David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I’ve been working as a sommelier for 3 months now and one of the most astonishing things some guests do is open ChatGPT in front of me to choose their wine for them, rather than talk to me, a person who has actually TASTED the wine… the mind boggles 040
Reposted by David LawtonSamira Shackle @samirashackle.bsky.social · 25/06/2026I have to say, it's making me feel a little insane hearing commentators say Ed Miliband shouldn't be chancellor because of his "ideological zeal" for Net Zero, in a week where temperatures are so extreme that my kids are being sent home early every day and it's regularly 30 degrees inside my house 722700813
Reposted by David LawtonRoyal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 04/06/2026Ten years on from the Brexit vote: a new @yougov.co.uk poll finds that 77% of the British public have trust in the expertise of historians bit.ly/49I9NV7 It's heartening to hear that so many value, and certainly haven't had enough of, the historian as expert. #Skystorians 1/4 411438
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 16/05/2026Struggled through Ford Maddox Ford's The Good Soldier earlier this year. Not worth your time www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...theguardian.comThe 100 best novels of all timeThe top 100 novels of all time published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. How many have you read? 010
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 11/05/20267 hours into exam invigilation and I’ve plumbed new inner depths of my being. Trying to imagine I’m at one of those silent Buddhist retreats stressed out middle class people go on 020
Reposted by David LawtonColumbia Journalism Review @columjournreview.bsky.social · 27/04/2026Political violence at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, by Jem Bartholomew. www.cjr.org/the_media_to...cjr.orgA reflection of what it is we do.Political violence at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. 022
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 28/04/2026Genuine job interview feedback I've just had after being rejected in the third round: 'you don't seem motivated enough by money' 220
Reposted by David LawtonOlga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 19/04/2026EU: The European Union will require sale of mobile phones with “user-replaceable and longer-lasting batteries” starting in 2027. The regulation demands “availability of spare parts and manuals for 10 years to curb planned obsolescence”. 284103592494
Reposted by David LawtonRobert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 30/01/2026It's six years today since Britain left the EU. I wrote this on Brexit day in 2020, about the strategic dilemmas to which European membership had once been the answer and that would now reopen once Britain left. I'd stand by most of it today. gladstonediaries.blogspot.com/2020/01/brex...gladstonediaries.blogspot.comBrexit in Historical Perspective: The Age of Britain in EuropeWhen the bell tolls at eleven o’clock tonight, ringing out Britain’s membership of the EU, an entire phase of British history will ... 2224489
Reposted by David LawtonNadia Whittome MP @nadiawhittomemp.bsky.social · 15/01/2026I left university in 2019 with £49,600 of debt. A few months later, I became an MP and have since received a salary that puts me in the top 5% in the country. 6 years on, the repayments from my salary have brought this total to down to £48,600 - just £1,000 less. 45609215
Reposted by David LawtonOtto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 28/11/2025I'm very proud of this book: it has a wonderful array of work by many of my favourite historians, which cumulatively makes the pitch for understanding modern British History through the lens of the urban. Lund Humphries have done a wonderful production job, & it is a big beautiful book. Buy it now! 0236
Reposted by David LawtonThe New Yorker @newyorker.com · 18/11/2025Last month, El Fasher, in Sudan’s Darfur region, fell to rebel forces. “The world hasn’t caught up to what a big deal El Fasher is,” a humanitarian researcher at Yale said. “We are talking tens upon tens of thousands of potential dead in five days.” newyorkermag.visitlink.me/ePchw0newyorkermag.visitlink.meRebels Post Videos of Mass Killings in Darfur as the World WatchesAfter the fall of El Fasher to the R.S.F., observers fear for the next target in the war. 23928
Reposted by David LawtonJoël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 04/11/2025Yesterday Nigel Farage argued that the UK has failed to grasp Brexit opportunities to deregulate, which his 'pro-business' government would deliver. I've got a piece in the Independent arguing why that is a misreading both of Brexit history and economics. www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexi... 55442
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 06/11/2025After teaching today one of my students said they'd found a meme which summarised our lesson. I don't know if this is the point I was trying to make about epistemology but it made me laugh 053
Reposted by David LawtonToby Earle 🇺🇦 @tobyontv.bsky.social · 08/10/2025if you’ve ever watched the apprentice, that’s the world without arts or humanities degrees 531974454
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 12/09/2025Had a wonderful time in Albania but rather disappointed they no longer offer a free haircut and shave at the border - I would certainly have been eligible 060
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 27/08/2025From the archive: a letter from Farage to an elderly Enoch Powell asking him to come and give the electorate 'another jog' in 1994 073
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 26/08/2025After finishing the latest Adam Curtis, I'm convinced it would be improved with all captions and narration removed, leaving the viewer with a pure stream of clips between which we are left to free-associate the historical meaning 110
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 25/08/2025Exactly. Brexit may have been sold as anti-elitist, but it was always the result of a very particular elite project. An ‘elite populism’ runs through the history of Euroscepticism in which manifestly elite figures mobilise ‘the people’ against a malign and illegitimate pro-European establishment. 100
Reposted by David LawtonHolly Smith @holsmith.bsky.social · 28/07/2025You can get 25% off my book UP IN THE AIR: A HISTORY OF HIGH-RISE BRITAIN at Waterstones, with the code SUMMER25 until Thursday 31 #WPreorder 01212
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 25/07/2025Last week, I passed my PhD viva with no corrections. I’m so grateful to everyone who supported me during this research. If you are interested in reading my take on the transformation of conservative attitudes to European integration after 1975 please feel free to DM me. Now for some rest! 😮💨 7342
Reposted by David LawtonLiesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 24/06/2025OMG, the @ihr.bsky.social has uploaded a bunch of old interviews with historians on their youtube channel and I'm now deeply invested. Summer treat for #SkyStorians! Look at this interview with E.P. Thompson by an embryonic Penelope Corfield!youtube.comINTERVIEWS WITH HISTORIANS - E. P. THOMPSONYouTube video by Institute of Historical Research 414159
Reposted by David LawtonColm Murphy @colmpm.bsky.social · 22/05/2025I'm thrilled to have been published in Past & Present. Diving into the fractious politics of rich-country macroeconomics after 1973, I use the neglected case of protectionist Keynesians to rethink what happened, and why. I highlight statecraft, geopolitics, and Maier's 'territoriality'. (1/2) 812938
Reposted by David LawtonLiesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 02/05/2025Final round table on the purpose of British history writing in today’s political, cultural, and higher education landscape #QMCBS 2261
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 05/04/2025Historians of bsky!! the lineup for this conference looks fantastic with 24 brilliant panels of experts running over two days. Register here 📌 1146
Reposted by David LawtonRobert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 05/04/2025There is an excellent article by @davidlawton.bsky.social on William Rees-Mogg's attempt to judicially review the Maastricht Treaty, challenging the right of the executive to do this without Parliament. (Quite a contrast to his son in 2016-19...) journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....journals.sagepub.comSage Journals: Discover world-class researchSubscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher. 022
Reposted by David LawtonOlivia Wyatt @oliviawyatt1999.bsky.social · 03/03/2025From the creation of lectureships to the closure of programmes, the last five years represent a tumultuous period within the study of #BlackBritishHistory Join us for a roundtable: Black British History in 2025 🗓️ 6th March ⏰ 17:30 📍 IHR Wolfson Room NB01 www.history.ac.uk/events/black... 0137
Reposted by David LawtonQMCBS @qmcbs.bsky.social · 28/02/2025Just putting finishing touches to British History Today programme at Queen Mary, 1-2 May. Thanks to all who submitted. And apologies to all those we couldn’t fit in. Details should appear soon at: projects.history.qmul.ac.uk/qmcbs/projects.history.qmul.ac.ukQueen Mary Centre for British Studies 1158
Reposted by David LawtonQMCBS @qmcbs.bsky.social · 06/02/2025Thanks to all who submitted proposals for British History Today: projects.history.qmul.ac.uk/qmcbs/. We have been overwhelmed with panel and paper suggestions. You should hear back from us in the next day or twoprojects.history.qmul.ac.ukQueen Mary Centre for British Studies 194
Reposted by David LawtonQMCBS @qmcbs.bsky.social · 14/01/2025A quick reminder that the deadline for panel and paper proposals for our conference, British History Today, is in 10 days time! Please send to qmcbs@qmul.ac.uk. 11415
Reposted by David LawtonJulia Laite @julialaite.bsky.social · 19/12/2024'I can't make money without breaking the law and therefore you should let me break the law' is one helluva flex. futurism.com/the-byte/ope...futurism.comOpenAI Pleads That It Can’t Make Money Without Using Copyrighted Materials for FreeOpenAI is begging Parliament to allow it to use copyrighted works because it's "impossible" for the company to make money without them. 441045388
Reposted by David LawtonEd Newton-Rex @ednewtonrex.bsky.social · 17/12/2024Today, the UK government announced a proposal to change copyright law - for the benefit of AI companies - that would cause huge, irreversible harm to creators. More info below, but most importantly here's what you can do (wherever you live): 1. Email your MP. Template letter in 🧵 👇 1/10 17353484103
Reposted by David LawtonQMCBS @qmcbs.bsky.social · 17/12/2024More detail will appear at projects.history.qmul.ac.uk/qmcbs/. Opening plenary is on ‘Writing the history of Britain today’. Thrilled to have Alana Harris, Sarah Crook, Miles Taylor and Mike Braddick participating. @dralanagharris.bsky.social @sarahcrook.bsky.socialprojects.history.qmul.ac.ukQueen Mary Centre for British Studies 065
Reposted by David LawtonQMCBS @qmcbs.bsky.social · 17/12/2024Plenary on the evening of 1 May is Julia Laite, ‘British History from the Middle of Nowhere’ and hosted jointly with Raphael Samuel History Centre @julialaite.bsky.social @rshc.bsky.social 053
Reposted by David LawtonQMCBS @qmcbs.bsky.social · 17/12/2024Closing plenary on 2 May on the future of British History is sponsored by Mile End Institute. Line up includes: Charlotte Riley; Rob Saunders; Ria Kapoor; Kennetta Hammond Perry @lottelydia.bsky.social @robertsaunders.bsky.social @riakapoor.bsky.social @kennettaperry.bsky.social 0137
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 12/12/2024Hmm I think this polling suggests a continued lack of public understanding on what the single market actually is, rather than a reduction of 'Euroscepticism'. When polled, most want single market access, but do not accept the supremacy of the ECJ, an absolute prerequisite to membership 020
David Lawton @davidlawton.bsky.social · 29/11/2024Historians of bsky... I'm looking forward to helping put together this exciting new conference at the new Queen Mary Centre for British Studies. Call for papers deadline is 24th January! ⌛ 12826
