iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Alfie Steer

The Georgian Lords @georgianlords.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#OnThisDay 1745 Charles Edward Stuart's Jacobite forces humiliated the government troops led by General Cope at Prestonpans in an action lasting less than 5 minutes. The defeat shocked the government into reassessing the seriousness of the new threat. historyofparliament.com/2020/09/03/b...

historyofparliament.com

All over in 4 ½ minutes? The battle of Prestonpans, 21 September 1745 - The History of Parliament

In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Dr Robin Eagles considers some of the Members of Parliament involved in the battle of Prestonpans along with some

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The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 18/09/2026

Carlo Ginzburg’s 1979 book “The Cheese and the Worms” compiles the testimony of a sixteenth-century miller and amateur theologian accused of heresy by the Inquisition. As @emmaclairefoley.bsky.social writes, it reconfigured our idea of what gets to be historical.

thebaffler.com

Carlo Ginzburg, 1939–2026 | Emma Claire Foley

Carlo Ginzburg’s work centered and subverted the very idea of insignificance.

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Just finished a fascinating first interview with David Alton, former Liberal MP for Liverpool Edge Hill/Mossley Hill 1979-97, on behalf of the @histparl.bsky.social Oral History Project. Topics included Catholic social teaching, Liverpool housing policy and Liberal community politics in the 1970s.

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

'People started going through my dustbins, looking for scandal.' Martin Bell captures the media attention on his election battle in Tatton during the 1997 General Election. Our oral history project now includes interviews with both candidates. Dr Emma Peplow tells their stories of this election.

historyofparliament.com

Hamilton versus Bell, Tatton, 1997

One of the highlights of the 1997 general election was the contest in Tatton. The Conservative Neil Hamilton, then under a cloud of corruption allegations,

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Enjoying NLR referring to the new PM as 'Andrew Burnham'.

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Dr Kathryn Rix @kathrynrix.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Very interesting read from my brilliant colleague @emmapeplow.bsky.social.

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Emma Peplow @emmapeplow.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

It's brilliant to have been able to draw on both perspectives of the 1997 Tatton election from our archive, two great interviews (and loads of fun to write)

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Our project is SO lucky to have interviews with both Martin Bell and Neil Hamilton in our archive. For the first time we've been able to draw on the candid memories of both to retell the story of the Battle for Tatton, one of the most iconic election contests in modern British political history.

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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Look, put simply, people should not be comfortable saying that in public and the way to fix society runs directly through making them afraid to say it again.

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Please do check out this excellent volume, not only for my contribution on the SLP, but also @racheljcollett.bsky.social on the Merseyside Women's Liberation Movement, @owenjdowling.bsky.social on the Chile Solidarity campaign and many more!

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Very pleased to see my work cited in this fantastic piece on Your Party's first year of troubled existence. Unfortuantely for its supporters, there are a lot of similarities with the problems I described in Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party in the 1990s.

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

🚨New Substack🚨 It is currently the Summer Recess for both Houses of Parliament, allowing MPs, Peers and parliamentary staff the opportunity to take some time off. @jhdavey.bsky.social has explored its long history and how MPs have historically enjoyed their time away from Westminster. ☀️🌴

historyofparliament.substack.com

Summer Recess

It is the Summer Recess for both Houses of Parliament, allowing MPs, Peers and parliamentary staff the opportunity to take some time off.

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Rachel Collett @racheljcollett.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Two historians move house… @alfiesteer.bsky.social pictured putting up his Tony Benn biographies pride of place

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Bexhill Museum @bexhillmuseum.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

"Morris dancing on the terrace." Bexhill Observer 25.7.1964. #dlwp #Bexhill #Sussex #History #1960s

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Spending my evening working on the introduction of a very exciting special issue on the legacies of the classic feminist text 'Beyond the Fragments', based on papers from a conference @racheljcollett.bsky.social and I organised over two years ago ! Promise its worth the wait. Find out more here:

sslh.org.uk

Beyond the Fragments: 45 Years On

Earlier this year, a one-day conference was held to mark 45 years since the publication of the seminal socialist-feminist text, Beyond the Fragments: Feminism and the Making of Socialism. Co-author…

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Think the business rates cut is a good move. Defending high streets and small businesses that are important to communities should central to a common sense social democracy. Some similarities with Ken Livingstone's prudent political economy from the late 80s, albeit also focused on defence cuts. 👇

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Ewan Gibbs @ewangibbs.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Struggling to square Burnham’s lofty promises of a new age of social democracy with his concrete actions of appointing a chancellor who resigned as defence secretary after advocating spending cuts to spend more on the military.

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Burnham's frequent emphasis on returning the Labour Party to its more authentic essence is very very similar to the rhetorical strategy deployed by the Labour left against Blair and New Labour in the 1990s and 2000s. Its a funny legacy. I wrote about it a lot in my PhD thesis, and here:

tandfonline.com

‘Keep the party Labour’: the Grassroots Alliance and activist opposition to New Labour, 1994-2007

In October 1998, Tony Blair suffered an embarrassing electoral defeat when four activists from the Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance (CLGA) were elected to the Labour Party’s National Executive Commi...

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

does anyone have a copy of Andrew Murray's "The Fall and Rise of the British Left" to hand and wouldn't mind helping me find a citation?

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Ewan Gibbs @ewangibbs.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

David Runciman’s interview with historian Robert Saunders was much better. A decade of Brexit should be being taken more seriously by the national broadcaster though. It’s an important monument when historical narratives are forming.

open.spotify.com

Now & Then with Robert Saunders: The Brexit Referendum 10 Years On

Past Present Future · Episode

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

One of the lessons of the last two years is that Labour urgently needs to stop being afraid of its own shadow. Burnham should appoint whoever he thinks would be the best Chancellor and throw his authority behind them. The Daily Mail will try to kill them anyway. So just govern.

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Victorian Commons @victoriancommons.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Many congratulations to our @histparl.bsky.social colleague Dr Alfie Steer!

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Delighted to say that I passed my PhD viva yesterday with no corrections! Somehow survived the heat as well.

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Mic Wright @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

You are creating that debate. There is no debate. There is a far right talking point and a media willing to traffic it into the mainstream.

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

We are very sad to hear that Michael Meadowcroft, Liberal MP for Leeds West (1983-1987) has died. Michael was an influential thinker and famously opposed the merger with the SDP. In an interview for our Oral History project, he described his libertarian philosophy and independent personality. 👇

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James Butler @piercepenniless.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Mandelson's political advice amounting to 'You should Win instead of Not Winning' confirms my earlier impression of a mind completely overtaken by political banalities, and a talent entirely degraded through admiration of wealth. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

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Victorian Commons @victoriancommons.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Upcoming radio appearance from our @histparl.bsky.social colleague...

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

I shall be likely yapping about Tony Benn’s diaries do tune in!

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Katherine Arnold @arnoldke.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Very pleased to share my new article on the legal case surrounding Welwitsch's Angolan botanical collections, part of the @collecol.bsky.social issue in @Endeavour (edited by the lovely @dominikhhh.bsky.social & @nickytheprof.bsky.social) ✨ #envhist Available open access! doi.org/10.1016/j.en...

Portrait of Friedrich Welwitsch (1806-72), from Wikipedia.

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

In May 1820, five men were hanged for their involvement in the Cato Street Conspiracy. Earlier this month our Public Engagement Assistant @AlfieSteer went on location to explore the plot that planned to assassinate the Prime Minister and his entire cabinet.

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a rare photo of sean connery signed by roger moore @steamedhamms.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

will feel like a gotcha but actually i think an interesting point re: the idea of what matters is what works vs ideology: would be keen to know the last time blair had an opinion that surprised you

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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

The right wing content isn’t the notable thing, it’s the crudity of the ‘analysis’ and arguments for getting there. Too much time spent in the private jets of billionaires rots the brain. As the Epstein files showed their private political takes make tabloid headlines sound nuanced.

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Jack Saundrs @jacksaundrs.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

As a historian I read nuanced stuff about Tony Blair and his governments, the intellectual underpinnings, getting away from cliches about neoliberalism etc., but, what if, hear me out, he was just a reactionary right-wing bastard doing the maximum amount of reactionary shit he could in the context?

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Section 28 is today considered one of the most controversial pieces of legislation in modern British history. To mark the anniversary of its introduction, @alfiesteer.bsky.social has delved into oral history archive to explore MPs' memories of it, and the wider struggle for gay rights in Britain.

historyofparliament.com

Section 28: Memories from the Oral History Archive - The History of Parliament

Section 28 of the Local Government Act, 1988, was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation in Britain at the end of the twentieth century. To mark

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Alfie Steer @alfiesteer.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Really enjoyed writing this. HPT’s oral history archive is an extraordinary source. Read on for Jill Knight’s typical outrageousness, David Sumberg’s bitter regrets, and Robert Hayward’s claim that you might as well have held London Tory Party meetings in gay bars in the 1980s!

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Dr Kathryn Rix @kathrynrix.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

My piece here on makeshift arrangements for the prorogations which took place after the Oct 1834 fire at Westminster. Featuring lost wigs, the Lord Chancellor finding his way through the still smouldering ruins of the old Palace and a chair borrowed from St James's Palace being used as the throne.

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Katrina Navickas @katrinanavickas.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

The erasure of social from postwar housing

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Ceri Houlbrook @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Why would we want to learn from our pasts, or ponder the power of the written and spoken word, or explore the deep questions of humanity? According to the University of Hertfordshire, we wouldn't. They've just cut all of our undergrad Humanities programmes

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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

twenty years ago people attacked universities by deriding “Mickey Mouse degrees” like media studies in favour of “proper” subjects like history, and now universities are skipping that step and simply abolishing everything that isn’t economics

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

In case you missed yesterday's post, read @alfiesteer.bsky.social's exploration of the 1926 General Strike on our website:

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North West Labour History Society @nwlh.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

On this day in 1926 Winston Churchill said in Parliament that 'either Parliamentary institutions would emerge triumphant or it would inevitably lead to some kind of Soviet trade union, whether with parliamentary forms or otherwise.'

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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 05/05/2026

"Many environmental organisations in Britain in the 1980s and 1990s were sponsored by companies, including oil companies." Paul Merchant uses oral history to examine the links between corporate sponsorship and environmental activism in 1980s and 1990s Britain.

historyworkshop.org.uk

Pond Dipping in the Anthropocene

Paul Merchant uses oral history to examine the links between corporate sponsorship and environmental activism in 1980s and 1990s Britain.

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Victorian Commons @victoriancommons.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

A great read from our colleague @alfiesteer.bsky.social

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