Podcast: The Night of the Long Knives

By

Half a century has passed since what might just be the most controversial Cabinet reshuffle ever.

Unexpected, ruthless and disastrous: Harold Macmillan's reshuffle of July 13th 1962 – dubbed 'the Night of the Long Knives' by an unsympathetic press – was arguably the beginning of the end for Macmillan's premiership. In one fell swoop he sacked seven of his senior ministers – and lost his reputation in the process.

In this special episode Alex Stevenson is joined by political biographer D. R. Thorpe, the author of Supermac: The Life Of Harold Macmillan, and Stephen Parkinson, director of the Conservative History Group, to talk about the Night of the Long Knives.

There are a surprising number of parallels between the situation on July 13th 1962 and July 13th 2012…

politics.co.uk's past podcasts are also available on iTunes.

Political news to your inbox

Fill in your details to receive Politics.co.uk's brand of informed, in-depth and independent coverage of Westminster to your inbox

Hot topics

Britain's great energy debate

How the power gets to Britain's homes in the next century remains a matter of deep controversy

As the next general election begins to loom over the horizon, the debate over Britain's future energy policy mix is starting to hot up - and nothing seems guaranteed.

The Heathrow third runway debate

Heathrow's third runway is just one of many options

There won't be a final decision on Britain's long-term aviation strategy until after the 2015 general election - but an aggressive national debate is already underway.

Opinion Former Events

MRSA Action UK Annual Memorial Event

Families will pay tribute and remember those lost to MRSA and healthcare associated infections at Westminster Abbey on Thursday 13th June 2013

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition & Conference 2013

Following the great success of the BSIA's Information Destruction Conference and Exhibition in May 2012, we are pleased to annouce that the event is returning again in June 2013. This one-day conference and exhibition is aimed at key decision makers in organisations that carry out the secure destruction of confidential material.