The History, 1997 and All That project was started by Will Barber Taylor as part of the Undergraduate Research Support Scheme at the University of Warwick, designed to help students pursue research projects which they would not be otherwise able to complete.

This website is designed to help present the transcriptions from interviews which took place throughout 2021 as well as the analysis written by Will based on the project. The website also contains links to the Not A Day For Soundbites Podcast which was produced alongside the URSS project and examines some of the most interesting and important speeches given by members of the Labour Party.

Below you will be able to read the transcripts of the conversations that were carried out as apart of the History, 1997 and All That project. Each transcription has been approved by both participants and the interviewer as the official record of the conversation. The transcriptions provide a window not only into what happened during the campaign but also how the participants feel the Labour Party’s history has influenced it and help mould its direction.

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Transcriptions below

In this section you can read Will’s analysis of the question – to what degree did History influence the Labour Party’s 1997 election campaign? Will’s analysis combines the result of the interviews that you can read above and work looking at primary and secondary written sources.

Will’s analysis is available to view here

The Not A Day For Soundbites Podcast was produced alongside the History, 1997 and All That project to help illustrate the way that iconic speeches made by Labour leaders were influenced not just by what happened when they were given but also the pasts of the leaders who made them and of the party itself.

You can listen to each episode of the podcast by clicking the links below.

Episode One: White Heat of Technology

This episode looks at Harold Wilson’s 1963 Labour Party Conference speech known as the “White Heat of Technology” speech. Listen to this episode here.

Episode Two: The Anti Militant Speech

This episode looks at Neil Kinnock’s 1986 Labour Party Conference speech in which Kinnock attacked the Militant tendency. You can listen to this episode here.

Episode Three: “Education, Education, Education”

This episode looks at Tony Blair’s 1996 Labour Party Conference speech known as the “Education, Education, Education” speech, known for Blair’s commitment to education if Labour were elected at the next election. This episode was specifically made in connection to the 1997, History and All That project. You can listen to this episode here.

Episode Four: “The Pound in Your Pocket”

This episode looks at Harold Wilson’s infamous 1967 speech announcing the devaluation of sterling, known as the “Pound in your pocket” speech. You can listen to this episode here.

Episode Five: “A Thousand Years of History”

This episode looks at Hugh Gaitskell’s 1962 speech arguing against Britain’s entry into the Common Market as it was then known. It also extensively explores Gaitskell’s political career and background. You can listen to this episode here.

Episode Six: “The 1976 Monetarist Speech w/ Anthony Broxton of Tides of History”

This episode looks at James Callaghan’s 1976 Labour Party Conference speech arguing that Britain needed to change its economic policies in order to become more effective. It was a controversial speech and seen as the beginning of monetarism entering modern British politics. This episode was recorded with Anthony Broxton, the man behind the Tides of History website and Twitter account. You can listen to this episode here.

Episode Seven: Neil Kinnock Interview

This episode is particularly special as it is an interview with Neil Kinnock, discussing his own speeches alongside his thoughts on the history of Labour Party speeches. You can listen to this episode here.

Episode Eight: John Robert Clynes

This episode looks back on John Robert Clynes, the first English man to lead the Labour Party, his career from a cotton mill in Oldham to within steps of Downing Street and a speech he made during the 1929 election – one which would have bittersweet consequences for Labour and Clynes. You can listen to this episode here.

Episode Nine: Philip Snowden w/ Alex Clifford of History’s Most

This episode looks at the career of Philip Snowden, Labour’s first Chancellor of the Exchequer, with Alex Clifford of the History’s Most podcast, in particular looking at Snowden’s attack on Labour in the 1931 election and what caused it. You can listen to this episode here.

Episode Ten: Neil Kinnock’s Acceptance Speech

This episode looks at the speech given by Neil Kinnock upon being elected Labour Leader in 1983 and the context behind the speech and the state of the Labour Party in the early 1980s. You can listen to this episode here.

Episode Eleven: Gordon Brown’s New Labour Achievements Speech

The final episode of the podcast looks as Gordon Brown’s last conference speech in 2009 as a Labour Prime Minister and the context behind Gordon Brown’s rise to prominence in the Labour Party. You can listen to this episode here.