Goldsmiths - University of London

Dr Richard Grayson BA, D.Phil.

I joined the department in 2004 and became Head of Department in 2006. I am now Senior Lecturer in British and Irish Politics and I co-edit the journal Irish Political Studies.  Prior to 2004 I spent five years working in politics as Director of Policy of the Liberal Democrats. In that role I had overall responsibility for the party's election manifestos and policy development, and in 1999-2001, I was Charles Kennedy's principal speechwriter. For 18 months before that, I was Director of the Centre for Reform, a public policy think tank based in Westminster. Before those two roles working in politics, I taught politics and history for four years at Oxford University, UEA, Buckingham and the Open University. My First Class BA (Hons) in English and American History was from UEA in 1991 (where I was also sabbatical General Secretary of the Students' Union), and my doctorate in Modern History was from Oxford University in 1995. I remain active in politics both nationally and locally as: Vice-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Federal Policy Committee; and Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Hemel Hempstead (www.hhlibdems.org.uk).

Research interests

My main research interests have a strong emphasis on the historical roots of contemporary political problems, but I also work periodically on current public policy, with much of my work focused on lessons for the UK from other countries.

However, may main current research is focused on the First World War.  I recently completed Belfast Boys: how Unionists and Nationalists fought and died together in the Great War, published in August 2009 by Continuum. It focuses on the two battalions with overt West Belfast connections in 1914-18, the 9th Royal Irish Rifles and the 6th Connaught Rangers, but also draws in other units of the army, navy and Royal Flying Corps in which West Belfast men served. It covers the stories of the men who fought in the war, the experiences of those who returned, the work of women and children on the home front, and the controversies which have surrounded remembrance of the war in Belfast.  I am now developing a number of other projects relating to the First World War.

Prior to my current research, I published two books on British politics and foreign policy in the inter-war years. I have also carried out research into a number of other subjects. These include a comparative study of secondary education systems in England, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands; a study of the fiscal systems OECD countries; and research on the place of policy towards 'juvenile delinquency' in the post-1945 political consensus. I still maintain an interest in inter-war foreign policy, which is the field in which I began research.  I have recently published on the Conservative politician Leo Amery (1873-1955), with an emphasis on the place of imperialism in British politics. However, some of my more recent publications have been on contemporary politics.  I am currently writing A Beginner's Guide to British Politics to be published by One World Publications in 2010, and I have published widely on liberalism and the Liberal Democrats, including being co-editor of Reinventing the State: Social Liberalism for the 21st Century. I shall be developing this work in 2010 through another overseas study, publishing on lessons for the UK from policies being developed in Newark, New Jersey.

Selected publications

First World War

• Belfast Boys: How Unionists and Nationalists Fought and Died Together in the First World War (Continuum, 2009).

I have also applied my academic research to inform engagement with genealogists and the wider community. I have been closely involved in the establishment of the 'Hemel at War' project at Hemel Hempstead School, and have also made the following written contributions:

• 'The 6th Connaught Rangers at War' and 'How to find out more about the 6th Connaught Rangers', in 6th Connaught Rangers Research Project, The 6th Connaught Rangers: Belfast Nationalists and the Great War (Belfast: 6th Connaught Rangers Research Project, 2008), pp. 18-29 & pp. 67-69.
• ‘Finding out about Irish Servicemen in WWI’, North Irish Roots: Journal of the North of Ireland Family History Society, 20, 1 (2009), pp. 4-7.
• ‘Sergeant James Powell, 2nd Royal Irish Rifles’, Review: Journal of the Craigavon Historical Society, 9, 2 (2008-9), pp. 58-59.

Inter-war UK political history

• 'Leo Amery's Imperialist Alternative to Appeasement in the 1930s', Twentieth Century British History, 17, 4 (2006), pp. 489-515.
• 'Imperialism in Conservative defence and foreign policy: Leo Amery and the Chamberlains, 1903-1939', Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 34, 4 (2006), pp. 505-527.
• 'Austen Chamberlain' in T.G. Otte, ed., The Makers of British Foreign Policy: From Pitt to Thatcher, (Palgrave, 2002), pp. 150-172.
• Liberals, International Relations and Appeasement: The Liberal Party, 1919-39, (London: Frank Cass, 2001).
• Austen Chamberlain and the Commitment to Europe : British Foreign Policy, 1924-29, (London: Frank Cass, 1997).
• 'The British Government and the Channel Tunnel, 1919-39', Journal of Contemporary History, 31, 1 (Jan. 1996), pp. 125-144.

Post-war UK political history

• Review article: 'Conservative Ideologies and the Conservative Party', Contemporary Politics, 11, 4 (2005), p. 271-77. ISSN 1356-9775
• 'Mods, Rockers, and Juvenile Delinquency in 1964: The Government Response', in Contemporary British History, 12, 1 (1998), pp. 19-47.
• 'The British Government, the Channel Tunnel and European Unity, 1948-64', European History Quarterly, 23, 3 (1996), pp. 415-436.

Contemporary liberalism and Liberal Democrats

• ‘Social liberalism’, in Kevin Hickson, ed., The Political Thought of the Liberals and Liberal Democrats since 1945, (Manchester University Press, 2009), pp. 48-64.
• (Co-editor, with Duncan Brack and David Howarth), Reinventing the State: Social Liberalism for the 21st Century (London: Politicos, 2007).
• (Editor) Special issue of The Political Quarterly, 78, 1 (2007) on the Liberal Democrats.
• 'Analysing the Liberal Democrats', The Political Quarterly, 78, 1 (2007), pp. 5-10. ISSN 0032-3179
• 'Social Democracy or Social Liberalism? Ideological Sources of Liberal Democrat Policy', The Political Quarterly, 78, 1 (2007), pp. 32-39. ISSN 0032-3179
• 'Change and Continuity in the Liberal Democrat General Election Campaign of 2005', Political Quarterly, 76, 3 (2005), pp. 393-401.
• (Editor) Liberal Democrats and the Third Way, (London: Centre for Reform, 1998).

Contemporary public policy

• ‘Localising and Decentralising the National Health Service’, in Seth Thévoz, ed., The Local Parliament: A Liberal Democrat Approach to Devolution (London: Local Government Association, 2009), pp. 24-28.
• ‘Reforming the NHS: A Local and Democratic Voice’, in Duncan Brack, Richard S. Grayson and David Howarth, eds., Reinventing the State: Social Liberalism for the 21st Century (London: Politicos, 2007).
• Learning from Europe : Lessons in Education, with Nick Clegg, (London : Centre for European Reform, 2002).
• Funding Federalism: A Report on Systems of Government Finance, with Nicholas Bromley, Jay Liotta, Margaret Sharp and Ryan White, (London: Centre for Reform, 1999).
• Saving Our Future: Disaffection with Schools, with John Howson, (London: Centre for Reform, 1998).

Alternative histories

• 'What if Gustav Stresemann had lived beyond 1929?', in Duncan Brack, ed., President Gore and other things that never happened, (London: Politico's, 2006), pp. 133-148.
• 'What if the Liberal Party had Emerged United from the First World War?', in Duncan Brack and Iain Dale, eds., Prime Minister Portillo and other things that never happened, (London: Politicos, 2003), pp. 1-20.

Teaching

I am Convenor of the MA in Contemporary British Politics, and teach the Contemporary British Politics 1 core unit. I teach the first term of the first year unit UK and European Comparative Governance and Politics, the second year unit Themes and Issues in British Politics since 1945, and I teach third years taking Northern Ireland's Politics and Political Cultures. I supervise many third year dissertations, and am always happy to advise on any problems or queries that students may have - please do come to see me during office hours.

Areas of supervision
I supervise in British politics (broadly defined). I am currently supervising MPhil/PhD students working on these specific subjects:

• Feminist political thought during the First World War
• Women's involvement in the Liberal Democrats
• Military aid to the civil power in Northern Ireland
• Nostalgia in political parties: myths, members and activism

Professional activities

Co-Editor, Irish Political Studies