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Francis Beckett

@francisbeckett.bsky.social
88 followers 38 following 66 posts

Author, journalist, playwright, socialist

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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
"I cannot believe that our national productivity is so slow, that our willingness to work is so feeble or that we can submit to the world that the masses of our people must be condemned to penury." - Clem Attlee in 1946.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
"It really means that the sum total of the goods produced and the services rendered by the people of this country is not sufficient to provide for all our people at all times, in sickness, in health, in youth and in age, the very modest standard of life set out in this Bill."
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Clem Attlee in 1946. "The question is asked - can we afford it? Supposing the answer is 'No', what does that mean?" m/f
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
126 years ago, the trade unions founded the Labour Party. But it looks as though they've had enough of it. The consequences could be catastrophic. My latest piece in The New World. www.thenewworld.co.uk/francis-beck...
thenewworld.co.uk
Will Reform take the unions off Labour?
Labour and unions have been drifting apart since the 1930s, and the Green party is pushing to gain union backing. But breaking Labour’s link with the unions could have terrible unintended consequences
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Be fair to Blair. He has acceptable and coherent political opinions, and he has held them consistently most of his life. They are so mainstream that there is a major political party created to advocate them. It's called the Conservative Party, and it is probably time he joined it.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
The 1986 battle between the unions and News International, turned into a fairy tale for a new generation: my review of In The Print for London Pub Theatres Magazine: www.londonpubtheatres.com/in-the-print...
londonpubtheatres.com
IN THE PRINT at King’s Head Theatre until 3 May 2026
All you need to know about London Pub Theatres: What's On, Reviews, Theatre Profiles, Interviews, Articles, News, Theatre Online, Theatre Awards and Opportunites
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
The new Peaky Blinders film, set in 1940, has a British Nazi called John Beckett. In 1940 my father, John Beckett, was a British Nazi. But the two John Becketts bear no resemblance to each other. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Peaky Blinders film is pandering to these populist times – I should know, the Nazi in it is my father | Francis Beckett
The film-makers would say they’re making drama, not history. But this is not the moment for yet another second world war film with a heroic myth, says author Francis Beckett
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
There are still a few seats for the third run of Tom Lehrer is Teaching Math and Doesn't Want to Talk to You. It's at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate Village, 25 March to 12 April. Tickets from www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com.
upstairsatthegatehouse.com
Upstairs at the Gatehouse – Award Winning London Theatre
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
I see Reform wants us to bomb Iran. Odd that the people keenest to bomb the homes of folk living in faraway places are always the first to slam the doors on them when they try to come here so as to escape from our bombs.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I used to run Labour Party media relations for bye-elections, and I know what it means when the leader starts shouting scare stories like "the Greens will sell drugs in your children's playgrounds." It means they think the Greens are going to win.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Our public services aren’t for a secretive profit-hungry US tech firm. Sign the petition to tell the Government to scrap all contracts with secretive US tech firm Palantir. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...
you.38degrees.org.uk
Stop Palantir taking over our public services!
Our public services aren’t for a secretive profit-hungry US tech firm. Sign the petition to tell the Government to scrap all contracts with secretive US tech firm Palantir.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Gerry Gable, and what the fascists did next: my piece in The New World. www.thenewworld.co.uk/francis-beck...
thenewworld.co.uk
The man who hunted fascists
Gerry Gable, the dedicated, controversial founder of Searchlight magazine, had infiltrators and spies on his books in an intelligence war against racism
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Another chance to see... M.E.G.A. has transferred to the OSO Arts Centre in Barnes, 15-18 January, under a new name: It Couldn't Happen Here. Why the new name? Because at the rate we are going, the old one no longer felt ironic. That's why.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
This is right. Peter Hennessy's good chaps have been replaced by would-be dictators and without a written constitution, we have no protection against them.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Great review by Keith Hatch for the Unite paper of my play It Couldn't Happen Here which now moves to the OSO Arts Centre, Barnes, 15-18 January.
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Reposted by Francis Beckett
aldtu.bsky.social @aldtu.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Wake up call! Play highlights the dangers of sliding towards dictatorship buff.ly/kAdI712 Could it happen here, and now? You bet it could. Our unwritten constitution makes us more vulnerable than the US @francisbeckett.bsky.social @marisharay.bsky.social @tuc.org.uk @maxwilkinson.bsky.social
buff.ly
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
How will British democracy die? My new play It Couldn't Happen Here is at OSO Arts Centre, Barnes, 15-18 January. Tickets here: osoarts.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
osoarts.ticketsolve.com
Ticketbooth
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
This week Make England Great Again - my comedy about the election victory of the Britons First Party - returns to Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate Village, from Tuesday 14th to Sunday 19th. Tickets from www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com , phone 020 8340 3488, or in person at the box office.
upstairsatthegatehouse.com
Upstairs at the Gatehouse – Award Winning London Theatre
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
I'm not a fan of Owen Jones, but preventing a journalist from covering the governing party's conference because you don't like his questions is a very slippery slope indeed.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Yes, I do not think anyone has summed up more clearly what has happened. It is a great tragedy.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
What a right wing authoritarian government could look like...my piece in the Morning Star. morningstaronline.co.uk/article/maki...
morningstaronline.co.uk
Making England great again
THE Prime Minister loses the election. When he arrives at Buckingham Palace, King Charles III assumes he will do the usual thing: resign, and advise the King to send for the leader of the biggest part...
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
After the first performance of my new play Make England Great Again, Neil Kinnock will discuss the issues raised with the first night audience. It's at 7.30 pm on 30 September at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate Village. Tickets from upstairsatthegatehouse.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
upstairsatthegatehouse.ticketsolve.com
Ticketbooth
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Lovely interview with me about my new play in the Barnet Post: barnetpost.co.uk/2025/09/18/m...
barnetpost.co.uk
Making England great again?
Madison Yarbrough on a theatrical warning of political dangers ahead
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
British by-elections, ediuted by Iain Dale, out today - including my account of Darlington 1983, for which I was Labour Party press officer. www.politicos.co.uk/products/by-... Amazon www.amazon.co.uk/British-Elec...
politicos.co.uk
British By-Elections 1769-2025 - The 88 By-Elections That Shaped our Politics edited by Iain Dale (Signed copy) COMING 18 SEPTEMBER
Biteback Hardback 18 September 2025 88 essays by 87 different politicians, historians, academics and journalists about 85 of the most important by-elections since thje John Wilkes by-election of 176...
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
How dictatorship is coming to Britain: my piece in the Camden New Journal, introducing my new play. www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/slid...
camdennewjournal.co.uk
Sliding towards dictatorship?
Francis Beckett takes the political temperature of the times for his latest play, Make England Great Again, at Upstairs at the Gatehouse
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
London Pub Theatres magazine interviewed me about my new play, Make England Great Again, which opens at Upstairs at the Gatehouse on 30 September. Here's what they wrote. www.londonpubtheatres.com/interview--p...
londonpubtheatres.com
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
I shivered with horror, fear and anger when I read this, even though I saw it coming. How can anyone be so cruel and complacent as to support Israel now? www.msn.com/en-gb/news/w...
msn.com
MSN
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
In my new play, Make Britain Great Again, Max Moore, charismatic leader of the Britons First Party, has become Prime Minister. It's at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate Village from 30 September to 5 October, and 14-19 October. Tickets from www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com, phone 020 8340 3488.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
RIP the great Tom Lehrer. My Guardian obituary is at www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Tom Lehrer obituary
Singer, songwriter and satirist who eschewed the limelight to return to teaching mathematics
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I have read some horrible things, but Sarah Vine's memoir is the grubbiest: my piece in the New European. www.thenewworld.co.uk/francis-beck...
thenewworld.co.uk
Sarah Vine: the secret remainer
Her nasty new book contains one interesting point – funny the Daily Mail chose to ignore it
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Labour's own Trotskyist: my Guardian obituary for Peter Taaffe. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Peter Taaffe obituary
Political activist who oversaw an attempt by the Militant tendency to take control of the Labour party
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
A theatrical gem: my review of The Inseparables. www.londonpubtheatres.com/review-the-i...
londonpubtheatres.com
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
@johnwood.org
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Drama or history? My review of The Gang of Three: www.londonpubtheatres.com/review-the-g...
londonpubtheatres.com
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
The joy of Gilbert and Sullivan in small spaces: my review of the Tabard's Mikado. www.londonpubtheatres.com/review-the-m...
londonpubtheatres.com
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
I have tried not to use the word "genocide" about Israel. But when you have killed someone's friends and family, the hatred they develop for you will come back to hurt you one day. Either Israel wants a world of hate for its children, or it wants to ensure no Palestinian remains alive.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Here's a fun video from Reform UK - they have knifed their local candidate for the Runcorn bye-election, and here's the spin they put on it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJZU...
youtube.com
Reform Runcorn
YouTube video by The Reform Party Podcast
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
I have put my eight plays onto one website, for the convenience of companies that might want to produce them. It's here: ruby-cube-bds7.squarespace.com
ruby-cube-bds7.squarespace.com
Francis Beckett Playwright
I used to be a journalist, author, historian and biographer. But I knew I wanted to be a playwright when I grew up. I left growing up a bit late, but I’m there now.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
TRUMPERY IS THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION OF US FOREIGN POLICY SINCE 1945: MY PIECE IN THE NEW EUROPEAN. www.theneweuropean.co.uk/francis-beck...
theneweuropean.co.uk
Trump is America’s logical destination
The recent scenes in the Oval Office were horrifying – but the disdain Trump showed to Zelensky is not as new as it seems
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
What we did to the miners when we decided we could do without coal: my piece in the Literary Review: literaryreview.co.uk/cutters-pick...
literaryreview.co.uk
Francis Beckett - Cutters, Pickets & Scabs
Francis Beckett: Cutters, Pickets & Scabs - Mining Men: Britain’s Last Kings of the Coalface by Emily P Webber
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
What we did to the miners when we didn't need them anymore: my review of Mining Men. literaryreview.co.uk/cutters-pick...
literaryreview.co.uk
Francis Beckett - Cutters, Pickets & Scabs
Francis Beckett: Cutters, Pickets & Scabs - Mining Men: Britain’s Last Kings of the Coalface by Emily P Webber
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Lest we forget Thatcherism: my review of Boys from the Blackstuff. www.londonpubtheatres.com/review-boys-...
londonpubtheatres.com
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Lest we forget the cruelty of Thatcherism: my review of Boys from the Blackstuff. www.londonpubtheatres.com/review-boys-...
londonpubtheatres.com
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Reposted by Francis Beckett
Manik @manik.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
yoinked this image from Twitter, then ordered my copy join me
One day, when it's safe,
 when there's no personal
 downside to calling a
 thing what it is, when it's
 too late to hold anyone
 accountable, everyone
 will have always been
 against this
 Omar El Akkad
524528737
Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Prince Harry has just done more good in the world than the whole of the rest of his family has done since the Second World War.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Interesting piece in the Spectator. I'm looking for the similarly dismissive piece they must have published when Arthur Scargill was pictured in a similar pose under the headline Mine Fuhrer. I can't find it. www.spectator.co.uk/article/no-e...
spectator.co.uk
No, Elon Musk didn't make a fascist salute
At yesterday’s wacky Donald Trump inauguration, a giddy Elon Musk gave a speech during which he saluted the crowd
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Reposted by Francis Beckett
Reader of Banned Books @readerofbannedbook.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
823534621
Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
@alicatterall.bsky.social Hallo Ali. Glad to see you here and not THERE. Assume you've lost interest in Tom Lehrer? A few former friends and students got in touch with me to offer new anecdotes.
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Francis Beckett @francisbeckett.bsky.social · 14/10/2024
The lessons of the Rose Cohen story - my piece in Jewish News, www.jewishnews.co.uk/new-play-tel...
jewishnews.co.uk
New play tells how a Jewish girl from London became an ‘enemy of the people’
Vodka With Stalin opens in Highgate this week telling the true story of communist Rose Cohen who was murdered under the dictator's regime
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