🚨 NEW PODCAST: Coronations & Defenestrations: Choosing (and losing) Tory Leaders In the latest edition of our podcast Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard interviews me about my new book on the Tory leadership. We explore how the Conservative Party has picked – and ditched - its leaders. 1/4

It’s here! @leedavidevansuk.bsky.social’s book on the most efficient users of the political guillotine. As the Tories settle down to a period of consistent leadership after the tumult of Cameron to Sunak (move over French Revolution!) I’m looking forward to getting into this. #histbookchat

🚨 NEW PODCAST: New Labour, New Britain? Almost twenty years after Tony Blair left Downing Street, how should we judge the record of New Labour? In our latest 'Since Attlee & Churchill' podcast, Richard and I are joined by @gsoh31.bsky.social to discuss his book, 'New Labour, New Britain?' 1/2

‘Burnham’s coronation comes with a catch.’ @leedavidevansuk.bsky.social on Andy Burnham’s path to become Leader of the Labour Party & the United Kingdom’s next Prime Minister. Via @capx.co. #UnitedKingdom capx.co/burnhams-cor...

Burnham’s coronation comes with a catch

No leadership contest means no debate about what comes next for Labour

capx.co

Spotted in the wild! - at Blackwell's Bookshops, Oxford.

🎉 It's publication day +1! I missed posting about it here yesterday, but my book - Coronations & Defenestrations: Choosing (and Losing) Tory Leaders - is now published with @agendapub.bsky.social and @edinburghup.bsky.social. If you'd like to give it a read, you can find it... 1/2

🚨 NEW PODCAST: The Brexit Referendum Richard and I have reached the finale of our miniseries on Cameron’s referendums. In this episode, we discuss why Cameron promised to hold a referendum... ... the circumstances in which he made good on that pledge...

‘It is hard to imagine Starmer being a boisterous ex-PM. After all, what ideas would he advocate for? If anybody knew - if he knew - then he may not have just resigned as prime minister.’ I’ve written for @unherd.com on what Keir Starmer might do next. unherd.com/newsroom/wil...

Will Keir Starmer become the secretary general of the UN?

In 2023, Emily Maitlis asked Keir Starmer the question that revealed more about his failed premiership than any other: which does he prefer, Davos or Westminster? For most politicians, the choice betw...

unherd.com

Well, I'm glad I haven't just written a history of Labour leadership contests... I'm hoping this Tory version will be 'up to date' for some time yet!

Lee David Evans@leedavidevansuk.bsky.social · 2mo ago

An exciting moment: the first copies of my book, ‘Coronations & Defenestrations’, arrived today! It’s the story of how the Conservatives have picked (and ditched) their leaders throughout history, to be published by @agendapub.bsky.social (@edinburghup.bsky.social) at the end of this month.

The formal party mechanisms for triggering a leadership contest have never yet brought down a prime minister ... but nor do prime ministers go by choice. Most voluntary resignations are involuntary" Harold Wilson’s departure half a century ago in 1976 is the last truly voluntary resignation

An exciting moment: the first copies of my book, ‘Coronations & Defenestrations’, arrived today! It’s the story of how the Conservatives have picked (and ditched) their leaders throughout history, to be published by @agendapub.bsky.social (@edinburghup.bsky.social) at the end of this month.

Such an honour to be at the installation service for the Order of the Garter yesterday, and to see the incomparable Peter Hennessy join their ranks.

Richard and I are starting a new miniseries on our podcast, 'Since Attlee & Churchill', all about David Cameron's Referendums. The first episode - on the AV referendum - is available now for members of our Patreon. 👇 patreon.com/SinceAttleeA...

Cameron’s Referendums Ep 1 of 3: The Alternative Vote | Since Attlee & Churchill

Early release for Since Attlee & Churchill Members... Lee and Richard are kicking off a new miniseries looking at the three major referendum

patreon.com

If you've never been, do look out for the open days at Highbury Hall, the former home of Joseph Chamberlain, in Birmingham. The team there - Chamberlain Highbury Trust - are doing a great job restoring the house and bringing the history of the Chamberlains to life. Well worth a visit!

I was delighted to speak at the @mcrhistories.bsky.social festival over the weekend. It was great to discuss the lives of four overlooked politicians with Manchester connections - and to do so at a festival that does so much to bring local history to life. Thanks to everyone who came along!

1983: Tony Benn defeated in Bristol East When Benn says nothing but the defeat of the people of Bristol would ever have induced him to leave, he was surely hinting that, now defeated, he would look elsewhere for a constituency. The following year he stood in Chesterfield.

Delighted to see the latest episode of Since Attlee & Churchill mentioned in Politico. Richard and I discuss a former Labour MP's attempt to return to the House of Commons - not in 2026, but in 1984, when Tony Benn fought the Chesterfield by-election. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

🚨NEW PODCAST: Is Makerfield the new Chesterfield? In the latest Since Attlee & Churchill, @richardmarcj and I discuss a former Labour MP's attempt to return to Parliament in a by-election. But the candidate isn't Andy Burnham - it's Tony Benn, in Chesterfield, in 1984. 1/2

On our podcast, Since Attlee & Churchill, Richard and I have been looking at three of the most dramatic strikes of the last century. It's a story of changing trade union power; competent and inept governments; and the collapse of the coal-mining industry. 🧵A mini thread.

Richard and I are delighted to be taking 'Since Attlee & Churchill' to @mcrhistories.bsky.social. We'll be there on 6th June, in Manchester Central Library, speaking about Manchester's underlooked political figures. Tickets are free and can be booked at: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mhf-2026-f...

Just spotted that you are the #1 'hot new release' for political leadership books on amazon - congratulations! (though annoyingly they are still displaying an old version of the cover) www.amazon.co.uk/gp/new-relea...

I'm pleased to say my book on the Tory leadership, 'Coronations & Defenestrations', will be out next month with @agendapub.bsky.social (part of @edinburghup.bsky.social). It looks back to when leaders simply emerged and charts the path to the flurry of leaders the party has endured in recent years.

🚨 NEW PODCAST: The General Strike (Part 2) In our second episode on the General Strike, Richard and I pick up the story after the strike got underway and debate the role of Stanley Baldwin, the terms of the 'surrender' and the long-term consequences of the strike. 1/2

Pleased to write for @telegraph.co.uk on Labour's battering in Wales - a once-in-a-century rupture between the Labour Party and what was one of its most steadfast heartlands. Available here. 👇 www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05...

One of the recurring themes of leadership challenges is the difference between technical survival and retaining the authority to govern. For anything more than a few months’ reprieve, it’s the latter that really matters. And Keir Starmer is clearly losing it.

‘An almost forgotten character walked back onto the stage of British politics this weekend. After decades in the wilderness, the “stalking horse” was revived by Labour MP Catherine West…’ I’ve written for @unherd.com on the remarkable return of the stalking horse.👇🏻 unherd.com/newsroom/wil...

Will the stalking horse bring down Starmer?

An almost forgotten character walked back onto the stage of British politics this weekend. After decades in the wilderness, the “stalking horse” — previously a star of Tory leadership dramas — was rev...

unherd.com

🚨NEW PODCAST: The General Strike (Part 1) Richard and I kick off a new miniseries on strikes by looking back 100 years to the only General Strike in British history (so far). When a slump in the profitability of coal met with the demands of the mineworkers, few could see a peaceful way out. 1/4

The interpretation of these results for the Conservatives depends almost entirely on if you’re comparing with 2021/22 (effectively pre-Reform) or 2025. Obviously these are worse for the Tories than before the right was split. But they’re much better than the 2025 results.

As we learn more about how the country has voted, I’ve put the results so far into some historical context over on @capx.co. Free to read here. 👇 capx.co/the-old-poli...

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Welcome to the age of five-party politics

capx.co