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1. The Edge of Revolution: The 1926 General Strike, 100 Years On

Author:
David Torrance, Carolyn Quinn, Robert Saunders, Sienna Rodgers, and David Torrance
Publication Date:
06-2026
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
One hundred years ago, in May 1926, the Trades Union Congress called Britain’s first and only General Strike. Nearly three million workers downed tools, closing Britain’s docks, railways, mines, much of heavy industry and most of the press. Proclaiming a State of Emergency, the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, claimed that Britain was ‘nearer to civil war than we have been for centuries past’. The Times called it ‘the gravest domestic menace which has hung over this nation since the fall of the Stuarts’. The General Strike lasted only nine days, but its impact was profound. In this centenary event, ‪@MileEndInstitute_QMUL‬ and ‪@qmulsse‬ explored the history of the General Strike, its legacy and the position of organised labour today. To celebrate the publication of a new history of the strike by Dr David Torrance, Carolyn Quinn, Robert Saunders and Sienna Rodgers joined David Torrance to ask why the strike took place, why it failed, and the lessons for the union movement, for direct action groups, and for workers’ rights in our own time.
Topic:
Politics, History, Trade Unions, and General Strike
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

2. Fantastic Kingdom: A Stranger's Notes on a Contrary Country

Author:
Helene von Bismarck and Robert Saunders
Publication Date:
06-2026
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
Global yet insular, tolerant yet suspicious, proudly pragmatic yet profoundly sentimental. The United Kingdom inspires fierce loyalty and endless argument. Ten years after Brexit, it is as divided as ever. After twenty years of studying Britain, German historian Helene von Bismarck offered an affectionate and insightful portrait of the United Kingdom as seen by an outsider. From the enduring fantasy of Britain as a self-sufficient island to the profound devotion to a global monarchy; from imperial amnesia to modern multiculturalism, she explored the paradoxes and myths that shape British identity.
Topic:
Imperialism, History, Multiculturalism, Brexit, Monarchy, and Identity
Political Geography:
Britain and United Kingdom

3. Triumph and Trauma: The British General Election of 2024

Author:
Tim Bale, Paula Surridge, and Stephen Bush
Publication Date:
02-2026
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
On 4 July 2024, an electoral tsunami ripped through British politics. Labour won one of the largest landslides in its history, on the lowest share of the vote of any majority government. The Conservatives suffered their worst defeat in 200 years, the Liberal Democrats secured their best-ever result, the SNP were crushed and Reform UK won 4 million votes. Six independent MPs were elected, including the former Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and the combined vote-share of the big two parties was the lowest since 1918. For Labour, the result marked a stunning turnaround from the previous election in 2019; yet commentators quickly began to speak of a ‘sandcastle majority’, that might in turn be washed away by the next electoral tide. In this event, to mark the publication of The British General Election of 2024, Queen Mary University of London‬'s Prof Tim Bale and Prof Paula Surridge were joined by Stephen Bush, Associate Editor of the Financial Times, and Rachel Cunliffe, Associate Political Editor of the New Statesman, to look back on a landmark election. They asked why 2024 saw a historic Conservative collapse, a “loveless landslide” for Labour and record fragmentation in voters’ choices and considered whether this momentous election marked the end of two-party politics in Britain.
Topic:
Politics, Elections, Voting, Labour Party, and Conservative Party
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

4. Kate Adie: 'A Life in Reporting'

Author:
Kate Adie and Robert Saunders
Publication Date:
03-2026
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In the Mile End Institute's fifth distinguished Hennessy Lecture, Kate Adie joined ‪Queen Mary University of London's very own ‪Robert Saunders‬ to reflect on her long career as a reporter and explored the challenges facing a reporter in a changing world today. Kate Adie was Chief News Correspondent for BBC News from 1989 to 2003, becoming one of the most famous and respected figures in British journalism. She reported live from the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980, the US bombing of Tripoli in 1986 and the Lockerbie bombing of 1988. She was at Tiananmen Square in 1989, was shot by a Libyan army commander and reported on the Gulf War and the war in the former Yugoslavia. She has been a freelance journalist since 2003 and presents "From Our Own Correspondent" on BBC Radio 4 and was awarded the CBE in 2018 for services to journalism. She has written five books including "The Kindness of Strangers”, an account of her work as a reporter, "Nobody's Child: The Lives of Abandoned Children" which formed the basis of the BBC series, Found, and "Fighting on the Home Front: The Legacy of Women in World War One".
Topic:
Media, Journalism, Career, and Book Talk
Political Geography:
Britain, China, Iran, Libya, and Yugoslavia

5. Reforming the Jury System: Speeding up Justice or Ending 800 Years of Liberty?

Author:
Kay Crosby, Hannah Quirk, Rebecca Helm, and Robert Saunders
Publication Date:
02-2026
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In December, the government announced plans to abolish trial by jury for crimes with a sentence of less than three years. Critics spoke of an end to 800-years of the right to trial by one's peers; supporters warned of a collapse in the criminal justice system if radical action were not taken. In this webinar, the ‪Mile End Institute‬ at ‪Queen Mary University of London‬ brought together historians, lawyers and politicians to explore the challenges facing the court system and the options for change. Dr Kay Crosby (University of Newcastle), Dr Hannah Quirk (King's College London) and Professor Rebecca Helm (University of Exeter) joined Dr Robert Saunders to assess the strengths and weaknesses of jury trials in Britain and overseas, examine the surprising history of the jury system and test the science behind jury-decision making.
Topic:
Reform, Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Decision-Making, and Jury
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

6. The Inside Story of the Campaign for a Second EU Referendum

Author:
Morgan Jones, Matthew Holehouse, Emily Robinson, and Michael Chessum
Publication Date:
04-2026
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
On 19 March 2026, the ‪Mile End Institute‬ and ‪Queen Mary University of London celebrated the publication of Morgan Jones’s new book, No Second Chances: The Inside Story of the Campaign for a Second Referendum. In this event, we brought together academics, campaigners, journalists and the author herself to explore the campaign for a second referendum after 2016, the ‘People’s Vote’ movement and the massive demonstrations of 2018-2019. Matthew Holehouse (The Economist), Prof Emily Robinson (The Politics of Feeling in Brexit Britain) and Michael Chessum (This Is Only The Beginning: The Making of a New Left) joined Morgan Jones to ask how and why these campaigns tried to stop Brexit, why they were unsuccessful, and what lessons might be learned for the future.
Topic:
Politics, European Union, Brexit, and Demonstrations
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

7. Regional deprivation, individual prospects, and political resentment

Author:
Giovanni Facchini, Anja Neundorf, Sergi Pardos-Prado, and Cecilia Testa
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:
Regional economic conditions affect livelihoods and the geography of political resentment. Yet, individuals do not equally partake in their region’s economic fortunes, and their perceptions of relative deprivation need not be the same. Grievances are likely to be shaped not only by income disparities but also by how personal prospects are tied to regional conditions. We argue that the interaction between subjective individual and regional relative deprivation crucially affects perceptions of shared experience and systemic unfairness. Through a large-scale survey experiment in Britain, we provide causal evidence that poor individuals in poor regions express more political resentment due to diminished personal financial prospects and social status. In contrast, political attitudes among poor and wealthy individuals are indistinguishable in affluent regions. Our findings reveal how reference groups affect subjective perceptions of relative deprivation and highlight the importance of egocentric mechanisms, whereby the local economy shapes expectations of individual prospects.
Topic:
Economic Inequality, Regional Economy, Social Status, and Political Resentment
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

8. The Third Hennessy Lecture: Baroness Sayeeda Warsi

Author:
Sayeeda Warsi
Publication Date:
02-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi was the first Muslim to serve in a British Cabinet, during the coalition government of 2010-15. A former party Chair, Foreign Office minister and Minister for Faith and Communities, she is now a non-aligned peer and has become one of Britain's leading commentators on Islam and Islamophobia. She is a prominent voice against anti-Muslim racism, and the author of two celebrated books on the role of Islam in modern Britain: The Enemy Within: A Tale of Muslim Britain and Muslims Don't Matter. In the third of the Mile End Institute's new series of distinguished "Hennessy Lectures", to mark our 10th anniversary, Baroness Warsi reflected on her life and career as a Muslim woman born in Yorkshire, who practised as a lawyer before becoming a minister and member of the House of Lords, and offered "the anatomy of a prejudice" in British society today.
Topic:
Politics, Muslims, and House of Lords
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

9. The Conservative Party in Opposition

Author:
Tim Bale, Nigel Fletcher, Lee David Evans, and Mercy Muroki
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
As Kemi Badenoch began her tenure as Leader of the Conservative Party and the Leader of His Majesty's Official Opposition, Prof Tim Bale was joined by Dr Nigel Fletcher, Lee David Evans and Mercy Muroki to explore her approach to leadership and what her Shadow Cabinet appointments tell us about the future of Conservative policy. After the most successful electoral force in British history suffered the worst defeat in its 200-year existence, our expert panel of academics, historians and political commentators considered how the new Conservative leader might approach the challenges and dilemmas of Opposition.
Topic:
Elections, Domestic Politics, Political Parties, and Conservative Party
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

10. The impact of EU enlargement and Brexit on international migration

Author:
Yoonjung Kim and Young Jun Lee
Publication Date:
06-2025
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
In recent decades, European Union (EU) enlargement has substantially altered the continent’s economic and political landscape by lowering barriers to trade, labor mobility, and capital flows. Migration emerges as a central factor in this transformation, especially following the accession of Central and Eastern European countries. This enlargement has intensified interest among policymakers and researchers in the factors driving intra-European migration and its economic and social implications. This study specifically investigates the interplay between EU enlargement, the Freedom of Movement (FOM) agreements, and Brexit on labor mobility. Although EU enlargement has generally been associated with deeper economic and political integration, its most profound impact may lie in facilitating international migration. By distinguishing between the timing and impact of EU membership and the Freedom of Movement (FOM) agreements—often introduced at different times— the analysis provides a nuanced view of their respective roles. Employing a gravity model framework with Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimation and a heterogeneity-robust difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, this study examines bilateral migration flows across 224 origin-destination country pairs. The results reveal that EU membership significantly increases migration flows, particularly from newer to older member states, indicating a pronounced east-to-west asymmetry. This effect remains robust after accounting for FOM implementation, and further robustness checks confirm the consistency of the findings under different policy timelines and the inclusion of external mobility agreements. Additionally, the study explores the impact of Brexit on return migration, uncovering a substantial rise in flows from the UK to EU member countries—especially those that joined after 2000—following the 2016 referendum. These patterns highlight the heterogeneous and asymmetric effects of different EU migration policies and suggest that Brexit exerts a stronger influence on return migration than FOM. Consequently, the findings highlight the importance of policy-specific analysis in capturing the complexities of migration responses to institutional changes within the EU.
Topic:
Migration, European Union, Brexit, and Enlargement
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe