In this episode, released on the 100 year anniversary of Irish partition, we talk with Ivan Gibbons about the statesmen involved in the decision and whether it was a success. We talk about the implications of partition that are still being felt to this day. Throughout the twentieth century, partition would become the most contested and fought-over issue in Irish politics. But the history of how Ireland came to be divided and why at the time it was seen as the only workable solution, at...

In this episode we speak with James Elles (former British MEP) about the changing relationship between Britain and Europe, as well as the steps that led to Brexit in a really fascinating conversation with a politician who has been involved in European and International politics since the 1970s. JAMES ELLES was a British Conservative Member of the European Parliament from 1984 to 2014. He is the Co-founder of the European Internet Forum; the Founder and Chairman of the Transatlantic Policy...

“Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal and independent, no one can be put out of this estate, and subjected to the political power of another, without his own consent.” A quote there from our spotlighted special episode on a very special philosopher, the father of Liberalism, John Locke. He is arguably one of the most important modern philosophers influencing modern psychology, liberal ideology, British constitutional monarchy and even the United States Declaration of...

This week we talk to Mark Garnett, senior lecturer at Lancaster University in Politics, about the changing role of the Prime Minister and his new book “The British Prime Minister in an Age of Upheaval”. We talk about the motivations of individuals (duty and public service or ego and money?), the role of devolution and what the role of PM will look like in the future. In this timely book, Mark Garnett provides a bracing reassessment of the role of the British Prime Minister, from Margaret...

This week we look at elections and how they were conducted in the 1700s and pretty much all the way up to the Great Reform Act in 1832 (as well as other subsequent legislation). We talk about pocket boroughs, rotten boroughs, pot wallopers and all your favourite 17th century electoral slang, as we deep dive into what you would have needed in order to gain the vote or more importantly, be elected to Parliament. Image credit to the wonderful William Hogarth, who painted “The Polling” and...

We continue today talking about Queen Anne, after talking in great detail about the Act of Union of 1707 that created the kingdom of Great Britain. We move back a little bit to talk about some other important areas of Anne’s life and rule. Note: I realize after recording that I’ve pronounced Sacheverell’s name wrong; personally I think I’ve added flair, but I’ll let you decide. Featured image: Portrait of Henry Sacheverell by Thomas Gibson. Link to the picture mentioned at the end:...

A little treat today, as we read the entirety of the Treaty of Union that bonded Scotland and England together in 1707, off the back of various financial issues that Scotland had suffered (namely the Great Famine and the Darien Scheme failure) . There were 25 articles in total, many covering import and export duties, and others dealing with currencies, flags and ship rights. A brief breakdown of each articles topic: Merging of the two kingdoms, their flags, banners and...

Today we’re starting our look at Queen Anne after the death of William and the rise of the Tories under Godolphin and Marlborough. We then turn to looking at why Scotland, despite hugely against a union with the English, ended up jumping into it with both feet.

On the eve of the UK general election 2019, we explore everything you need to know about the general election, as well as a bit of the history and interesting facts surrounding the whole process. We’ll run through the top policies for each of the UK parties across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, before finishing with a look at the latest polls and predictions for the election. Enjoy, and happy voting!

An episode from our swapcast, where I spoke to Dave over at the Freaking Hambone Show (@hb_show) earlier this week. We talk about Neville Chamberlain, the road to WW2, the lesser talked about side of Winston Churchill and the upcoming UK general election. As I mentioned in the episode, there are a few sound issues in the episode- nothing massively offensive, but definitely noticeable. I usually record my side as well, but forgot this time. It was such a good chat, I couldn’t bring...

Today we looked back across history to pick out the Prime Ministers who had the worst start to their careers in Number 10. This is about what they did, what they didn’t do and also what they inherited limited to the first few months of their premiership. Sit back and relax as we talk about such PM’s as Viscount Goderich, Churchill, Thatcher, Heath and many more. We’ll even talk about Boris Johnson’s statistically terrible start to the current premiership.

To kick start this season, we’re going to be going around the world in the year 1702, setting the scene for the new century and giving some perspective as to the events that will affect the next 100 years and beyond.

In today’s episode, we discuss the events of Armistice Day, that happened 101 years ago today (11/11/1918). To really make it interesting, I teamed up with Jacob from Podcast On Germany, to give an interesting new angle to it- looking at the end of World War One from both the British and German side of the trenches. We discuss the Armistice signing, how the soldiers were told, the last deaths of the war and beyond that to look at how the war ended- and how that potentially laid the path...

A quick message from Chris to thank everyone, including our dear listeners for their support this season.

In today’s episode we talk about the core constitutional sources of our uncodified constitution, as well as some letters from our fans. As it’s not something that’s written down in one single document like the USA, it can be difficult to navigate, so we’ll be going through the basics. We talk about statute law, common law, royal prerogatives, conventions, works of authority and EU law; as well as Private Member’s Bills, Donoghue vs Stevenson and AV Dicey.

The second and final episode of the chat forecasting the policies and styles of the two current leaders of the Labour and Conservative Parties in the UK. Thanks again to Ryan for coming on for this very fun and interesting episode!

Today we talk with the international socialist of mystery, Ryan about the backgrounds of Boris Johnson, our current Prime Minister and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party. We’ll talk about where they’ve come from, controversies and how they’re being perceived outside of Westminster. Part one of the chat, we’ll be talking in the next part about their policy ideas and throwing a few our own thoughts in along the way. This episode was recorded in early August before all of the...

We talk today about the swathe of legislation through William and Mary’s reign that led to the start of our Parliamentary democracy, including the iconic Bill of Rights. We left off with England in a strange situation. James II, England’s King had escaped to France and William had arrived in London. Before he arrived and in the absence of James who was in the middle of his first escape attempt, there had been riots in London, where every single Catholic church in London was attacked and...

With the Hong Kong protests in full swing and escalating week on week- we talk to protesters on the front line and those who’ve fled Hong Kong when it became part of China in the 1990s. With many Hong Kong citizens fighting against a controversial extradition bill and a wider protest for universal suffrage, the protests have seen hundreds of arrest and thousands of injuries. All names of interviewees have been changed to protect their identity.

This week we’re delighted to be joined by historian Jack Brown for this episode discussing Number 10 Downing Street- the construction, renovations and of course, the occupants. We’ll also be talking about the strikes over tea breaks under Macmillan, Larry the Cat and Devolution; as well as Jack’s new book “No. 10: The Geography of Power at Downing Street”. Buy it here: https://www.hauspublishing.com/non-fiction/no-10/ You can also find Jack on Twitter at @jackwbrown.

Today we’ve got a bit of a  special episode for those of you kind enough to  post a question to the show about anything really, but most were about what we’ve covered so far. We’ll also be going through what’s coming up next in episodes, as well as some shout outs to our awesome listeners.

Today we’ll be hearing the text of the Invitation to William written by the Immortal Seven that we spoke about last week. On the 30th of June 1688, William of Orange received a letter in the Netherlands from seven Englishmen, asking him to intervene with the Catholicisation of England and restore a protestant reign. They were Earl of Shrewsbury, Earl of Devonshire, Earl of Danby, Lord Lumley, Bishop Henry Compton, Edward Russell and Henry Sydney, whom actually wrote the...

Today we talk about the penultimate Stuart monarchy in the UK and what some say is the last successful invasion of the British Isles. If you remember we spent some time talking about Charles II a few episodes back who had become increasingly unpopular during his reign, with plots, assassinations and a rowdy parliament being a thorn in his side. James, had also become increasing unpopular through Charles’ reign, but Charles was now dead and James was still unpopular… and now King as well.

In this chat episode, we look back on her achievements, disasters and what her legacy is going to be. A hard working MP and Home Secretary who was responsible for the vans telling illegal immigrants to go home and the woman who failed to get the UK any further to Brexit. The second female prime minister who had so much planned but ended up as a meme for her bad dancing and naughty wheat field running. But what could she have achieved if it weren't for her rebellious MPs? What will we remember...