A People's History with John McDonnell
Claim the Future, John McDonnell
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Join John McDonnell, expert historians and activists to analyse and debate the key working class struggles of the last thousand years of UK history. A Claim the Future project, supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.
Available episodes
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Feb 1, 2023
Episode 10 - The EU and Freedom of Movement
Exploring the state of the left across Europe, the fight against the rising far-right, the European Union movement and one of its core principles - the concept of free movement and the role it played in the Brexit debate - John McDonnell speaks to Dr Philippe Marlière and Dr Maya Goodfellow.
* Dr Maya Goodfellow is a writer and academic, specialising in the relationships between race, bordering and capitalism. She is currently Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at SPERI, the University of Sheffield. Her first book Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats was published in 2020 and was longlisted for the Jhalak Prize. It charts the history of the UK's immigration policy and rhetoric, examining the racialised nature of both, and analyses and challenges the anti-immigration arguments that have been widely accepted in mainstream UK politics.
* Dr Philippe Marlière is Professor in French and European Politics UCL. Philippe completed his MA degree in Law and an MPhil in Politics and Political Science at the University of Lille in France. Before coming to UCL, he was a Research Fellow at the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, 1989-93) and at the European University Institute (Florence, 1991-94), where he was awarded a PhD in Social and Political Science (2000). Philippe Marlière was also awarded the Marcel Liebman Chair in political science by the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in 2007.
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Dec 27, 2022
Episode 9 - The History of Anti-Colonial Struggle
Explore the history of anti-colonialism, struggles against neo-colonialism, and the continued fight against global inequality - John McDonnell discusses these themes in-depth with Asad Rehman and Heidi Chow.
* Asad Rehman has worked in the non-government and charity sectors for over 25 years. Today, his expertise puts him at the forefront of the climate justice movement in the UK, and around the world. Previously the head of international climate at major environmental NGO Friends of the Earth, Asad is now the executive director of War on Want, a movement committed towards ending poverty and injustice.
* Heidi Chow is the Executive Director of Debt Justice (formerly Jubilee Debt Campaign) which campaigns to end unjust debt in solidarity with affected communities in the global south and across the UK. Heidi has a long track record of winning public campaigns on economic justice issues and was formerly a senior campaigns and policy manager at Global Justice Now.
You can find out more about debt and colonialism from Debt Justice’s latest political education program here.
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Dec 20, 2022
Episode 8 - Global Environmental Movements
Explore the formation, impact and goals of environmental movements globally and how they intersect with the fight against global inequality - John McDonnell discusses these theme in depth with Vijay Prashad and Asad Rehman.
* Vijay Prashad is an Indian Marxist historian,editor and commentator. He is an executive-director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, and a senior non-resident fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. Vijay has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations.
* Asad Rehman has worked in the non-government and charity sectors for over 25 years. Today, his expertise puts him at the forefront of the climate justice movement in the UK, and around the world. Previously the head of international climate at major environmental NGO Friends of the Earth, Asad is now the executive director of War on Want, a movement committed towards ending poverty and injustice.
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Dec 17, 2022
Episode 7 - The Russian Revolution
A discussion on the context and events of the Russian Revolution including the nature of Russian society prior to the revolution; the emergence of the revolutionary movements and the Bolshevik Party; what sparked the revolution and the civil war; and the lasting international impact of the revolution.
John McDonnell speaks to two expert historians and activists: Professor Mary Davis and Paul Feldman.
* Mary Davis is visiting professor of labour history at Royal Holloway, University of London. She has written, broadcast and lectured widely on women’s history, labour history, imperialism and racism. Her published books include "Comrade or Brother? A History of the British Labour Movement 1789-1951" (2009); "Marxism & Struggle" (1998); , "Sylvia Pankhurst: A Life in Radical Politics" (1999) and "Class and Gender in British Labour History" (1999) and "Class and Gender in British Labour History."
* Paul Feldman is a Marxist author, editor and activist and communications editor for the Real Democracy Movement. He has authored or co-authored ‘Time’s Up for Neoliberalism’, ‘Unmasking the State’, ‘A World to Win’ and the 2008 publication ‘A House of Cards – from fantasy finance to global crash’. Paul edited and co-ordinated the 2022 online political education course ‘Rethinking Our Future’.
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Dec 7, 2022
Episode 6 - Struggles against fascism and the far right in Italy and Spain
A discussion on the rise of fascism and the far-right in Italy and Spain, resulting in the brutal regimes of Franco and Mussolini.
This episode explores the conditions that led to their rise and the left struggles in both country during and after the establishment of both fascist regimes - John McDonnell speaks to three expert historians: Jessica Thorne; David Broder and Professor Paul Preston.
* Jessica Thorne is a Doctoral candidate in History at Royal Holloway, London, researching transnational resistance to Franco's Spain (1950-1975); she is also currently working with Autonomy, an independent, progressive research organisation that focuses on the future of work and economic planning.
* David Broder is a historian who writes about Italian politics for a number of publications. He is Europe editor at Jacobin magazine and author of Mussolini's Grandchildren: Fascism In Contemporary Italy.
* Paul Preston is the School Professor for the Department of International History in the London School of Economics. Teaching in British and Spanish Universities, Paul has also published books including: The Spanish Civil War, Reaction, Revolution and Revenge; Franco: A Biography; The Spanish Holocaust. Inquisition and Extermination in Twentieth Century Spain; A People Betrayed. A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874–2018
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Jul 25, 2022
Episode 5 - The Attlee Government
On the background to and the formation of the Attlee Government in 1945.
With Francis Beckett, author, journalist, biographer and historian; Rebecca Long-Bailey, Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles, and former Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; and Paul Dimoldenberg, Labour Councillor in Westminster since 1982 and author of 'Building the New Jerusalem'.
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Jul 21, 2022
Episode 4 - The Foundation of the Labour Party
Explore the rise of the trade union movement and eventual foundation of the Labour Party in 1900, with John McDonnell and three expert historians and activists: Matthew Worley, Simon Hannah and Baroness Pauline Bryan.
* Matthew Worley is a Professor of Modern History at the University of Reading, where he focuses on twentieth-century British culture and politics, with a particular interest in the British labour movement.
* Simon Hannah is a writer, labour activist and trade unionist, and the author of “A Party with Socialists in It - A History of the Labour Left”, published by Pluto Press.
* Baroness Pauline Bryan is a Scottish writer and socialist campaigner. She is part of the Red Paper Collective and a founding member of both the Keir Hardie Society and the Campaign for Socialism.
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Sep 19, 2021
Episode 3 - The Chartists
The Chartist movement of the 1830s and 1840s was the first mass movement driven by Britain’s working classes. But how and why did the movement arise? What was society really like for working people at the time? And what were the lasting impacts and implications of the Chartists’ struggle?
Explore this fascinating area of our history with John McDonnell and three expert historians: Emma Griffin, Katrina Navickas and Rob Sewell.
* Emma Griffin is a Professor of Modern British History at the UEA. She is the author of several books, editor of the Historical Journal, President of the Royal Historical Society and a frequent contributor to radio and television.
* Dr Katrina Navickas is a researcher and teacher of the history of protest and collective action at the University of Hertfordshire, and author of works including “Protest and the Politics of Space and Place, 1789-1947”.
* Rob Sewell is the author of “Chartist Revolution”, a Marxist analysis of the Chartist movement in 19th century Britain.
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Jun 28, 2021
Episode 2 - The Civil War
What caused the English Civil War (1642–1651)? What was society like for working people in this period? And what impact did the Civil War have on society then - and now, more than three centuries on?
Explore this fascinating area of our history with John McDonnell and three expert historians: Ann Hughes, John Rees and Ted Vallance.
* Ann Hughes is a Professor of Early Modern History at Keele University, a historian of early modern England with particular interests in the culture, religion and politics of the English civil war (or English Revolution).
* John Rees is a research fellow at Goldsmiths University, a political activist and a writer, whose works include "The Leveller Revolution: Radical Political Organisation in England".
* Ted Vallance is a Professor of early modern British political culture at Roehampton University. His areas of interest include political and religious radicalism, and he is the author of books including "The Leveller Revolution: Radical Political Organisation in England" and "The Glorious Revolution: 1688 - Britain's Fight for Liberty".
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Jun 4, 2021
Episode 1 - The Peasants' Revolt
What caused the people's revolts? What was society really like in this period? And what were the lasting consequences for working people in Britain?
John McDonnell explores this area of our history with historians Martin Empson, Ted Vallance and Justine Firnhaber-Baker, and a more recent employer of camp tactics in Climate Camp and Occupy, Joe Ryle.
* Martin Empson is an author and activist living in Manchester. His book "Kill All the Gentlemen" is a history of class struggle and change in the English countryside. It takes the long view of rural history, tracing the role of rural rebellion and resistance in the development of the modern countryside. Beginning with the 1381 Peasant's Rebellion, it looks at events as wide-ranging as the Pilgrimage of Grace, Robert Kett's Rebellion, Captain Swing, the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the rise and fall of agricultural trade unionism. These are put into the context of the development of capitalism and the end of feudalism.
* Ted Vallance is Professor of early modern British political culture at Roehampton University. His areas of interest include political and religious radicalism (including its subsequent influence and public memory), questions of allegiance/obedience/loyalty, the role of the conscience and the use of casuistry in political debates, and the emergence of the public and public opinion.
* Justine Firnhaber-Baker is a senior lecturer at the University of St Andrews. Her work focuses on power and politics in both institutional ways (kingship, lordship, communities) and in social relationships and interactions, like wars, revolts, and lawsuits, using archival sources to explore questions about legitimate authority, the conceptual constitution of the community, and the use of violence.
* Joe Ryle is Campaign Officer for the 4 Day Week Campaign and a political activist who participated in Climate Camp and Occupy.
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