British Empire Professor, University of Sussex. Co-editor, MUP Studies in Imperialism series. Views here own. Blogs on politics of colonial history here: https://alanlester.co.uk Editor https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-truth-about-empire/https://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwvbrbrsrs2vIt’s essential that more and more organisations & individuals fight far right disinformation wherever it’s found. [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Oct 2026 11:35 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwvbrbrsrs2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwuuzjmkhs22I’ve never seen a BBC correspondent try to build such a huge mountain out of such a tiny molehill. Chris Mason’s hysterical quest to undermine Andy Burnham, based on a few noncommittal words: Chris Mason: Why Andy Burnham's about-turn on Manchester City matters https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5kg0gwwpyx8o02 Oct 2026 07:47 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwuuzjmkhs22https://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwtggxw74c2aIt’ll be interesting to see if the electronic tracking of domestic abuse offenders released from prison early today will show a convergence on Crowborough, Dover & other far right, anti-immigrant rallying points.01 Oct 2026 17:54 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwtggxw74c2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwt5yayedk2a1/2 Sorry, one more reparations post today: some express astonishment at the calculation that Britain could ‘owe’ $18 Tn to the Caribbean (reparations campaigners aren’t demanding this - they’re not stupid & know it’s impossible). But just think how easy it would be to solve the01 Oct 2026 15:22 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwt5yayedk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwt4gowbi22aIt’s time we stopped normalising those who actively foment opposition to any discussion of reparations. We should presume accountability for past & ongoing wrongs and label them “activists” as well as those campaigning for reparative justice. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Oct 2026 14:54 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwt4gowbi22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwt2jhyoys2s1/2 ... and while I'm at it: every anti-reparations activist also claims that we should be focusing on modern slavery rather than historic, as if they are mutually exclusive. As this event shows though, ... [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Oct 2026 14:20 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwt2jhyoys2shttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwszhph6js2s1/3 Every anti-reparations activist I debate with insists on the overweeing importance of African slave-traders' complicity in supplying Britons with captives for the plantations. Their argument is precisely that of the C18 scientific racist and justifier of slavery Edward Long:01 Oct 2026 14:01 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwszhph6js2shttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwsydjz2sk2aBorrowing costs of 6% were imposed on newly independent Caribbean & African countries by British administrators, creating a debt trap they’ve never been able to escape: https://alanlester.co.uk/blog/britains-responsibilities-to-former-colonies-a-debate/ https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/01/global-bond-sell-off-uk-long-term-borrowing-costs-us-bond-yield?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other01 Oct 2026 13:41 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwsydjz2sk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwsijljm4k2bLatest arrival in https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/series/studies-in-imperialism/01 Oct 2026 08:58 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwsijljm4k2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwsbq42pwk2wFascinating: Anglo-Saxon expat enclave in Rome during 10th century: Anglo-Saxons got special treatment in Rome’s ‘English quarter’ https://www.thetimes.com/article/070ee945-3e9f-41ea-a89c-c37f39f54e28?shareToken=356f15ec5278f189ef86904657183a3901 Oct 2026 06:57 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwsbq42pwk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwlaa2pw4k2sOh the dilemma this poses for right wing culture warriors! Condemn it as an example of snowflake liberal cancel culture or celebrate it for cancelling the British slavery episode? BBC removes Horrible Histories episode featuring slavery and child labour https://www.thetimes.com/article/814665e2-a870-4d5c-865a-6a6fd28ce83d?shareToken=7af2657a0aa3ec10ce7a07b00615561c28 Sep 2026 11:41 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwlaa2pw4k2shttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwkz5vvhes2s1/5🧵 On British Colonialism, Illness, the plight of UK universities & early retirement: Back when X was Twitter and violent racist propaganda was policed, I posted about my intention to write a new textbook overview of the British Empire, based on 30 + years of research. https://x.com/aljhlester/status/1853753799011078319?s=46&t=cYAW5cYMsTXPfpgrxrWO8g28 Sep 2026 09:35 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwkz5vvhes2shttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwkrrt6lzs2sExcellent article on British awareness of the Nazi death camps and ambivalence over Jewish refugees. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/27/britain-knew-about-holocaust-as-it-happened-exhibition?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other28 Sep 2026 07:23 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwkrrt6lzs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwkqlviav22sWith austerity and Brexit the last Tory government allowed our asylum system to degenerate into chaos. Populist scapegoating of asylum seekers & closure of safe routes doesn’t help. The current government is at last beginning to restore sense & order. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/27/shabana-mahmood-uk-refugee-resettlement-scheme-afghan-women-girls-palestinians?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other28 Sep 2026 07:01 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwkqlviav22shttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwirt3ahck2pIt was so good to meet David Lascelles (Earl of Harewood) in the debate with Nigel Biggar at Hereford Military History Festival last night. Someone who acknowledges inherited responsibility & is trying to act on it. https://harewood.org/stories/harewood-slavery-and-the-caribbean/27 Sep 2026 12:18 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwirt3ahck2phttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwibneok3c2bIn our debate on British reparations for slavery last night Nigel Biggar preferred to deflect to the “Arab” slave trade & castration. It’s gruesome but here’s a useful study of castration - widespread in Christian, Chinese, & other Eurasian societies too: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-archaeology/articles/10.3389/fearc.2025.1665353/full27 Sep 2026 07:28 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwibneok3c2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwft27h45k2hWell said: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/26/lets-tell-the-truth-smithsonian-head-given-standing-ovation-as-he-hits-back-at-trump-attacks?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other26 Sep 2026 08:02 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwft27h45k2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwdtpr5qn22tI recommend this superb account of what is at stake when we in the West allow authoritarian, racist leaders to hide the traces of the past. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/white-minority-rule-in-rhodesia-reexamined-urgent-lessons-from-the-past/832F3521A1971E1894CDBF3B5BB56D2B25 Sep 2026 13:09 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwdtpr5qn22thttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwdafj3a5k2qI suspect that this kind of thinking may do more to aid Britain’s revival than stabbing dinghies. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/ng-interactive/2026/sep/25/andy-burnham-utilities-public-ownership-nationalisation-thames-water?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other25 Sep 2026 07:23 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwdafj3a5k2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mwd6secgjs2yEvidence from Australia suggesting the Tories’ latest scheme to punish further the poorest people won’t work. Mixed results for Australia’s experiment of restricting welfare https://www.thetimes.com/article/765d321a-4313-4958-ab11-3d9966f00cd6?shareToken=07018523aebd10442e9be940c058f84925 Sep 2026 06:54 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwd6secgjs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mw7fpbvyak2gThe idea that Mauritius has no claim to Chagos is odd. Many British colonies were amalgams of separate territories. Britain administered Mauritius & Chagos as a single entity as it did diverse Nigeria. The difference is, it unlawfully split it again upon independence. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck3wjy3pdwdno23 Sep 2026 18:47 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw7fpbvyak2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mw6fabfduk2sJohn M MacKenzie, the founding editor of the Manchester University Press Studies in Inperialism series that i have the honour of co-editing, has sadly passed away. Our tributes here: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/blog/2026/09/23/remembering-john-m-mackenzie/23 Sep 2026 09:06 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw6fabfduk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mw653x6o3c2dIt’s time for a zero tolerance crack down on far right thugs. They’re costing the taxpayer, soaking up police resources, intimidating peaceful communities & delaying the measures that are reducing the asylum backlog & its cost. Enough is enough. End the menace. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/22/far-right-activist-daniel-thomas-slashes-dinghy-with-blade-while-rescue-worker-onboard?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other23 Sep 2026 06:40 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw653x6o3c2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/alanlester.bsky.social/post/3mw3nzw6gs22v1/2 We have vastly improved data now on British slave-owners (www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/search/) and slave-traders (britishslavetraders.org). Wonderful that this research has persisted despite all the fury of the nationalist right wing backlash. https://britishslavetraders.org/22 Sep 2026 07:06 +0000at://did:plc:dmnrawqpbb3v7f2tgs3f7xa4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw3nzw6gs22v