The Things That Made England

The Things That Made England

By David Crowther and Roifield BrownSociety & CultureHistory
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The Things That Made England episodes

  • UK Party Politics - 1945 to 2019
    • -1945: The end of World War II and the election of Clement Attlee's Labour Party, which introduced the National Health Service (NHS) and the National Insurance Act.
    • 1950: Labour Party loses the general election to the Conservative Party, led by Winston Churchill, who becomes Prime Minister for the second time.
    • 1964: The Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, wins the general election and begins a period of economic and social reform.
    • 1970: The Conservative Party, led by Edward Heath, wins the general election, but is unable to form a stable government and calls for a new general election in
    • 1974: The Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, wins the general election, but is unable to form a stable government and calls for a new general election in October.
    • 1974: Labour Party led by Harold Wilson wins the general election in October and forms a minority government.
    • 1976: The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher, wins the general election and begins an era of neoliberal economic policies.
    • 1979: The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher, wins the general election, beginning an era of neoliberal economic policies.
    • 1997: Tony Blair's Labour Party wins a landslide victory, introducing policies such as the minimum wage and devolution for Scotland and Wales.
    • 2010: Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government
    • 2015: Conservative Party led by David Cameron wins the general election, beginning a period of austerity measures and the Brexit referendum.
    • 2016: The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a historic referendum.
    • 2017: Conservative Party led by Theresa May loses majority in general election, leading to a hung parliament and a minority government.
    • 2019: Conservative party led by Boris Johnson wins a majority in general election, resulting in the UK leaving the EU on January 31, 2020.

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

    1 hr 16 min
  • UK Party Politics - 1906 to 1945

    David and Roifield tackle the first half of the 20th century.


    Labour Representation Committee (1900–1906)

    Liberal reforms 1906–1914

    People's Budget (1909)

    David Lloyd George

    First Labour government and period in opposition (1923–1929)

    1926 General Strike

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    1 hr 8 min
  • UK Party Politics - Victoriana

    The Great Reform act transformed politics and parties in the UK - and Victoria's reign was the stage for one of the great political rivalries - Gladstone and Disraeli


    • 1832: The Reform Act of 1832 expands the electorate, giving more men the right to vote.
    • 1867: The Second Reform Act expands the electorate further, giving many working-class men the right to vote.
    • 1885: The Liberal Party, led by William Ewart Gladstone, wins a general election.
    • 1886: The Irish Home Rule Bill is introduced, but it fails to pass.
    • 1892: The Liberal Party, led by Gladstone, wins another general election.
    • 1895: The Conservative Party, led by Lord Salisbury, wins a general election.
    • 1906: The Liberal Party, led by Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, wins a landslide victory in a general election.


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

    1 hr
  • UK Party Politics - Whigs and Tories - Exclusion to The Reform Act

    David and Roifield go over the start of UK party politics from Exclusion Crisis to the Great Reform act of 1832


    • Make the point that the growth of political parties is closely linked to the growth in the power of parliaments in Britain, and the exercise of politics in parliament rather than court, in the public eye (importance of war in that process)
    • What are political parties?  A few definitions
    • Parliamentary politics before the Stuarts & the shock of the Civil Wars, & the arrival of adversarial parliaments; the concept of representation & involvement in politics
    • The Exclusion crisis and the Glorious Revolutions: The appearance of Whig and Tory, and what they stood for
    • The Whig Dominance, Hanoverians, Walpole and the unconstitutional office of PM
    • George III and the attempt to turn back the clock – putting the Bute in
    • Pitt, the French Revolution and Tory dominance 
    • The Great Reform Act & it’s impact.

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    56 min
  • Heavy Metal
    Where did metal start? What were its influences? Who is the greatest guitarist ever? What is Feminist Doom Metal? No idea, but you will hear some clips of guitar music, and hopefully there'll be a small plastic caddy at the end of it all

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    1 hr 17 min
  • Rave Culture
    Luke and Roifield discuss whether Rave Culture can be considered a Thing That Made England. The episode includes an interview with globe-trotting DJ Tristan and we hear one of his banging tunes. We also have music from Occult playing while we chat and this chilled, ambient track plays out to the end of the episode.

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

    1 hr 38 min
  • Intelligent Speech Announcement
    Luke announces the Intelligent Speech Conference, find out more at: https://www.intelligentspeechconference.com

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    3 min
  • Footpaths and Commons
    Ancient routes criss-cross England and Wales, giving access in law to all English and Welsh citizens across private property, to tread in the feet of countless generations. We talk firstly to Kate Ashbrook of the Open Spaces Society about the OSS's work to broaden access to the countryside and protect what we have. Then Luke and I blather on about some other issues and Right to Roam - R2R not being, I hasten to add, part of the OSS policy.

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

    1 hr 14 min
  • Beer
    Lulu and I discuss beer, a topic we have avoided for a while it must be said. Because - beer's been available everywhere for ever. How can the English lay claim to such a thing? And yet...and yet... I figure many people would say there's something distinctive to the English about beer. Is it the type of beer? Or the setting? Or does it stay outside the Cabinet along with The Sun?

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

    1 hr 2 min
  • English Comedy and Blackadder
    In this second episode on English comedy, we put the historical comedy, Blackadder up for consideration. Is it a thing that made England? Does it exemplify English comedy? Is it historically accurate? Is it even funny? Is David a polyglot? For the answers to all these and more, have a listen to the show.

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

    1 hr 3 min

About The Things That Made England

From the publisher's feed

An affectionate meandering through the things that make England the way she is – from HP Sauce to the Allottment, Aethelstan to the politics of Queuing. With Luke Baxter, Roifield Brown, David…