Lee David Evans

🚨 NEW PODCAST: The 1950 General Election Part two of our series on the Attlee vs Churchill elections is now out. @richardmarcj and I discuss 1950 - the referendum on what Attlee did as PM, and the chance for Churchill to reclaim power after defeat in 1945. See next tweet.

The 1950 general election saw the highest turnout since before Britain was a full participatory democracy. 83.9% of people went to the polls to vote, a record never matched since. @richardmarcj and I discuss why in our latest podcast. (See pinned tweet).

We cannot carry on with government by quango and watchdog, always hoping for better and always being disappointed. Water companies should be allowed to fail and the error of privatisation - in a market where no competition is possible - should be reversed.

'I hope you have all mastered the official Socialist jargon which our masters, as they call themselves, wish us to learn. 'You must not use the word "poor"; they are described as the "lower income group." When it comes to a question of freezing a workman's wages, the Chancellor…

Some news - and for me, at least, it’s exciting news! I’ve finally finished the draft manuscript of the book I’ve been working on about the methods of choosing, and removing, Conservative leaders. It should be out in about 6 months with @agendapub.

Some great insights into the 1950 General Election in this episode. And here is that notable Conservative and Unionist election poster:

Winston Churchill first used the term 'summit' to signify a meeting between world leaders in a speech for the 1950 general election. Speaking in Edinburgh, he talked up the idea of a conference between the British PM, Truman and Stalin. Such a meeting was not without its risks,…

In 1956 Stirling Moss - the British Grand Prix winner - joined the Young Conservatives. Delighted by their star recruit, the party produced a leaflet/membership form featuring Moss. 'He's set the example. Why don't you follow it? it asked.

My grandfather's copy of @thetimes book on the 1950 election. My grandfather was looking for a parliamentary selection after 1950. He was a teacher in Leicester & went through every constituency & noted where teachers had stood. Contains his notes & calculations. Precious to me

In September I turn 30. The same age as my dad when I was born. It’s made me think about the drop in living standards in one generation. On a fireman’s salary he could afford a 4 bed semi in a leafy part of Manchester. He had two kids (5 and new born), now almost completely…

If you don’t know how to solve the big problems, you can always invent small ones and set about them instead.

The next episode of our three-part series on the Attlee vs Churchill elections is out tomorrow! In it, @richardmarcj and I look at the 1950 election - an absolute squeaker of a contest. Out 5pm tomorrow. Search ‘Since Attlee & Churchill’ wherever you get your podcasts.

As we wrestle with the UK’s challenges, we sometimes forget that we have some of the most prosperous and well-functioning nations right on our doorstep: Scandinavia. I’m keen to start thinking about what the UK can learn from our North Sea neighbours - starting with this book.

Whatever age people get the vote, it’s going to seem somewhat arbitrary and there will be inconsistencies. What’s so annoying about the devoted votes-at-16-ers is the self-righteous certainty they (falsely) apply to the issue.

In 1945, Clement Attlee’s Labour Party won over 200 seats from the Conservatives and their allies - including 79 seats which had NEVER before elected a Labour MP. @richardmarcj and I discuss this landmark (and landslide) election in our latest podcast. Available now.

When Clement Attlee became Labour leader, everyone thought it was a poisoned chalice. Labour had won just 52 seats at the last election, versus 470 for the Tories. But Attlee laughed off his status as the underdog, telling one Tory MP, 'Yes, I am accepting condolences.'

'Churchill was fundamentally what the English call unstable - by which they mean anybody who has that touch of genius which is inconvenient in normal times.' - Harold Macmillan on Winston Churchill

'A great prime minister is usually one who bridges two epochs and carries forward the traditions of his youth into the pattern of the future.' - Harold Wilson's rather grand description of what makes a great prime minister.

The Earl of Bute is probably best remembered as the first Tory prime minister. But in his own lifetime it was his legs, almost as much as his politics, that attracted attention. He was said to have ‘the best legs in London’ and often insisted they were on display in portraits.