Robert Saunders
@robertsaunders.bsky.social
Historian of modern Britain, singer and political nerd. Author of "Yes to Europe! The 1975 Referendum & Seventies Britain". "A jaw-dislocating page turner"(Andrew Marr). Deputy-director @mileendinstitute.bsky.social, Reader @QMHistory
Perhaps the BBC could offer Trump one of his beloved deals: they'll apologise for broadcasting sections of his speech, if he apologises for trying to overthrow an election, lying about the result, pressuring election officials, urging a crowd to "fight like hell" & pardoning those who did just that.
November 11, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Perhaps the BBC could offer Trump one of his beloved deals: they'll apologise for broadcasting sections of his speech, if he apologises for trying to overthrow an election, lying about the result, pressuring election officials, urging a crowd to "fight like hell" & pardoning those who did just that.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
@bjennings90.bsky.social absolutely nails it. (www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...)
November 11, 2025 at 6:58 AM
@bjennings90.bsky.social absolutely nails it. (www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...)
I do appear to be delivering this episode from beyond the grave, but it was fun to chat about the long-term decline of the two-party system and the huge structural challenges facing British politics.
Ghostly pallor - but a great pod. @QMUL's finest, @robertsaunders.bsky.social talking Britain going berserk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ8q...
Nick Cohen talks to academic & author Robert Saunders about the bizarre state of UK politics
YouTube video by LowdownNickCohen
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I do appear to be delivering this episode from beyond the grave, but it was fun to chat about the long-term decline of the two-party system and the huge structural challenges facing British politics.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
It takes an obscene amount of hubris to lecture the BBC when you have The Telegraph’s record on truth-telling.
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
The Telegraph’s BBC hypocrisy
A paper that knows a thing or two about editorial f*ck-ups...
writesbright.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:48 PM
It takes an obscene amount of hubris to lecture the BBC when you have The Telegraph’s record on truth-telling.
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
Some of the paper’s errors this year are so bad they’re almost laughable 👇🏻
For all the talk of 'Broken Britain', so many things have got better.
Even a simple factoid like this gets overlooked, but it was not long ago that *everyone* directly knew multiple examples of people taken away by this at something preposterous like age 22
November 10, 2025 at 1:48 PM
For all the talk of 'Broken Britain', so many things have got better.
I fear that if Johnson were asked this today, there would be lot of umming & erring, some guff about "the custard of conciliation" & "the tiramisu of time", but he would refuse to answer.
That a US President tried to overthrow an election is now unsayable on the British Right & in much of the media
That a US President tried to overthrow an election is now unsayable on the British Right & in much of the media
In 2020, Boris Johnson said that Trump "encouraged people to storm the Capitol ... I believe that that was completely wrong. ... I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol".
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Boris Johnson condemns Trump after Capitol attack: 'Completely wrong'
YouTube video by Guardian News
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I fear that if Johnson were asked this today, there would be lot of umming & erring, some guff about "the custard of conciliation" & "the tiramisu of time", but he would refuse to answer.
That a US President tried to overthrow an election is now unsayable on the British Right & in much of the media
That a US President tried to overthrow an election is now unsayable on the British Right & in much of the media
Reposted by Robert Saunders
Note that still in post at the BBC is Robbie Gibb, who helped set up GB News, and John McAndrew, formerly director of news and programmes at GB News.
November 10, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Note that still in post at the BBC is Robbie Gibb, who helped set up GB News, and John McAndrew, formerly director of news and programmes at GB News.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
In 2020, Boris Johnson said that Trump "encouraged people to storm the Capitol ... I believe that that was completely wrong. ... I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol".
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Boris Johnson condemns Trump after Capitol attack: 'Completely wrong'
YouTube video by Guardian News
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:08 PM
In 2020, Boris Johnson said that Trump "encouraged people to storm the Capitol ... I believe that that was completely wrong. ... I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol".
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
Does he still think that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCi...
We are so far through the looking glass that the man who tried to overthrow an election becomes president, the people who attacked the Capitol are turned into martyrs, & it's the BBC that gets punished - cheered on by the worst news outlets in the UK & the two most dishonest politicians of our age.
It’s not at all clear to me how the BBC can do any kind of serious journalism if its top two bosses can be forced to quit over such an obviously confected scandal. There is no substantive error here. How can the BBC report on Trump, or Farage, or anyone else, in these circumstances?
November 9, 2025 at 9:08 PM
We are so far through the looking glass that the man who tried to overthrow an election becomes president, the people who attacked the Capitol are turned into martyrs, & it's the BBC that gets punished - cheered on by the worst news outlets in the UK & the two most dishonest politicians of our age.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
Some thoughts on why Remembrance is so important, and why attempts to police it should be resisted.
One of the most precious things about Remembrance is that it sets no political tests.
It asks only that we "remember", and that we do so in the silence of our own thoughts.
It doesn't dictate what we remember, how we remember or what lessons we draw.
That's between ourselves and our conscience.🧵
It asks only that we "remember", and that we do so in the silence of our own thoughts.
It doesn't dictate what we remember, how we remember or what lessons we draw.
That's between ourselves and our conscience.🧵
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Some thoughts on why Remembrance is so important, and why attempts to police it should be resisted.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
The perfect photo to challenge narratives of progress.
November 7, 2025 at 8:08 AM
The perfect photo to challenge narratives of progress.
It is both ethically wrong & fundamentally anti-democratic for one man to command this much wealth and power.
States spent centuries trying to tame the power of over-mighty subjects. The rise of the global barons is not compatible with democracy as we've understood it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
States spent centuries trying to tame the power of over-mighty subjects. The rise of the global barons is not compatible with democracy as we've understood it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Elon Musk's $1tn pay deal approved by Tesla shareholders
The richest man in the world will get hundreds of millions of new shares if he hits his targets.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 8:31 AM
It is both ethically wrong & fundamentally anti-democratic for one man to command this much wealth and power.
States spent centuries trying to tame the power of over-mighty subjects. The rise of the global barons is not compatible with democracy as we've understood it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
States spent centuries trying to tame the power of over-mighty subjects. The rise of the global barons is not compatible with democracy as we've understood it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I confess that I'd never heard of Cat Burns before "Celebrity Traitors", but I've been really enjoying getting to know her music.
This one's lovely.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB9q...
This one's lovely.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB9q...
Cat Burns - I Hope It's Me (Official Visualiser)
YouTube video by CatBurnsVEVO
www.youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
I confess that I'd never heard of Cat Burns before "Celebrity Traitors", but I've been really enjoying getting to know her music.
This one's lovely.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB9q...
This one's lovely.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB9q...
Reposted by Robert Saunders
For as many years as anyone been counting two or more inmates been mistakenly released from British prisons most weeks. Record does not make it acceptable. System needs to be fixed. It does leave me asking why BBC now gripped by end-of-civilisation hysteria heard on Radio 4 Today programme.
November 6, 2025 at 10:52 AM
For as many years as anyone been counting two or more inmates been mistakenly released from British prisons most weeks. Record does not make it acceptable. System needs to be fixed. It does leave me asking why BBC now gripped by end-of-civilisation hysteria heard on Radio 4 Today programme.
This morning's top headline on Today:
"Robert Jenrick has accused the government of a total dereliction of duty after two inmates were mistakenly released".
The release of a prisoner is news. What Jenrick says about it is comment.
Both have a place, but only one of those is in the headlines.
"Robert Jenrick has accused the government of a total dereliction of duty after two inmates were mistakenly released".
The release of a prisoner is news. What Jenrick says about it is comment.
Both have a place, but only one of those is in the headlines.
November 6, 2025 at 8:42 AM
This morning's top headline on Today:
"Robert Jenrick has accused the government of a total dereliction of duty after two inmates were mistakenly released".
The release of a prisoner is news. What Jenrick says about it is comment.
Both have a place, but only one of those is in the headlines.
"Robert Jenrick has accused the government of a total dereliction of duty after two inmates were mistakenly released".
The release of a prisoner is news. What Jenrick says about it is comment.
Both have a place, but only one of those is in the headlines.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
As context to freeing of an Algerian man, here's some info about HMP Wandsworth, where he was:
• Built for 900 prisoners. Holds 1,600.
• Daily roster of prison officers c.70. Up to 15 staff on long-term sick leave.
• 36% of officers have >3yrs service.
• 12% of prison staff leave *each year*.
• Built for 900 prisoners. Holds 1,600.
• Daily roster of prison officers c.70. Up to 15 staff on long-term sick leave.
• 36% of officers have >3yrs service.
• 12% of prison staff leave *each year*.
November 5, 2025 at 2:10 PM
As context to freeing of an Algerian man, here's some info about HMP Wandsworth, where he was:
• Built for 900 prisoners. Holds 1,600.
• Daily roster of prison officers c.70. Up to 15 staff on long-term sick leave.
• 36% of officers have >3yrs service.
• 12% of prison staff leave *each year*.
• Built for 900 prisoners. Holds 1,600.
• Daily roster of prison officers c.70. Up to 15 staff on long-term sick leave.
• 36% of officers have >3yrs service.
• 12% of prison staff leave *each year*.
It's obviously a bad thing if any prisoner is released by mistake, but why is it worse if it's an asylum-seeker?
It seems just to be taken for granted now that someone is more dangerous because they're an asylum-seeker than because they're a criminal.
Something very dangerous is building here.
It seems just to be taken for granted now that someone is more dangerous because they're an asylum-seeker than because they're a criminal.
Something very dangerous is building here.
Well, that was a very weird deputy PMQs. James Cartlidge asking the same question five times – could David Lammy guarantee no other jailed asylum seekers have been accidentally released rather than deported – and Lammy each time instead condemning the Tories' record on prisons and justice.
November 5, 2025 at 1:26 PM
It's obviously a bad thing if any prisoner is released by mistake, but why is it worse if it's an asylum-seeker?
It seems just to be taken for granted now that someone is more dangerous because they're an asylum-seeker than because they're a criminal.
Something very dangerous is building here.
It seems just to be taken for granted now that someone is more dangerous because they're an asylum-seeker than because they're a criminal.
Something very dangerous is building here.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
I did a lecture on the impact of Brexit on British politics. Watch it here if you're really bored www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztqL...
Reflections on the Brexit Revolution: 2025-26 Mackenzie-Stuart Lecture
YouTube video by Cambridge Law Faculty
www.youtube.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:25 AM
I did a lecture on the impact of Brexit on British politics. Watch it here if you're really bored www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztqL...
Reposted by Robert Saunders
I wonder if the people proposing this strategy have encountered the Brexit referendum, in which a government tried to stop an insurgent, Faragist movement focused on immigration by talking exclusively about economic risk.
November 5, 2025 at 8:28 AM
I wonder if the people proposing this strategy have encountered the Brexit referendum, in which a government tried to stop an insurgent, Faragist movement focused on immigration by talking exclusively about economic risk.
I've only just been able to watch this, as I was teaching at the time, but it's excellent.
Clear-eyed, challenging & wide-ranging, it grapples with hard questions about the stakes of the war, what Britons are willing to pay, the reliability of NATO & who supplies new weapons.
Well worth watching.
Clear-eyed, challenging & wide-ranging, it grapples with hard questions about the stakes of the war, what Britons are willing to pay, the reliability of NATO & who supplies new weapons.
Well worth watching.
Our webinar on "Whatever it Takes: The Policy Implications of Supporting Ukraine" is now online.
Starring @evieaspinall.bsky.social, @elkeschwarz.bsky.social, @patporter76.bsky.social and @drjamesstrong.bsky.social.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUvQ...
Starring @evieaspinall.bsky.social, @elkeschwarz.bsky.social, @patporter76.bsky.social and @drjamesstrong.bsky.social.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUvQ...
"Whatever it takes": The Policy Implications of Supporting Ukraine
YouTube video by Mile End Institute
www.youtube.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:34 PM
I've only just been able to watch this, as I was teaching at the time, but it's excellent.
Clear-eyed, challenging & wide-ranging, it grapples with hard questions about the stakes of the war, what Britons are willing to pay, the reliability of NATO & who supplies new weapons.
Well worth watching.
Clear-eyed, challenging & wide-ranging, it grapples with hard questions about the stakes of the war, what Britons are willing to pay, the reliability of NATO & who supplies new weapons.
Well worth watching.
Reposted by Robert Saunders
@robertsaunders.bsky.social was joined by @qmulsse.bsky.social's own @philipjcowley.bsky.social, Baroness Finn, the Conservative peer and deputy chief-of-staff to the prime minister from 2021 to 2022, and Baroness Shephard, a minister in the Thatcher government who is a Fellow of @qmul.bsky.social.
November 4, 2025 at 3:15 PM
@robertsaunders.bsky.social was joined by @qmulsse.bsky.social's own @philipjcowley.bsky.social, Baroness Finn, the Conservative peer and deputy chief-of-staff to the prime minister from 2021 to 2022, and Baroness Shephard, a minister in the Thatcher government who is a Fellow of @qmul.bsky.social.
Do we still live in Thatcher's Britain?
I was joined at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social by Gillian Shephard, Simone Finn and @philipjcowley.bsky.social to discuss the Thatcher legacy, 100 years after her birth.
The full video is available here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLJK...
I was joined at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social by Gillian Shephard, Simone Finn and @philipjcowley.bsky.social to discuss the Thatcher legacy, 100 years after her birth.
The full video is available here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLJK...
Still "Thatcher's Britain"? The Thatcher Legacy, 1925-2025
YouTube video by Mile End Institute
www.youtube.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Do we still live in Thatcher's Britain?
I was joined at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social by Gillian Shephard, Simone Finn and @philipjcowley.bsky.social to discuss the Thatcher legacy, 100 years after her birth.
The full video is available here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLJK...
I was joined at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social by Gillian Shephard, Simone Finn and @philipjcowley.bsky.social to discuss the Thatcher legacy, 100 years after her birth.
The full video is available here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLJK...
Our webinar on "Whatever it Takes: The Policy Implications of Supporting Ukraine" is now online.
Starring @evieaspinall.bsky.social, @elkeschwarz.bsky.social, @patporter76.bsky.social and @drjamesstrong.bsky.social.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUvQ...
Starring @evieaspinall.bsky.social, @elkeschwarz.bsky.social, @patporter76.bsky.social and @drjamesstrong.bsky.social.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUvQ...
"Whatever it takes": The Policy Implications of Supporting Ukraine
YouTube video by Mile End Institute
www.youtube.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Our webinar on "Whatever it Takes: The Policy Implications of Supporting Ukraine" is now online.
Starring @evieaspinall.bsky.social, @elkeschwarz.bsky.social, @patporter76.bsky.social and @drjamesstrong.bsky.social.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUvQ...
Starring @evieaspinall.bsky.social, @elkeschwarz.bsky.social, @patporter76.bsky.social and @drjamesstrong.bsky.social.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUvQ...
If parties want credit for telling hard truths, they need to tell them when they're genuinely hard.
If Labour had told the truth about taxes & the costs of Brexit before the election, its majority would be smaller.
But it would have more real power & the public would put more faith in its judgment
If Labour had told the truth about taxes & the costs of Brexit before the election, its majority would be smaller.
But it would have more real power & the public would put more faith in its judgment
She is telling an accurate story of recent history - the triple punch of austerity, Brexit and covid. It's spot on. But it is terribly strange to say it now in government when you were not prepared to say it in opposition.
November 4, 2025 at 9:49 AM
If parties want credit for telling hard truths, they need to tell them when they're genuinely hard.
If Labour had told the truth about taxes & the costs of Brexit before the election, its majority would be smaller.
But it would have more real power & the public would put more faith in its judgment
If Labour had told the truth about taxes & the costs of Brexit before the election, its majority would be smaller.
But it would have more real power & the public would put more faith in its judgment