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Steven Fielding

@polprofsteve2024.bsky.social

3.6K followers 1.3K following 4.9K posts

Emeritus Prof, writing (slowly) about Labour’s existential struggles since 1976 for Polity. Knows stuff about politics & culture. Labour List: https://labourlist.org/author/s-fielding/ Zeitgeist Tapes: https://shorturl.at/nwdO4 .. more

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Steven Fielding is an academic in the School of Politics at the University of Nottingham where he is professor of political history and director of the Centre for British Politics. His most recent work A State of Play sets out the qualified constructivist view that how individuals regard real politics can be shaped by fictional works about politics. .. more

Political science 73%

History 11%

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 1h

I am afraid you are very likely correct. The budget will confirm this I’m afraid to say. But even if there is a change, Starmer is not the one to sell it.

Reposted by Tim Bale

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 2h

Labour needs to govern like nobody is watching and as you suggest it currently governs as if it’s only its enemies are watching.

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 2h

Indeed. But I’ll be very surprised if she doesn’t put herself in the mix when Starmer stands down. I can’t think of any Labour figure who comes close to her in terms of putting arguments across in a demotic and visceral way.

Reposted by Christopher McCabe, Steven Fielding

Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 2h

Private Eye offers up an excellently scornful commentary on the relentless polling. It’s become ridiculous and has oversimplified our politics to dangerous levels of stupid and irresponsible.

SHOCK POLL:
NIGEL FARAGE WILL BE PM TOMORROW
IN an amazing poll conducted
by The Pointless Polling Company, it was revealed that voters' intentions
may well change over the next three and a half years and at present it's 100 percent impossible to guess what the next government might look like.
However, 99 percent of journalists
agree that it would be much more fun if we had an election tomorrow and everybody resigned and everything was chaos and Farage had a go at being PM, just for the hell of it, because it was so much fun when
Brexit happened and then the government kept falling every five minutes and we could write endless pieces about (cont. p94)

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 2h

Rayner Rayner Rayner.

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 2h

But he is clever in suggesting that isn’t what he wants, although clearly if he was given free rein that’s absolutely what he would like.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 3h

Only in as much as it’s based on a very subjective and self-serving reading of the Bible. As we know, other interpretations are available.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 3h

But if you want to see the funny I strongly recommend this hilarious series which focuses on their hypocrisy.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 3h

At another level of course they are ridiculous hence the discussion in the interview between how a Christian nationalist state should treat fornication as opposed to adultery. But these people are closer to power than they’ve ever been and then they cease to be funny.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 3h

These people are dangerous and while the infection is more evident in the US we need to be careful in the UK to stand up to these monsters when they turn up on our shores or we will fall victim to it too.

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 3h

A sceptic might suggest that he blames many of the downsides of a neoliberal society on a lack of respect for God, at least his version of God, and that his solution is imposing stricter ‘moral’ policing than even Victorians lived under while making the market even more dominant over our lives.

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 3h

A fascinating interview with America’s leading Christian nationalists a self described ‘theocratic libertarian’, which seems to amount to a radically free market combined with moral terrorism. Freedom for the billionaires but oppression for virtually everybody else. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/o...

Opinion | He Believes America Should Be a Theocracy. He Says His Influence Is Growing.

www.nytimes.com

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 4h

Absolutely. Rogan is a political ignoramus, whereas Montie is meant to be an expert & his support for authoritarian populists is of long-standing. He is a nasty piece of work.

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 17h

I suppose the ideal time for Starmer to be replaced is after the May results which will underline many things that need to change and at least whoever takes over won’t be responsible.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 17h

Lab & cons adhere 2 the idea of ‘fiscal responsibility’ which strangles the possibility of being popular if by that you mean significantly better public services & people being better off in the short term. I know Starmer’s argument for it but he hasn’t got a politics, a vision, to compensate.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 18h

Yes, that is a problem. Streeting can communicate but he’s got the wrong politics, however I’m half assuming Angela Rayner will make a comeback.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 19h

The govt has done some good things some of which will have an immediate if modest effect others will take time to be felt. But it’s completely failed to establish a broad & positive sense of direction for which Starmer is largely to blame. He’s a terrible communicator.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 19h

He (& McSweeney) has to go. It’s just a question of when: May? Labour needed to demonstrate change when it first entered govt & completely failed to do so. Only a new leader can dramatise any shift in direction towards actually being a demonstrably change party.

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 23h

I would like the help of an economist to aid me in wondering how much recompense I should be claiming as a consequence of my antecedents being exploited by capitalism and before that serfdom… and also where do I send my invoice?

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 23h

I’m not sure what Lisa Nandy is doing at the moment, but perhaps she could become a Cabinet minister with relevant responsibilities?

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 23h

Absolutely.

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 1d

Oooh sign us up!

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 1d

Is that the Enoch Powell who in 1968 predicted an imminent race war between the races? Or the Enoch Powell who said that anybody who wasn’t white could never be British whether they were born here or not? Or the Enoch Powell who said that all political careers end in failure?

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 1d

'Remain campaigner now says Enoch was right'.

Morning.

Reposted by Steven Fielding

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 1d

'Remain campaigner now says Enoch was right'.

Morning.

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 1d

This is the photograph which heads up the turning point UK account on X. It looks very much like hate speech to me, making Starmer out to be a Nazi. They must be lovely people to have on campus.

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 1d

I signed that petition after reading this about how those defenders of free speech at Turning Point have put @mark-bray.bsky.social and his family in peril www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/n...

Rutgers Expert on Antifa Tries to Flee to Spain After Death Threats

www.nytimes.com

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 1d

chng.it/JNtHXqdKpz

Disband the Rutgers Chapter of Turning Point USA

Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?

chng.it

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 1d

🙄

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 1d

Look at the data 🙄

Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, he’s not worth it.

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