Jon Parry
@jonparryhis.bsky.social
Retired university History teacher. Modern British politics. Short history of British Liberalism published by Agenda April 2025. Occasional LRB reviewer. Part-time resident and unofficial chronicler of Sark.
I’ve written in the @lrb.co.uk about James Bryce, very carefully brought to life by @stuartjones.bsky.social. Bryce managed to balance academia and politics better than anyone could today. His thirst for prizes seems endearingly quaint, but the decline of the cursus honorum has had its downsides
There is something that I think multiple successive prime ministers over the last decade or so have failed to grasp and to respond to: that the way backbench MPs see their role has shifted.
Americans: we live in a fallen state—embroiled by sin, cheating, lying, and evil. You cannot trust anyone, not even those who claim to know you best Canadians: I love my neighbors and my friends!
Without a clearer sense of direction, Labour's doomed. So, by far the best thing that these two could do now would be to stop worrying about how best to become PM if and when Starmer eventually goes and instead think really, really hard about what they would do were they chosen to replace him.
Just had a fabulous talk with John Sipher, one of the most experienced CIA officers of his generation. We went into the Epstein files, what they say about Epstein and Russian intelligence, how Epstein kompromat might work to influence Trump… substack.com/@phillipspob...
Live with Phillips P. OBrien and John Sipher
A recording from Phillips P. OBrien's live video
substack.com
‘Charles Townshend compared the Sudanese response to the Spartans’ heroics against the Persians: “No troops in the world could have lived under that fire. No Europeans would have faced it.”’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on the British army in Egypt and Sudan: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jonathan Parry · Every Mother’s Son: Britain in Sudan
lrb.co.uk
‘The single-minded slaughter was mixed with admiration for the extraordinary courage of the enemy troops, who invariably faced the British onslaught without flinching.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on the British army in Egypt and Sudan in the late 19th century: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jonathan Parry · Every Mother’s Son: Britain in Sudan
lrb.co.uk
Also in this issue: Colin Burrow on satire Jon Day on rat sociology Becca Rothfeld on Tony Tulathimutte’s anti-autofiction Ange Mlinko reviews Michelle de Kretser's 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 Stephen Buryani on proteins gone rogue @jonparryhis.bsky.social on Britain in Sudan David Trotter on golf ...
Excellent opportunity for the right 19th-century political historian here
Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · last yr.Of interest to historians. Full time, permanent, £33,000 to £37,000, at Kew. 'The National Archives is looking for two Records Specialist to join our Collections Expertise & Engagement department, where we use our expert knowledge to inspire audiences and make them differently about archives.'
Mark Pack was kind enough to give me some time to discuss my take on British Liberalism in his monthly podcast:
Liberalism: a great new book focusing on what politicians do
Jonathan Parry's book, Liberalism, explores the history of liberalism as a political idea in Britain. He came on my podcast to discuss it.
markpack.org.uk
“Jonathan Parry is uniquely qualified to write the history of Liberalism in Britain... a pithy, original, and trenchant analysis.” Anthony Howe on 'Liberalism' by @jonparryhis.bsky.social, - the latest in our Short Histories series. agendapub.com/page/series-... @libhistorytoday.bsky.social
I fear that Labour is falling into the same trap that the Tories did – leaning on hostile rhetoric around immigration and damaging our public services and our economy in the process. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Keir Starmer promises migration drop as he unveils plans for 'tighter' visa rules
Plans to ban the recruitment of care workers from overseas are among efforts to curb near record net migration.
bbc.co.uk
Canada's new PM, Mark Carney, is pivoting from U.S. dependence to European partnerships. Facing U.S. tariffs and annexation threats, Canada seeks deeper ties with Europe on trade, energy, and Arctic security.
Questions of sovereignty: Canada’s relations with Europe after the general election
Europeans should begin seeking new opportunities to work with Canada under Mark Carney…
bit.ly
This is also important for its electoral system effects - being either the incumbent or the best place local opponents makes it easier to win tactical supports. Reform being in second place wherever they don't win poses an existential threat to the Conservatives down the line
Luke Tryl@luketryl.bsky.social · last yr.We know Reform are winning lots of seats, but look at this under the bonnet - they dominate 2nd places too - in wards Labour, Tories, Lib Dems & Greens won Reform was most likely to have come 2nd in all of them. Thinking today *must* be a high water mark for Reform is a mistake as more ground to go
Another way of looking at that deadly pincer movement facing the Conservatives - look at how they get squashed between Reform and the Lib Dems in Devon on this chart.
Luke Tryl@luketryl.bsky.social · last yr.Look at that pincer movement in Devon, the Conservative's controlled this council before and are now being eaten by the Liberal Democrats to the centre and Reform to their 'right', what's the platform that wins them both back?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I wonder whether anyone in the Conservative leadership had the foresight to see in 2015 that the Osborne boast of ‘decapitating’ the Lib Dems rather than fighting in constructive alliance with them would in fact end up decapitating the Conservative Party
‘As great powers Russia and Britain had very few clashing interests. Though both wanted to expand, they could do so for many thousands of miles across Asia without interfering with each other.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on Russia and England in the 19th century: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jonathan Parry · Dancing the Mazurka: Anglo-Russian Relations
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and Russia did not seek to divide the world between them and very rarely pointed...
lrb.co.uk
I’ve written something for Lib Dems about getting the balance right between ethical ideals & political campaigning. I argue there is a coherent Liberalism which is also politically savvy. And that a lot of Liberal history sets out how to do it. And, as it happens, I’ve just written the book on it!
Political Liberalism
How do we apply Liberalism in day-to-day politics? A thoughtful new book, When We Speak of Freedom, edited by Paul Hindley and Benjamin Wood, deserves more discussion here. The subtitle is ‘Radical L...
libdemvoice.org
There’s a very good book to be written on that topic by someone
The Pub-Liking Universal Friend@johnb78.bsky.social · last yr.It's impressively confusing that two large Commonwealth countries are having elections in the same week where the Liberals are one of the two contenders, but in Canada they're the centre-left party who're expected to win and in Australia they're the centre-right party who are expected to lose
‘In 1836, John Stuart Mill claimed that the government had become “smitten with Russophobia”, an irrational panic that had triggered an unnecessary increase in defence spending. “Russophobia” has never quite left British public debate since.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jonathan Parry · Dancing the Mazurka: Anglo-Russian Relations
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and Russia did not seek to divide the world between them and very rarely pointed...
lrb.co.uk
‘The press peddled excited theories about Russia’s ambitions for world domination, which Disraeli happily indulged in order to show that in his genius he could stop its armies reaching even the Mediterranean.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on the origins of ‘Russophobia’: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jonathan Parry · Dancing the Mazurka: Anglo-Russian Relations
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and Russia did not seek to divide the world between them and very rarely pointed...
lrb.co.uk
‘The history of Anglo-Russian relations is interesting not just in itself but because, when tensions have arisen, they have usually been prompted less by British or Russian behaviour than by extraneous factors.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on England’s ‘Russophobia’: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jonathan Parry · Dancing the Mazurka: Anglo-Russian Relations
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and Russia did not seek to divide the world between them and very rarely pointed...
lrb.co.uk
Calling all Disraeli fans 📢📢 Our new edited volume is out now, Open Access! Ft. essays by @jonparryhis.bsky.social @davidjeffery.bsky.social, Peter Ghosh, Freya Johnson, Alex Middleton and many, many more. Please share! journals.openedition.org/cve/15440
101 Printemps | 2025 Benjamin Disraeli (1804‒1881): His Lives and ...
Les articles réunis dans ce volume sont issus du colloque de la SFEVE sur « Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) : His Lives and Afterlives » organisé les 25 et 26 janvier 2024 par Catherine Marshall, en...
journals.openedition.org
I wrote something about Disraeli’s sociological vision, as worked out in his late novels: journals.openedition.org/cve/15795
Disraeli’s Late Novels and Tory Political Sociology
Disraeli’s novels abound in social commentary and historical generalisations. As a result, historians have long mined them in the hope of understanding his personal political philosophy. Specific b...
journals.openedition.org
‘For the last two hundred years, Western fears about Russia have ultimately stemmed from politics more than geopolitics: from liberal distrust of the unpredictability and violence of absolutism.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on Russia and England in the 19th century: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jonathan Parry · Dancing the Mazurka: Anglo-Russian Relations
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and Russia did not seek to divide the world between them and very rarely pointed...
lrb.co.uk
‘As great powers Russia and Britain had very few clashing interests. Though both wanted to expand, they could do so for many thousands of miles across Asia without interfering with each other.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on Russia and England in the 19th century: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jonathan Parry · Dancing the Mazurka: Anglo-Russian Relations
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and Russia did not seek to divide the world between them and very rarely pointed...
lrb.co.uk
‘In 1836, John Stuart Mill claimed that the government had become “smitten with Russophobia”, an irrational panic that had triggered an unnecessary increase in defence spending. “Russophobia” has never quite left British public debate since.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jonathan Parry · Dancing the Mazurka: Anglo-Russian Relations
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and Russia did not seek to divide the world between them and very rarely pointed...
lrb.co.uk
I’ve written something for @libdemvoice.org about how the present crisis might allow Lib Dems and other liberal-minded people to rally a coalition of supporters against Trump/Farage populism and connect with the party’s history: www.libdemvoice.org/is-this-a-li...
Is this a Liberal moment?
Can the election of Donald Trump be a major opportunity for Liberal Democrats? Quite possibly, though the jury is still out. In fact I’ve just written a short history of British Liberalism which ends ...
libdemvoice.org
