Alan Lester

The podcast of David Olusoga and I discussing Empire & the rewriting of history: howtoacademy.com/podcasts/dav...

It’s no longer possible for Britain to wash its hands of its crime against humanity, to deflect to others, to trivialise & to disavow. If it wants some moral influence in the world, an apology, a TRC & meaningful negotiation of e.g. debt relief is now necessary. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

We can be confident of one thing: the King will not try to simply deny any moral implication in a crime against humanity, as opponents of the Church’s Fund for Healing, Justice and Repair’s still do. Charles ‘will not shy away’ from issue of slavery in Caribbean www.thetimes.com/article/558f...

These superb essays indicate where the heritage sector stands - as a battleground in a right wing culture war backlash against Black lives mattering - but also document how it carries on truth-telling nonetheless. Writing the foreword was cathartic. www.routledge.com/Britains-Con...

In action today at Slindon Church, West Sussex, where the “founding father of English racism” Edward Long is commemorated. My keynote linking Long, the enslaved Roque Ferdinand and the current backlash against the Church of England’s Project Spire available here: alanlester.co.uk/blog/edward-...

Reform has always been about two things: money and propaganda. Now that the money trail has been exposed its only resort is to hire a bigger propaganda workforce. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

I think the press play a role in freaking the general public out (more tax), but the Ghanaian Foreign Minister’s call for discussion on “concessional financing”, such as how debt was treated, “climate issues” and the “return of artefacts” is entirely reasonable and might be well received

@nesrinemalik.bsky.social has a remarkable gift for pithily summarising contemporary history. Do read her characterisation of the backlash against Black Lives Matter - a promise of antiracism that white supremacist networks had to suppress: www.theguardian.com/news/2026/oc...

‘Basic historical literacy’, not anti-knowledge, is something that should be insisted upon for comprehension of the national story and its enduring legacies - especially in connection to racism. This term will be very apt and useful for culture and heritage workers.

The Byline Times has become a key primary source for future historians trying to understand the recurrence & rehabilitation of scientific racism after 80 years of post-Nazi quiescence. bylinetimes.com/edition/90/n...

Tried something new yesterday that i think went well: establishing antiracism not as procedures but as basic historical literacy. Began STEM “EDI” event in Edinburgh with a lecture on structural racism as a continuous thread connecting Edward Long, Eric Williams & Jason Arday.

History 101 and why history is a revisionist discipline. The letter below is why archives are selective. It’s survived because somebody decided to keep the evidence. Even as late as the 1970s, it was seen as too incendiary. A deliberate murder by Police of Aboriginal prisoners in the 1890s.

It’s striking how similar this guy’s prescriptions for “delinquency” are to the far right, Christian nationalist rhetoric that’s apparently now more acceptable to the mainstream media. Doctor selling ‘Palestine poppies’ wrote books defending stoning www.thetimes.com/article/cb60...

Nigel Farage said “Hitler was right” and made gas hissing noises at Jewish pupils, according to dozens of witnesses. He has escaped being held accountable. Schools should recognise antisemitism as distinct form of harm, review says www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The right wing post-liberal “intellectuals” who took heart from Orban misdiagnose the malaise of the West as its liberalism. As if colonialism never allowed compulsory globalisation on the West’s terms & independence never gave greater choice of trading partners. www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

It’s gratifying that this unfortunately necessary book has become a become a best-seller in Canada. My part was to help expose the trans-national far right networks that sponsor denial, & their tactics of distortion, distraction & cherry picking uofmpress.ca/books/truth-...

The riots are about education & the cost of living. Reducing immigration will not solve those embedded problems & restore “fraternity”. What is it with Phillips’ obsession about (implicitly Muslim) immigration? French riots show Andy Burnham his top priority www.thetimes.com/article/6610...

How Winston Churchill admitted, indeed boasted, that Britain’s power & prosperity were tied to Atlantic slavery even before Eric Williams’ thesis was published. Great stuff from Kenneth Mohammed: www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Reform says “a handful” of bad apples slip through vetting. It’s not a handful. We’ve exposed Reform councillor after Reform councillor, and many of them are still in the party. Here are some of the worst👇 hopenothate.org.uk/2026/10/16/t...

This is very good: detailed and evidenced.

Maybe not such a good idea to place one’s faith in this man?

Seriously, how can he keep a straight face? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

I am posting here the talk that I'll be giving on two individuals and the Church of England's entanglements with slavery on 25 Oct at St Mary's Church, Slindon, West Sussex. Do come along and hear from me & others who are connected with the Church alanlester.co.uk/blog/edward-...

Interesting to see the kind of public buffer food stock systems that often (not always) warded off the worst effects of famine in parts of Mughal India before East India Company rule now proposed to help with food price shocks in the UK: www.theguardian.com/business/202...