@lisebutler
Senior Lecturer in Modern History at City, University of London. Interested in the history of the British left and futures past. Author of Michael Young, Social Science and the British Left, 1945-70. Co-editor, Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy
A smug picture of Matthew Goodwin from the metro captioned METRO MATTHEW GOODWIN INTERVIEW "Reform will give incentives to women who have more children and will penalise those who don't. Change is coming"
to be clear, Matthew Goodwin has one (1) child and should thus be penalised for failing to meet the replacement rate under the incentive scheme that he’s established here
Very excited we will be hosting a lecture by the one and only John Ganz - info and sign up here!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/why-the-cl...
Excitingly, my book now has a cover. You can see it here, where you can also now pre-order!
www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/no-sec...
Am updating my sources for my module on the history of the British left, and want to include the Greens in their contemporary eco-socialist manifestation. Can anyone point me to a good, fairly long-form statement of the party’s policy orientation m that isn’t the 2024 manifesto?
The recent rhapsodising about Carney’s Davos speech and Canada’s repositioning in the new world order has reminded me of my piece on what Starmer can learn from Canada in @renewaljournal.bsky.social, from back in March:
renewal.org.uk/blog/sleepin...
Check out the issue here and subscribe to read the whole thing!
renewal.org.uk/journal/volu...
Too many brilliant pieces here to call out at once, but to start with I highly recommend this fantastic piece, first delivered by @anneliesedoddsmp.bsky.social for our annual lecture, which articulates a genuinely distinctive social democratic response to tech:
renewal.org.uk/articles/rit...
Absolute blockbuster of a new issue of @renewaljournal.bsky.social, edited by @morganj0nes.bsky.social @neilwarner.bsky.social and @beccagold.bsky.social which takes a big picture view of the past year and a half of Labour government.
Two courses a year *is* extremely light but that only explains so much!
Enjoyed the Guardian piece on Tooze, but absolutely no clearer on the perennial question of ‘HOW DOES HE FIND THE TIME????’
Check out the fab website of our project on histories of prediction, 'imagining tomorrow'! Its sleek design presents our conferences, exhibition and publications, including original artwork. I had a great time working with this wonderful team and I hope you enjoy the outcome!
The exhibition is on until June 28th 2026 and entry is free - consider dropping in if you're in Manchester! Thanks to Renée Melton Klein, Connie Evans and the Manchester Museum team for curation.
Our new website (by Damiaan Melis) hosts resources from the project, including our podcast series about the history of prediction, workshops, and publications. www.imaginingtomorrow.org.uk/resources
The highlight (imo) is Daniela Sherer's short animated film 'Visionaries' which depicts the struggle to imagine and claim the future across time and space (sound by Phil Brookes).
vimeo.com/1142329896?f...
The exhibition includes artwork, blueprints, clothing, magazines, a uranium plate, and the 1966 board game 'Future: A Game of Strategy, Influence, and Chance', which turned global issues such as population growth, energy crises, and environmental change into family entertainment.
This is the final event of the @britishacademy.bsky.social project 'Getting it Wrong: The Limits to Prediction' with Maria Christou, @orrosenboim.bsky.social, and Ruth Morgan, which examines forecasting and prediction in politics, urban planning, environmental science, literature, art, and culture.
Last week we launched 'Imagining Tomorrow: The Artefacts of Prediction' at the Manchester Museum, an exhibition exploring how physical objects from 1900 to the present - from bomb shelters to board games - have expressed visions of the future.
www.imaginingtomorrow.org.uk
One of my favourite recent pieces we’ve published online in @renewaljournal.bsky.social - Archie Cornish on the allotment and the missed opportunity for a modern politics of the commons
Manchester and area friends: Join us for our launch of our British Academy funded exhibition ‘The Artefacts of Prediction: Imagining Tomorrow’ on December 2nd! There will be speakers, drinks, and nibbles. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-eve...
Breaking the tax pledge is the right call...and politically sulphurous. Reeves must argue, far more forcefully, that taxes are *the* essential downpayment we all pay for a fairer society.
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
A writer very dear to my heart named Dave Wingrave (who is not on here) published his first piece in Harpers last week - a short story set in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus about conflict, division and what happens after it.
Very glad to see the solid, sensible protections of the Renters Rights Act at least get some recognition in the NS - as a renter in London who has experienced the blight of bidding wars etc the dearth of mainstream media coverage has been stunning.
www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
My book UP IN THE AIR: A HISTORY OF HIGH-RISE BRITAIN is out today!
I did an interview where I talked at length about why liberal analyses of how to win elections are wrong, why social media matters so much, what’s changed, what’s the same, why Marxists are deeply unsuited for this moment, how people think, and more.
renewal.org.uk/blog/all-tha...
Looking forward to this!
Congratulations to our contributing editor Sacha!
Everybody wants growth, but how can we get it? Jimena Valdez makes the case for a growth strategy that embraces international students and immigration, now online for @renewaljournal.bsky.social
Huge thanks to @anneliesedoddsmp.bsky.social for this fascinating and timely lecture on the social democratic response to big tech. Look out for the full lecture, forthcoming in our end-of-year double issue.
So much talk about Reform voters, but I'm yet to read much about their lives beyond tropes and excuses ('legitimate concerns').
I've been back in the midlands to interview people and learn more. Here's my piece on them and Reform's attempts to present itself as a community-minded, pro-worker party:
A Q&A I did earlier this year with about digital political culture. Some might find it relevant to current events. The tl;dr is that it’s all different but it’s also the same: people want and need a vocabulary to think with & things to do to feel like agents in their lives. Who gives that wins.