WINNERS write history: we all know that. And in 2026, sadly, the billionaires, the social media bullies and the cheerleaders of bigotry and division think they are the winners. They most certainly aren’t, but they are in the ascendancy – we have to confront reality — and it is ever more important that we challenge their agenda online, in print, in the pubs and on the streets. And we must challenge their version of history too. 

Neither mainstream education nor the mainstream media give much space to our progressive historical forbears: it’s always been mostly about kings and queens, noble birth lines and the glories of empire. Radical history has always fascinated me, especially the crucial period in the aftermath of the English Civil War and the explosion of revolutionary ideas which flourished in the period both before and following the execution of Charles I in 1649. For 11 years, from 1649 to 1660, England was a republic. Not that most people would know that: it’s barely touched on in school. 

But although it was called the Commonwealth, a real commonwealth it was not: very little changed for the vast majority, the radical Levellers, Diggers, Ranters and Fifth Monarchists were crushed by Cromwell’s puritan merchant class and in 1660 the monarchy was restored, albeit with one essential element removed — the divine right of kings — which made later reforms easier.  

Radical ideas of popular suffrage and land reform endured down the centuries, however, and the “Good Old Cause” of the Parliamentarians was often invoked in later battles. A few years ago I wrote an album, Restoration Tragedy, about the whole period and am completely in solidarity with those who seek to raise awareness of later progressive struggles which drew strength from those days. 

And so I am 100 per cent behind the Reformers of Peterloo, a bunch of musicians from north-west England who have written a new work, Peterloo, the Rock Musical, about the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Eighteen people were killed and hundreds injured when the yeomanry – the armed wing of the bourgeoisie – charged into a peaceful crowd of around 60,000 who had gathered to listen to famous Radical orator Henry Hunt demand massive enfranchisement of ordinary people in the face of the desperate poverty and suffering caused by the Corn Laws.

These laws had been put in place by corrupt MPs attached to “rotten boroughs” – rural “constituencies” with few, or sometimes no voters, mostly in the south — while growing northern cities had no representation at all. They forbade the import of cheaper grain in a time of shortage, this keeping prices high, enriching landowners and starving the poor. 

The crowd was brutally dispersed on the day, but the event itself was a pivotal moment in the battle for political representation for working people, starting a chain of events which led to the birth of Chartism and the gradual widening of the franchise culminating in universal suffrage. However, you wouldn’t believe that from its virtual emission from the classroom syllabus — or the fact that there wasn’t even a proper memorial to it in Manchester until 2019. 

So well done to Bob Carter, Mary Moden and all those involved in the project, which debuted in 2025 and has more performances lined up in the coming months. The next one is at the Partington Theatre in Glossop on March 7, followed by the Horse and Bamboo in Waterfoot, Rossendale on April 18 and an acoustic show at Bolton Socialist Club on May 30, with many more to come. 

And they have released an EP of four of the songs from the show, entitled It’s Your War and available from all the gigs and as downloads from www.peterloo-in-rock.com (where you can also find show details). The  standout track is undoubtedly Unknown Joy sung by the irrepressible Mary Moden: it sounds like the Monochrome Set with a clever, stroppy woman on lead vocals. It’s Your War and The Great Reform Act are fine songs too, and the whole thing is a great idea full of life and energy. Shame it’s all happening 250 miles away but I’m used to that! 

Cheers everyone. By the time of my next column my new book of poetry, Fiery Words for Hellish Times will be published, and I have a storming matinee gig tomorrow (Sunday) at the Dublin Castle in Camden with my band Barnstormer 1649, Blyth Power and brilliant wordsmith Robin Ince. Take care.