Profile avatar
robertsaunders.bsky.social
Historian of modern Britain, singer and political nerd. Author of "Yes to Europe! The 1975 Referendum & Seventies Britain". "A jaw-dislocating page turner"(Andrew Marr). Deputy-director @mileendinstitute.bsky.social, Reader @QMHistory
1,893 posts 23,405 followers 464 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
Posts 20 Comments 30

All governments are imperfect but they are NOT "all the same". The lazy trope that "it doesn't matter who you vote for" isn't just false; it feeds the nihilism on which the radical right prey. It's like a burning tyre, coating everything in acrid smoke, choking off any meaningful democratic choice

submitted 1 day ago • 16 comments

Do tune in - today's episode features PPF regular @robertsaunders.bsky.social!

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

The "God Bless You All" at the end of this rant is particularly grotesque.

submitted 2 days ago • 9 comments

For the first time in ages, I went on "X" to see how the assault on a US senator was going down. I scrolled past 65 posts before it appeared. It came up twice in 150 posts. (Then I stopped counting). If X was my source of news - as it is for millions of people - I'd barely know it had happened.

submitted 3 days ago • 46 comments

It feels like we are crossing Rubicon after Rubicon in America’s descent towards authoritarianism. Now is the time for those Republican Senators who have concerns - and they do exist - to speak up about how their colleague Alex Padilla was handled.

submitted 3 days ago • 7 comments

They won't, but Republican senators should ask if they'd be ok with a future administration - perhaps from the radical left - manhandling and cuffing their own representatives. Those elected to democratic office have a responsibility to protect that office - and a collective interest in so doing.

submitted 3 days ago • 5 comments

"Inoculating democracy against populism above all requires a revival of healthy, pluralist dialogue". Excellent letter from @alanrenwick.bsky.social in @prospectmagazine.co.uk.

submitted 3 days ago • 2 comments

Looking forward to this online event tonight. I'll be discussing the history of Lords reform, and what that might tell us, with @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social this evening at 18:30. Free tickets below!

submitted 3 days ago • 3 comments

Byline Times' Editor-in-Chief @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social will be speaking to @robertsaunders.bsky.social tomorrow, Thursday 12 June, at 6.30pm online, about reform of the House of Lords, its evolution, and the current options on the table for change... Free tickets are still available 🔽

submitted 4 days ago • 4 comments

Now we know what Labour's “biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation” amounts to. I was prepared for the worst, but it's actually very positive news. 🏠£39bn grant funding over 10 years 🏠10-year rent settlement for landlords - with rent convergence

submitted 4 days ago • 2 comments

Tonight, we are exploring what the 1975 and 2016 referendums can teach us about ‘How to Win a Referendum on Europe’. We’re delighted to welcome Neil Carmichael, @sarahobolt.bsky.social and @anandmenon.bsky.social to QM, and to revisit @robertsaunders.bsky.social’s brilliant book, ‘Yes to Europe’!

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

This evening, we'll be marking 50 years since the 1975 referendum & 9 years since 2016 by asking "How to win a referendum on Europe" Book your place to join @anandmenon.bsky.social, @sarahobolt.bsky.social, Neil Carmichael and @robertsaunders.bsky.social to explore how referendums are won or lost ⬇️

submitted 5 days ago • 0 comments

World War One advert for Bovril, in which a patriotic cow offers to be boiled down and sent down to France. The beef-extract was consistently marketed as a drink for soldiers. Members of the public were encouraged to send Bovril to the front line to support the forces.

submitted 6 days ago • 12 comments

Discovering that "Superdry" was not a laundrette.

submitted 6 days ago • 2 comments

The thing with Trump is that he doesn’t hide what he’s doing. ‘The bar is what I think it is’ says that constitutional guardrails have been abandoned. In the context of putting troops and marines on the streets, everywhere.

submitted 6 days ago • 13 comments

Watch the slow motion: it appears to me that the officers discuss the photographer and reporter before the one on the end fires on them (it looks to me like he's aiming at the camera, not the reporter, but you decide)

submitted 6 days ago • 1155 comments

Stellar line-up ( @anandmenon.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @profsob.bsky.social @robertsaunders.bsky.social ). On tomorrow. What are you waiting for? Go book! www.qmul.ac.uk/events/upcom...

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

Is the Trump movement fascistic? Some thoughts on how we distinguish the form and substance of fascism, and whether it's the right question at all. ⬇️

submitted 7 days ago • 22 comments

Both big parties need to stop burning out anyone who disagrees with the current leadership. Under FPTP, we need parties to be broad coalitions. If there's no place for liberal conservatives, Corbynites, Tory Remainers or Labour leavers, large swathes of opinion will be locked out of representation

submitted 7 days ago • 7 comments

I posted earlier about a radio 4 headline, but on listening back I can't find it. It's possible I misheard - apologies if so. I have to go out for the morning and don't want to leave something up that might be wrong, so I've deleted. Apologies again.

submitted 7 days ago • 3 comments