I 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.

I'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!

Last 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.” https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/ePchw0

Yesterday 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...

After 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

if you’ve ever watched the apprentice, that’s the world without arts or humanities degrees

Had 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

From the archive: a letter from Farage to an elderly Enoch Powell asking him to come and give the electorate 'another jog' in 1994

After 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

Exactly. 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.

You 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

Last 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! 😮‍💨

Stevens knocking it out of the park

OMG, 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!

I'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)

Final round table on the purpose of British history writing in today’s political, cultural, and higher education landscape #QMCBS

Historians of bsky!! the lineup for this conference looks fantastic with 24 brilliant panels of experts running over two days. Register here 📌

There 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....

From 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...

Just 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/

Thanks 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 two

A quick reminder that the deadline for panel and paper proposals for our conference, British History Today, is in 10 days time! Please send to [email protected].

'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...

Today, 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

More 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.social

Plenary 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

Closing 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

Hmm 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

Historians 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! ⌛