On This Day in Politics by Iain Dale (Signed copy)
£20.00
Hardback/Paperback
370pp
October 6 2022/September 20 2024
Allen & Unwin/Atlantic Books
On This Day in Politics is an informative, accessible and opinionated book on key moments in British political history that have occurred on every day from 1 January through to 31 December. From the first meeting of an elected English parliament on 20 January 1265 to the abolition of the Slave Trade on 25 March 1807; from the Peterloo massacre of 16 August 1819 to Britain voting to leave the EU on 23 June 2016, there is a growing thirst for knowledge about the history of our constitutional settlement, our party system and how our parliamentary democracy has developed. Writing as an observer of political history, but also someone with an opinion, acclaimed political journalist Iain Dale charts the main events of the last few hundred years, with one event per page, per day.
Iain Dale says, ‘The thirst for knowledge about politics and Britain’s political history has grown immeasurably over recent years and I hope ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS will add to people’s knowledge of some of the most well known, and many of the lesser known events over the centuries. I know I have learned a huge amount about events I thought I already knew a lot about! It’s great to be publishing another book with Ed Faulkner at Atlantic/Allen & Unwin after he commissioned my last book WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? This book is nothing if not eclectic and unpredictable with pages on events that you would expect to read about, like the outbreak of World War II but also events like the election of Britain’s first black MP in 1832, the first sitting MP to come out, the birth of Sir Robin Day, the creation of Britain’s first National Park and the day a future prime minister fought a duel with the Foreign Secretary. 366 pages, 366 events and 366 words on each of them. I hope readers’ imaginations will be captured by some of the events covered in the book and will then want to undertake further reading. If that happens my mission will have been accomplished.’
These are the entries for October
OCTOBER
1 – 1932 Mosley forms the British Union of Fascists
2 – 1900 Keir Hardie becomes Britain’s first LaboureMP
3 – 1957 Bevan Naked into the Conference Chamber Labour Conference speech
4 – 1809 Spencer Perceval becomes Prime Minister
5 – 1917 – Sir Arthur Lee donates Chequers to the nation
6 – 1910 Barbara Castle born
7 – 1983 GLC abolition announced
8 - 1967 Clement Attlee dies
9 – 1963 Macmillan resigns.
10 – 1980 Thatcher conference speech - U Turn if you want to
11 – 1974 Labour wins general election
12 – 1984 Brighton bomb
13 – 2014 UKIP’s first MP introduced to the House of Commons
14 – 1983 Cecil Parkinson resigns
15 – 2021 David Amess murdered
16 – 1834 Parliament burns down
17 – 1924 Sir David Butler born
18 – 1922 BBC founded
19 – 1922 Committee meets
20 – 1963 Alec Douglas Home forms a government
21 – 1966 Aberfan disaster
22 – 2019 Same-sex marriage is legalised, and abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland
23 – 1739 War of Jenkin’s ear starts. Britain declares war on Spain
24 – 1923 Robin Day is born
25 – 1951 General Election
26 – 1999 House of Lords votes to prevent hereditary peers sitting
27 – 1987 Big Bang in the city
28 – 1971 House of Commons votes to join EEC
29 – 1924 General Election
30 – 1957 House of Lords plans revealed
31 – 1956 Britain and France take Suez canal