There was a time when you could barely tune into the news without the cryptically named ‘1922 Committee’ being in the headlines. The future of Prime Ministers seemed to depend upon its deliberations - as well as who might be forming the next government. But how did this group of Tory MPs, originally founded as a self-help group for newly elected Parliamentarians, acquire its role as one of the key institutions in the Conservative Party? And is it a force for good in the party?

In this episode, the following books are mentioned:

'Trump: The Art of the Deal' by Donald Trump. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781847943033

'The 1922 Committee: Power Behind the Scenes' by Philip Norton. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781526173300

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Buying books via the Since Attlee & Churchill Bookshop is a great way to support the podcast. Click here to visit the shop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/saac

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Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party.

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lee kicks off this mid-week episode by sharing how annoyed he was by criticisms of the King’s Christian faith, or apparent lack of it, from some people on the right. In particular, he focuses on how a small number of self-described ‘conservatives’ have turned on the King and the monarchy - and asks what they are really trying to achieve with their attacks. Next, Richard engages with the challenge that Tony Blair, who Richard described as a ‘Christian socialist’ in our last Sunday episode, isn’t a socialist at all. Could Blair be said to fit into the longstanding ethical socialist tradition?

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Buying books via the Since Attlee & Churchill Bookshop is a great way to support the podcast. Click here to visit the shop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/saac

Enjoy listening to the Since Attlee & Churchill podcast? If so, we would be very grateful if you could leave us a 5 star review!

***

Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party.

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a special Easter Sunday episode, Lee and Richard discuss two of the most religiously observant, and theologically curious, post-war prime ministers: Harold Macmillan and Tony Blair. Macmillan's teenage years were riddled with crises of faith which left him on the brink of converting to Catholicism. Yet he remained a devout Anglican whose interest in matters of God and the church persisted throughout his life. Blair's university years were similarly influenced by Christianity and Richard argues he became one of the most, if not the most, religious Prime Ministers of the past century. If that's the case, how did his faith influence his politics? And what lay behind his decision, after being Prime Minister, to convert to Catholicism?

In this episode, the following books are mentioned:

'The Warden' by Anthony Trollope. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780199665440

'The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and the Disuniting of America' by Daniel Shea & Nicholas Jacobs. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9780231218573

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Buying books via the Since Attlee & Churchill Bookshop is a great way to support the podcast. Click here to visit the shop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/saac

***

Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party.

Enjoy ad-free listening, bonus episodes and show your support for the podcast by joining the Since Attlee & Churchill Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SinceAttleeAndChurchill

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.