Facing economic turmoil, Jim Callaghan’s government rejected Tony Benn’s alternative economic strategy in favour of cuts that paved the way for Thatcherism — and the cuts-loving Labour of the present era, writes KEITH FLETT

Starmer’s slash-and-burn approach to disability benefits represents a fundamental break with Labour’s founding mission to challenge the idle rich rather than punish the vulnerable poor, argues KEITH FLETT

The formation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900 marked the beginning of interconnected and contested strategies — parliamentary and industrial — seeking ways to advance working-class interests, writes KEITH FLETT

KEITH FLETT looks back 50 years to when the Iron Lady was elected Tory leader…

The legacy of an 1820 conspiracy in revenge for Peterloo resonates down the ages, argues KEITH FLETT

Britain’s first woman Chancellor delivers the same old fudge, as Labour’s commitment to economic orthodoxy, seen throughout its history, always betrays working people, writes KEITH FLETT

Every few years, it seems like the ‘right time’ to build a new left party — but what are the right conditions, asks socialist historian KEITH FLETT, looking back at the last two centuries and the insights of Ralph Miliband and EP Thompson

Modern Christmas as we know it, with its trees, dinner menu, cards and time off from work, only dates back to the early days of modern socialism as we know it, writes KEITH FLETT, checking in on Marx, Engels and the Chartists in the 1800s

Forget Farage and the recent daft demands for a new election against Labour: the greatest petition Britain has ever known gathered millions of names demanding the right to vote — and it didn’t work either, writes KEITH FLETT

KEITH FLETT considers how the return of the monarchy after Cromwell offers lessons for a left facing the return of Donald Trump, showing that radical traditions endure despite reactionary victories

KEITH FLETT reflects on the 1964 and 1974 election victories, arguing that despite years in power, Labour failed to fundamentally reshape society in the way Thatcher later would — a pattern Blair and now Starmer would follow

The words composed by Sidney Webb: ‘To organise and maintain in Parliament and in the country a Political Labour Party’ were a crucial landmark in Labour’s journey to becoming a membership-based electoral presence, writes KEITH FLETT

KEITH FLETT draws parallels with the 1834 Tory crisis, noting the absence of modern-day Robert Peel among the leadership contenders capable of reinventing the party for a new era

The Chancellor is rehashing discredited Victorian economics, showing the party has learned nothing from a century of failed Gladstonian economics, ignoring Keynes and betraying workers, writes KEITH FLETT

Socialist historian KEITH FLETT traces the parallel evolution of violent loyalist rampages and the workers' movement's peaceful democratic crowds, highlighting the stark contrast between recent far-right thuggery and mass Gaza protests

From military inspections to geological observations, KEITH FLETT recounts how the communist’s 1857 visit to Ryde combined health recovery with a sharp analysis of Britain’s defences

KEITH FLETT uncovers the links between Dorset landowners, Caribbean plantations, slavery and the prosecution of trade unionists, revealing a darker side to the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ story

KEITH FLETT offers some historical context to the election campaign’s final period

How has Farage repeatedly failed to get elected to Parliament, but always succeeded in influencing parliamentary politics? KEITH FLETT looks at the tools available to the right and left locked outside of Westminster

KEITH FLETT looks at a Labour turncoat behind the ratcheting up of measures to courtail the right to protest

Normally in British politics, leftwingers defect right. Under Blair and now Starmer however, this trend seems to reverse, calling into question the ‘broad church’ that welcomes Tories and excludes socialists, writes KEITH FLETT

Socialist historian KEITH FLETT looks at the 19th-century roots of the labour movement’s celebratory day

Socialist historian KEITH FLETT unpacks the term currently being flung about by the Labour right as an insult and finds its popular association with ‘being a lefty’ is anything but assured in reality

Where Keir Starmer’s pledges to the unions clash with business interests, we can look to the archives of the Blair era to see what he is likely to do, writes KEITH FLETT

With Gove, Lord Walney and others seeking to restrict our freedom of dissent, KEITH FLETT reminds us that such state repression is not new and it can be overcome

EP Thompson opposed romanticising riots, but the democratic intent of Palestinian protests is evident – which is why the powers that be really hate them. Looking at history, from the Chartists to today, they always have, explains KEITH FLETT

As the cost-of-living crisis deepens, large strikes once again become the norm and the Tories remain in permanent crisis, KEITH FLETT recalls 1974 — when organised labour brought down a government

KEITH FLETT shines a light on the moment when parliamentary democracy laid down its first roots

The rich and powerful would not only prefer to forget certain episodes of history but will actively do what they can to make sure they are buried, says KEITH FLETT

Reading the fathers of communism’s letters from over a century-and-a-half ago, we find that far from being against festive fun, they were all feasting, drinking and giving presents, explains KEITH FLETT

Socialist historian KEITH FLETT looks at Britain’s first Labour government, where political timidity followed Establishment fears of radical reform

It’s not just ‘the Muslim vote’ but a general opposition to war from the whole electorate that Labour should be wary of — even the Lib Dems have come off better better in the past, writes KEITH FLETT

The idea of the ‘short 20th century’ was based on an assumption that crises like the one that exploded 50 years ago were increasingly rare — instead, they’re increasingly common, writes KEITH FLETT

As huge demos once again hit the streets of Britain in defence of Palestine, we must recognise that ours is an era where street politics is increasingly vital, explains socialist historian KEITH FLETT

Socialist historian KEITH FLETT looks at the Labour Party’s inconsistent attitude to war over the last century, and what we can do to shape it

History shows that any diversion from ‘economic orthodoxy’ is likely to lead to pushback from Establishment forces, cautions KEITH FLETT