Episodes

  • Why did Harold Wilson resign when he did?
    Mar 22 2026

    In the first episode of a new two-part miniseries, Richard and Lee discuss the 1976 transition of power from Harold Wilson to Jim Callaghan.


    First, they consider the why, when and how of Wilson's resignation. The news that he would be resigning as Prime Minister shocked Westminster and the wider world - so what explains Wilson's decision to leave when he did? And as one of the few post-war PMs not to be bundled out the door by the judgement of his party or the electorate, could Wilson's departure be considered a triumph?


    In the next episode, Lee and Richard will turn to the race to replace Wilson - arguably the most impressive leadership election ever.


    In this episode, the following books are mentioned:


    'How Not to Be a Political Wife' by Sarah Vine. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780008746575

    'Gordon Brown: Power with Purpose' by James Macintyre. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781526673411


    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 - literally 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.


    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


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Matters of Interest: ‘Local’ MPs & Approaches to Inequality
    Mar 19 2026

    In this mid-week episode of Since Attlee & Churchill, Lee and Richard weigh in on the debate, triggered by comments from William Hague, that we risk creating a pipeline of MPs who are more focused on being a local representative than a national leader. Is that fair? And are the two actually mutually exclusive? Next, they discuss whether inequality is the natural way of societies operating and what it would mean to reduce inequality - with Richard arguing that doing so, in order for people to flourish with their different personal strengths, is key.


    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 - literally 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.


    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


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    42 mins
  • How did Attlee & Churchill get on with each other?
    Mar 15 2026

    Lee and Richard discuss the namesakes of the podcast - Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee. They consider their differences and similarities; how they worked together during the Second World War; and also how they opposed each other for the ten years they spent on opposite sides of the Commons after Victory in Europe day. The episode concludes by wondering what lessons modern politicians can learn from these two titans of post-war British politics.


    In this episode, the following books are mentioned:


    ‘Attlee's Great Contemporaries: The Politics of Character’ edited by Frank Field. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780826432247

    'Swimming in the Dark' by Tomasz Jedrowski. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781526604989


    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 - literally 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.


    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


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    59 mins
  • Matters of Interest: Heritage in Flames & the Perils of Economic Orthodoxy
    Mar 12 2026

    In their mid-week instalment, Richard and Lee discuss issues that have caught their eye this week. Firstly, the problem of historic buildings, like Union Corner in Glasgow, burning down - and what we should do in response. Protect them? Rebuild them? Or move on? Next, Lee and Richard discuss how economic orthodoxies are often used to narrow the range of political debate and consider if it’s possible to break out from the assumptions that have defined British political economy in recent decades - and what might be gained if we did.


    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 - literally 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.


    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


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    42 mins
  • How did the Brighton bomb change British politics?
    Mar 8 2026

    The bomb planted by the IRA at the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984 is one of the near-misses in British political history. Its target, Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet, all survived, but 5 people died and 33 people were injured. How did the bomb get into the hotel? What damage did it cause? And how did these dramatic and murderous events change British politics? Lee and Richard discuss in this latest episode.


    In this episode, the following books are mentioned:

    'Attlee and Churchill: Allies in War, Adversaries in Peace' by Leo McKinstry. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781848876613

    'Defying Dixie: The Radical Roots of Civil Rights, 1919-1950' by Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780393335323


    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 - literally 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.


    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


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Matters of Interest: Denmark’s Migration Management & Britain’s Voting Rights
    Mar 5 2026

    In this mid-week Matters of Interest, Richard discusses how the Danish Social Democrats, a party once confronted with losing its historic working-class base, re-oriented itself to maintain their traditional supporters. What lessons could Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party learn from its Scandi counterparts? And Lee reflects on Reform UK’s policy announcement, after the Gorton & Denton by-election, that only British citizens should be able to vote in UK Parliamentary elections. Is this reaction to by-election defeat the right one?


    Joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon offers ad-free listening and bonus episodes, among other perks, and is also a great way to support the production of the podcast. Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/cw/SinceAttleeAndChurchill


    Enjoy listening to the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast? If so, we would be very grateful if you could leave us a 5 star review!


    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

    ***

    Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - literally 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.


    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


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    43 mins
  • How did Theresa May become Britain’s most pro-LGBT Prime Minister?
    Mar 1 2026

    Having started life as a vicar’s daughter, and casting socially conservative votes in her first years as a Member of Parliament, by the mid-2000s Theresa May had begun embracing the cause of LGBT rights. As party chairman, she recognised the Conservative campaign group for homosexual equality, and then as Home Secretary and Prime Minister she embraced a range of policies advocated for by gay and trans rights groups. Why did May go on this journey? And what impact did it have on government and the country? Lee and Richard discuss in this episode.


    In this episode, the following books are mentioned:

    'A source book of Conservatism' by Geoffrey D. M. Block

    'Statecraft: Policies and Politics under Prime Minister Theresa May. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9783031324741


    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 - literally 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.


    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


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Matters of Interest: From ‘Remainer’ to ‘Leaver’ & Cameras in the Commons
    Feb 26 2026

    In this mid-week episode, Lee discusses an article he recently wrote for The Telegraph in which he set out why he has gone from being a ‘Remainer’ in the 2016 referendum to firmly committed to Britain staying out of Europe. And Richard offers his views on the recent debate about TV cameras in the Commons - are they really the cause of the alleged decline in Parliamentary speech-making? Or is the wrong culprit being blamed?


    Joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon offers ad-free listening and bonus episodes, among other perks, and is also a great way to support the production of the podcast. Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/cw/SinceAttleeAndChurchill


    Enjoy listening to the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast? If so, we would be very grateful if you could leave us a 5 star review!


    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

    ***

    Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - literally 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.


    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


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    43 mins