Steven Fielding

@polprofsteve2024.bsky.social

3.6K followers 1.3K following 5.5K posts

Emeritus Prof, writing (slowly) about Labour’s existential struggles since 1976 for Polity. Knows stuff about politics & culture.
Labour List: https://labourlist.org/author/s-fielding/
Zeitgeist Tapes: https://shorturl.at/nwdO4 .. more

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Steven Fielding is an academic in the School of Politics at the University of Nottingham where he is professor of political history and director of the Centre for British Politics. His most recent work A State of Play sets out the qualified constructivist view that how individuals regard real politics can be shaped by fictional works about politics. .. more

Political science 73%

History 11%

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 7d

This is I think an important perspective which not just those on the US left need to consider especially as the article is inspired by what Klein describes as Bernard Crick’s “strange little book“ which used to be almost standard reading on many UK politics courses. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...

Opinion | This Is the Way You Beat Trump — and Trumpism

www.nytimes.com

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 8h

It seems like this hater of empathy only believes in it when it comes to himself.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 10h

This! This is how you deal with him.

The Onion @theonion.com · 10h

Trump Threatens To Sue BBC Over Misleading Edit Of ‘The Vicar Of Dibley’ https://theonion.com/trump-threatens-to-sue-bbc-over-misleading-edit-of-the-vicar-of-dibley/

Reposted by Steve Peers, Andrew Jacobs, Steven Fielding , and 1 more Steve Peers, Andrew Jacobs, Steven Fielding, Jack Stilgoe

The Onion @theonion.com · 10h

Trump Threatens To Sue BBC Over Misleading Edit Of ‘The Vicar Of Dibley’ https://theonion.com/trump-threatens-to-sue-bbc-over-misleading-edit-of-the-vicar-of-dibley/

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 10h

It also helps if your leaders have been appointed by those who exercise this cultural and economic power!

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 11h

I think more accurately it shows impartiality to those its leaders deem powerful and these days power lies less with elected governments and more with those who exercise cultural and economic power hence what we’re seeing now.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 12h

But this @yougov.co.uk poll from today suggests a lack of trust is being driven on the right bsky.app/profile/polp...

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 14h

Whatever the objective reality, there’s a visceral belief on the right that the BBC is biased against them. Perhaps they should stop reading the anti-BBC press?

Reposted by Steven Fielding

Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 13h

If the BBC caves to Trump and hands over licence fee payers' cash to him, it will lose far more from non-renewals by licence fee payers than it would ever risk having to pay to Trump in court

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 13h

That just shows you how closely I follow this thing! Alan Carr is in contrast a sadly cracked mirror version of Julian Clary.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 13h

That’s cheap advertising screen time for these celebrities. I see Nick Mohammed won it and I like his comedy but it wasn’t cutting through much: I bet it does now.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 13h

I’m not at all surprised that he was on it. But I think there’s a lot of cross publicity going on (the celebrity BBC historian who I know was in it has a new series to promote) so the kinds of vaguely corrupt deals their agents will have done for them will have reflected that.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 13h

It happened under Thatcher first because the BBC needed audiences to protect itself politically and also needed cheaper output and second because of the new cost of ITV franchises meant the opposition chased audiences with even greater alacrity.

Reposted by Steven Fielding

LabourList @labourlist.bsky.social · 13h

Everyone is a little bit right... and a little bit wrong. Our editor @emmaburnell.bsky.social on what the BBC crisis teaches us about the political moment we're in.

‘The BBC crisis and our half-right, half-wrong politics’ – LabourList

The BBC is in crisis - again. This is not a piece reporting on what has happened. You can't move for those today. Here's the…

labourlist.org

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 13h

I look forward to that mystery being solved!

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 14h

I don’t know if I’m correct but whenever I see a big gap between men being willing to have a definite opinion compared to women I tend to assume it’s on an issue about which most people really don’t know much but that men are are willing to say something even if it’s BS.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 14h

Whatever the objective reality, there’s a visceral belief on the right that the BBC is biased against them. Perhaps they should stop reading the anti-BBC press?

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 15h

But before the 1980s the creatives in TV were free to make things they wanted to watch rather than audiences (who only had 3 channels). Today they’re forced to make things they wouldn’t want to watch but execs figure the dumb audience will. I’m simplifying but there’s some truth in that distinction.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 15h

The one off plays he (& many others wrote) wrote would not have seen the light of day today - way too expensive and they don’t build an audience up by repetition and familiarity - and therefore maybe not the series which perhaps execs Today would seen as too challenging for audiences.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 15h

They do make good sitcoms sometimes and a 2 hander like Steptoe would at least be quite cheap. And to be fair, most sitcoms have always been poor.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 15h

When growing up, TV was an important part of my education & I suppose I just resent what it’s become, even the celebrity historian documentaries are pandering stuff which I can’t watch as they irritate & disappoint so much. That said I’m on my fourth Thin Man movie so I do like well-made rubbish.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 15h

I’m afraid I don’t watch panel shows either as they’re the laziest form of comedy and again just cheap shit.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 15h

I suppose what makes it even worse is that the reason why it’s made is that it’s cheap and that real drama is so expensive.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 15h

I’m left unmoved by this genre, which is ironic as I like drama & dramatisations of real events but this confected ‘reality’ stuff I just find irritating especially when it involves ‘celebrity’.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 17h

It is pretty insidious. A few years ago, I went into a local radio newsroom and it was flooded with copies of the Daily Mail.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 17h

You would think this particular racist would be a little more grateful given the platform the BBC regularly gives him.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 19h

Somebody in the Corporation should surely resign over this?

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 19h

Celebrity Traitors to return for second series in 2026, BBC announces

Head of entertainment Kalpna Patel-Knight says hit show ‘promises to be just as unmissable as the first’ The Celebrity Traitors will return for a second series in 2026, the BBC has said. The announcement comes after the comedian Alan Carr was crowned champion of the reality gameshow’s first series last week, after he revealed he was a traitor to the comedian Nick Mohammed and the TV historian David Olusoga, who were faithfuls, taking all of the £87,500 prize pot for his charity. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Steven Fielding

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 19h

Celebrity Traitors to return for second series in 2026, BBC announces

www.theguardian.com

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 20h

This is where I wrote that when trying to make the case that Corbynism was something from which that strand of Labour leaders should learn & engage with. It seems that once Corbynism was history they decided to act as if it never happened 🤷‍♀️ policynetwork.progressivebritain.org/wp-content/u...

policynetwork.progressivebritain.org

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 20h

Yes. It became a sign of their own pragmatism & virtue (to themselves) but did reflect the real difficulties they faced tho the irony always was that the hard choices have been for them actually rather easy choices. At the same time however Crosland advocated making other kinds of hard choices.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 21h

I once wrote something similar about a whole set of Labour politician since Roy Jenkins in the 1970s who saw their job as precisely that. It’s an approach that seems ingrained in a certain kind of leader by which I mean almost all of them.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 21h

Absolutely. Now the narrative is the Dems can win in different ways in different places, but it does still need a broad narrative to unify them. Whodve thought that????

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