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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

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

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Alice Lilly @aliceolilly.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

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.

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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

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!

A picture of PEW poll on global attitude survey, saying the % who rate the morality and ethics of people in their country as good vs bad, where the US has the worst rankings and Canada the best

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

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.

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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

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...

substack.com

Live with Phillips P. OBrien and John Sipher

A recording from Phillips P. OBrien's live video

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 17/07/2025

‘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...

lrb.co.uk

Jonathan Parry · Every Mother’s Son: Britain in Sudan

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 19/07/2025

‘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...

lrb.co.uk

Jonathan Parry · Every Mother’s Son: Britain in Sudan

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 16/07/2025

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 ...

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Excellent opportunity for the right 19th-century political historian here

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Agenda Publishing @agendapub.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

“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

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Alistair Carmichael MP @amcarmichaelmp.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

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...

bbc.co.uk

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.

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ECFR @ecfr.eu · 06/05/2025

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.

bit.ly

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…

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

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

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Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

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.

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

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

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 29/04/2025

‘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...

lrb.co.uk

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...

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

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!

libdemvoice.org

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...

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

There’s a very good book to be written on that topic by someone

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

An excellent and timely combination!

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Shaun Spiers @shaunspiers1.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Modern patriotism. www.ft.com/content/b133...

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 25/04/2025

‘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...

lrb.co.uk

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...

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 22/04/2025

‘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...

lrb.co.uk

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...

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 20/04/2025

‘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...

lrb.co.uk

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...

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 14/04/2025

‘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...

lrb.co.uk

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...

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 12/04/2025

lrb.co.uk

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...

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 11/04/2025

lrb.co.uk

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...

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

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...

libdemvoice.org

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 ...

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Very pleased to find these copies today! A short survey of British Liberalism from 1830 to now. Aims to show its coherence as a creed amongst political changes & contingencies. Emphasises a political agenda not an economic one - defending political activity itself & attacking vested interests.

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Agenda Publishing @agendapub.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

“Jonathan Parry is uniquely qualified to write the history of Liberalism in Britain... he delivers a pithy, original, and trenchant analysis of Liberal ideas and principles in action.” Anthony Howe on 'Liberalism' by @jonparryhis.bsky.social - out today! #BritishPolitics #PoliticalHistory

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Filled by a stiff northerly breeze, the flags of the Commonwealth on the Weighbridge Mast in Guernsey just now. Nice to see Canada prominent!

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 20/01/2025

‘Continuous power over policy is usually delegated to the backroom. No one would try to include in Who’s Who the people who really shape such institutions.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on the limits of trying to quantify the elite: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

Jonathan Parry · Snobs, Swots and Hacks

No doubt, some individuals have always pulled levers behind the scenes to benefit themselves and their families...

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 18/01/2025

‘The authors assume that the wealth elite has “real power” because it combines “positional power and economic power”. But measuring this power requires more nuance than they can muster.’ @jonparryhis.bsky.social on an attempt to tabulate the British elite: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

Jonathan Parry · Snobs, Swots and Hacks

No doubt, some individuals have always pulled levers behind the scenes to benefit themselves and their families...

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Something I wrote for the LRB on how Who’s Who - and loose talk of ‘elites’ and ‘establishments’ - is not a good guide to who has power in modern Britain. But you knew that anyway…

lrb.co.uk

Jonathan Parry · Snobs, Swots and Hacks

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Excellent piece - offers a depth of historical understanding about Canadian-US relations that is sadly lacking in modern politics on both sides of the border. We have been here before. On the whole, this sort of bullying strengthens a Canadian identity that otherwise struggles to define itself…

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Jon Parry @jonparryhis.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Very persuasive piece by @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social . This is a basic threat to British liberal democracy and requires a coordinated response by the political parties who respect it.

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