14/11/2024

Former MP Jon Cruddas name checks the Labour History Research Unit's survey of Labour Party historians in his review of Alan Johnson's new book on Harold Wilson in The Tablet.

Harold Wilson

29/07/2024

Check out this new article in The Conversation about the survey by the Labour History Research Unit of labour Party historians, putting the Starmer government in historical perspective.

A majority of historians surveyed on Labour’s record in office believed it had a positive record on the economy.

10/07/2024

'How Labour Governs', the new report from the Labour History Research Unit, has now gone live (see link). We employ historical perspectives to suggest some themes that might inform the way Labour approaches its task in government. Can people repost this if possible? Coming up we have a survey of Labour Party historians in which we asked them to use their historical knowledge to suggest 'How Labour Should Govern'. I hope this will be online in the next few days (and will send round a link). The two are meant to go together to promote discussion about Labour strategy and ideas. Winning an election was the easy part (I know it didn't feel like it at the time). Governing well and producing progressive reform is the hard part. Historians have a part to play.

How Labour Governs, a report by the Labour History Research Unit at ARU, July 2024.

03/06/2024

Check out Rohan McWilliam's review of Karl Pike's new book Getting over New Labour on the Labour History Research Unit website. Some important arguments about Labour's recent past and possible future. It's available at this link: https://www.aru.ac.uk/arts-humanities-education-and-social-sciences/humanities-and-social-sciences/research/labour-history-research-unit/research/book-reviews/getting-over-new-labour

14/04/2024

Professor David Edgerton (Kings, London) has an important essay in the New Statesman about Harold Wilson. This is derived from the excellent keynote he delivered at the LHRU conference, 'How Labour Governs' in January 2024. It is a great example of how historians can contribute to current political discussion. https://www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-essay/2024/04/harold-wilson-lessons-labour-keir-starmer?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter =1712939048