Tom Kelsey

The Retreat from ‘High Technology’ in Post-War Britain* Abstract. This article argues that the 1970s saw an important change in the attitude of the British state to civil technological projects. It focuses on superso

I am thrilled to publish my first journal article in the English Historical Review 🎉

It tells a new story of political change in post-war Britain: rather than a 'neo-liberalism' from without, I argue for an economic liberalism from within 👇

academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...

Next in our seminar series: we will discuss @mrweatherburn.bsky.social’s paper which explores the concept of “Taylorism”, its multiple changes in meaning, and how this reflects generational conflict, particularly from the 1960s.

🗓️ Wed 11 March 15.30-17.00
📍 Strand Building, KCL

#histstm

Studying for an MA and PhD at
@kingschostm.bsky.social was an incredibly rewarding experience. I was privileged to have a Hans Rausing Scholarship. I recommend this route to anyone interested in studying the history of science, technology, and medicine.

CALL FOR PAPERS - Modern British History and the 'Environmental Turn'.

A two-day workshop organised by @maxlong.bsky.social and myself at Lincoln College, Oxford, 16-17 September. Deadline for abstracts is 15 May.

Details in poster below, please share.

Britain tried to build the future once, though it did not exactly end well. It was great to be on BBC Breakfast this morning to talk about Concorde. It is fifty years since its first commercial… | Tom... Britain tried to build the future once, though it did not exactly end well. It was great to be on BBC Breakfast this morning to talk about Concorde. It is fifty years since its first commercial flight...

Delighted to appear on
BBC Breakfast this morning to talk about Concorde. I pointed out that Britain and France managed to do something the rest of the world could not do: put a supersonic airliner into regular service. It was also, however, a commercial disaster. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Concorde was the flying Brexit: a different era but the same mistakes Nationalistic fantasies about future export strengths, an ill-informed public debate and political deceit all masked the economic disaster that was Concorde

It is fifty years today since the first commercial Concorde flight. In light of this, I thought I'd re-up an old piece from me. Most insiders knew Concorde would damage British industry, but ministers pretended otherwise. www.theguardian.com/science/poli...

Good afternoon, #SHOT2025! I just had a chance to catch up w/@sigcisconf.bsky.social friends over lunch, and now I'm in Atelier 4.520 for a session on Critiques of Technology Since WWII.

Our first speaker is Eric Schatzberg, who is presenting a typology of postwar critiques of technology.

The UK Industrial Strategy: A Contemporary Analysis - NIESR Last week, the Government unveiled its Industrial Strategy White Paper. What are the implications of the industrial strategy for UK economic policy & growth

'The Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy demonstrates why posing a dichotomy between free-markets and industrial strategy is a false one'

Our latest #MondayInterview by Tom Kelsey and @adrianpabst.bsky.social is out now - Read it here🔓⬇️

@productivity.bsky.social

niesr.ac.uk/blog/uk-indu...

Historical Research and Policy Making

#Skystorians! Join me & the @historylabplus.bsky.social‬ team online on 19 June @12:30 to explore how historical researchers (across all periods) can make themselves more visible to UK policy makers. For details👉 www.history.ac.uk/events/historical-research-and-policy-making & 🧵

Big thank you to Dr @tomkelsey.bsky.social of @ox.ac.uk for expert teaching on how Concorde was green-lit by Macmillan - & escaped culling again and again by Wilson & Heath!

Join us this Autumn for our ‘Prime Ministerial Decision-Making’ case study module: thestrandgroup.kcl.ac.uk/module/makin...

Great line up of events this term at the Environmental Humanities Research Hub. Come join us!

We Brits understand our own history as badly as anyone. This looks like a great way to get a more solid handle on our arc since WWII.

Thanks! I think through how similar today’s state-backed tech push is to that of the post-war period in this Research Fortnight piece. My key point is that despite the rhetoric, the UK is far less ambitious today, which I argue is a good thing. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

Taking Stock of Official History, past, present and future: Reflections of an Official Historian by Sir Lawrence Freedman, followed by a panel discussion

Join us in Senate House on 29 January for a special @ihr.bsky.social lecture 'Reflections of an Official Historian' by Sir Lawrence Freedman followed by a round table discussion with panellists including @historianhelen.bsky.social Register below: www.history.ac.uk/events/takin...

Have you heard about our Peer Mentoring Scheme in partnership with the UK Civil Service? We're welcoming applications from policy professionals & eligible @ox.ac.uk researchers to join our next cohort.

Apply by 16 December!

t.co/yMCYRqwmuY

Want to learn a bit more about the team behind @oxpolicyengaged.bsky.social? This is us!

Find out about how we can help policy professionals and academic researchers connect and engage more effectively: t.co/IYP1DmIEs9

This paper also challenges the narrative that the ‘technological disillusion’ of the 1970s came via the New Left and environmentalists, demonstrating the importance of an expert critique focused on economic and industrial arguments that emerged from inside the state itself.

As I show, Whitehall radically reduced Britain's technological ambitions during the 1970s, ushering in a more liberal and less interventionist state before Thatcher even took power. This reckoning between officialdom and techno-nationalist enthusiasm transformed British politics.

It examines the post-war politics of 'high technology' in Britain, suggesting that the abandonment of a deeply embedded strategy of trying to be *the* Science and Tech Superpower was more about an internal battle within the British state than one between the parties.

The Retreat from ‘High Technology’ in Post-War Britain* Abstract. This article argues that the 1970s saw an important change in the attitude of the British state to civil technological projects. It focuses on superso

I am thrilled to publish my first journal article in the English Historical Review 🎉

It tells a new story of political change in post-war Britain: rather than a 'neo-liberalism' from without, I argue for an economic liberalism from within 👇

academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...