The Devil’s Decades? British Politics Since 2001

The Devil’s Decade, the title of an acclaimed study of the 1930s, argued that pre-war Britain was rocked by class conflict, cultural division, economic tension, unstable governments, populist politicians, fear of revolution, seismic events abroad and (according to the author) “a pervasive sense of impending doom”. 

With that in mind, would The Devil’s Decades be a fitting title for any book about the past quarter of a century? Many commentators seem to think so. But this is ironic - because, at the start of 2001, the future seemed anything but devilish. The Cold War was over, the threat of nuclear annihilation had receded and western capitalism was expansive; instead of bigging up Marx and Lenin, Moscow and Beijing were now opening up Marks and Spencer. Aided by Peter Mandelson, Tony Blair had made New Labour love “the filthy stinking rich”, while dark Tory warnings about immigration seemed irrelevant. To no-one’s surprise, Blair was easily re-elected in June 2001 and even the record-low turnout had a positive spin: British electors, we were told, were ‘not angry enough’ to vote and were too busy buying swanky flats. Our new millennium, we were told, was ‘the age of contentment’.

This smugness was always slightly misplaced (during the 2001 election, there was a memorable punch-up between the Deputy PM and a very angry farmer). Yet, within three months, it was all but destroyed by the events of 9/11: an atrocity that would soon find dreadful echoes in our own islands. Now, twenty-five years on, it is common to hear about ‘broken Britain’ – a nation beset by ‘black-holes’, ‘psychodrama’, cover-ups, cock-ups and sleazy MPs.

It's all very depressing. However, here at the Guild, we aim to offer relief via rigorous discussion, informed debate and occasional levity. And so, with wry smiles as well as furrowed brows, this six-week course examines how modern British politics got into such a rotten mess. We shall therefore discuss the governments of Blair, Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak; recurrent issues such as war, terrorism, multiculturalism, climate change, Scottish independence and Brexit; the impact of Farage, Corbyn and Covid; and the oscillating performance of our present government. In the process, we should gain a better understanding of recent history…and a few pointers to what lies ahead.

Course tutor: Richard Kelly BA, MA, MPhil

Mondays 7.30-9.30pm: 2nd , 9th , 16th , 23rd , 30th November; 7th December.