Power and the People: A History of British Energy https://nitter.cf/t.co/GdQXMcqRQ9 Energy history https://nitter.cf/t.co/Cl9Zcs4r20
London, England
Joined June 2024
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Arthur Downing retweeted
Some very brief thoughts and personal reflections
unevenandcombinedthoughts.su…
Chris Wickham was a remarkable scholar. I remember reading Framing over a summer holiday in northern Spain, visiting some of the churches he discussed in the book. He made the history come alive with a unique appreciation of the archaeology.
Everyone in the room adored Chris. He was, in my view, greatest medieval historian alongside Marc Bloch. He also had an extraordinary interest in things he had no reason to know about. He would regularly correct me on my interpretation of trade union history!
The GOAT. The pickle onion monster munch is the reason I concluded that some things reach a point of technological perfection.
Arthur Downing retweeted
Monster Munch Pickled Onion: with their unrelenting and relationship-ruining acidic tang, these crisps defy common sense and taste lip-smackingly good. Combine this with their crunch, which lasts for weeks, and you have an all time classic set of British crisps. Rating: 9.4
Arthur Downing retweeted
Imagine putting someone’s health and safety at risk
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Arthur Downing retweeted
'What Gibbs describes as the unmaking of the working class happened as a result of concerted political will. Rebuilding will require similar effort. Books like his are a start.'
Thanks to @Taj_Ali1 for incisively reviewing my new book, An Injury to All. hyphenonline.com/2026/09/24/…
In the 1970s a state owned utility pulled off the most remarkable mega project in energy history, and it’s why we have gas boilers in our houses today. The same state owned utility invented LNG, sold global consulting services, and drove down prices lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n17/…
LABOURISM VS NEOLIBERALISM
One of the many criticisms of Keir Starmer’s leadership was that he had little or no sense of history. The same, happily, is not true about his successor, Andy Burnham, who promises to replace the neoliberal, market-driven settlement established by Margaret Thatcher in the Eighties and, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, followed-cum-accepted by the next eight prime ministers. Burnham’s historical vision of Britain since the war has a refreshing clarity to it. In essence: “1979-2026, bad” – and therefore by strong implication, “1945-79, good”. But, appraised unsentimentally, were they the good days? And is “back to the future” really the answer?
Read David Kynaston on Andy Burnham's sense of history: newstatesman.com/politics/20…
Arthur Downing retweeted
LABOURISM VS NEOLIBERALISM
One of the many criticisms of Keir Starmer’s leadership was that he had little or no sense of history. The same, happily, is not true about his successor, Andy Burnham, who promises to replace the neoliberal, market-driven settlement established by Margaret Thatcher in the Eighties and, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, followed-cum-accepted by the next eight prime ministers. Burnham’s historical vision of Britain since the war has a refreshing clarity to it. In essence: “1979-2026, bad” – and therefore by strong implication, “1945-79, good”. But, appraised unsentimentally, were they the good days? And is “back to the future” really the answer?
Read David Kynaston on Andy Burnham's sense of history: newstatesman.com/politics/20…
Arthur Downing retweeted
Never been to the opera before?
Now’s your chance. We’re giving away 70,000 free tickets to the @MetOpera at the iconic Lincoln Center. Go to on.nyc.gov/opera to enter the lottery. There’s not a bad seat in the house.
Arthur Downing retweeted
How do you build an electrostate? And what roles should government and technology play? This week on Bloomberg's Zero podcast, author Arthur Downing discusses what history has to teach us about the electricity system bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Arthur Downing retweeted
How do you build an electrostate? And what roles should government and technology play? This week on Bloomberg's Zero podcast, author Arthur Downing discusses what history has to teach us about the electricity system bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Currently reading all about China’s Town and Village associations in the 1980s and 1990s. Does anyone have any good recommendations for books articles? Especially how the collective TVEs functioned? @NewLeftEViews @BrankoMilan?
