About the event

The recent UK general election prompted much comment on the Labour party’s history: its patterns of electoral success (and defeat), its record in government, the significance of the 2024 result within an historical context, and the electoral geography on which it rested. This year has also marked the hundredth anniversary of Britain’s first Labour government, proving a fruitful time for public events, conferences and publications reflecting in different ways on the history of the political left. With the panel ‘Histories of the British Political Left’, the RHS brought together five historians who have made significant interventions in the scholarship exploring that history, to discuss the state of the field, new interpretations, and recent developments in research. The conversation took place online on 23 October 2024.

Speakers:

• Professor Laura Beers (American University)
• Dr Lyndsey Jenkins (University of Oxford)
• Dr Colm Murphy (Queen Mary University of London)
• Professor Andrew Thorpe (University of Leeds)
• Chair: Professor Clare Griffiths (Cardiff University)

 

Audio and video recordings of the panel event are now available.

 

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