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Dr Matt Beech's Outputs (47)

The Idea of the Good Society: Essays in Honour of Raymond Plant (2025)
Book
Beech, M., & Hickson, K. (Eds.). (2025). The Idea of the Good Society: Essays in Honour of Raymond Plant. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/9780191983627.001.0001

This volume provides a comprehensive analysis of the political thought and practice of Raymond Plant (Professor Lord Plant of Highfield) and celebrates the three aspects of his public life which speak to his idea of the good society: scholarship, pol... Read More about The Idea of the Good Society: Essays in Honour of Raymond Plant.

Interpreting UK legislatures: an introduction (2024)
Journal Article
Beech, M., & Bevir, M. (2024). Interpreting UK legislatures: an introduction. Journal of Legislative Studies, 30(2), 129-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2024.2345038

The purpose of this special issue of the Journal of Legislative Studies is to explain and understand the era of profound change that has affected, and continues to impact, UK legislatures. This is an era of special change, wrought by the phenomena of... Read More about Interpreting UK legislatures: an introduction.

Why the beliefs of parliamentarians matter: an interpretive approach to legislative studies (2024)
Journal Article
Beech, M., & Bevir, M. (2024). Why the beliefs of parliamentarians matter: an interpretive approach to legislative studies. Journal of Legislative Studies, 30(2), 136-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2024.2345035

In this article, we argue, following the interpretive approach, that parliamentarians’ beliefs, and the intellectual traditions on which they draw matter. Parliamentary behaviour and legislative practice is the contingent product of the historically... Read More about Why the beliefs of parliamentarians matter: an interpretive approach to legislative studies.

Did the rising tide of state education lift all ships? An investigation into the secondary education and attainment policy towards white working-class boys in England, 1997-2010 (2023)
Thesis
Tiplady, J. Did the rising tide of state education lift all ships? An investigation into the secondary education and attainment policy towards white working-class boys in England, 1997-2010. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4500690

This thesis is an evaluation of the secondary education and attainment policies of the New Labour governments, from 1997 to 2010, and of the extent to which that improved educational outcomes for white working-class boys in England. The study begins... Read More about Did the rising tide of state education lift all ships? An investigation into the secondary education and attainment policy towards white working-class boys in England, 1997-2010.

Conservative Party Ideology in the Age of Brexit (2023)
Book Chapter
Beech, M. (2023). Conservative Party Ideology in the Age of Brexit. In M. Beech, & S. Lee (Eds.), Conservative Governments in the Age of Brexit (11-24). Palgrave Macmillan (part of Springer Nature). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21464-6_2

This essay asserts that the Age of Brexit was one of sharp ideological conflict in the Conservative Party and yet, despite such tumult, the Conservative Party demonstrated its ideological breadth by surviving schism and thriving, by winning a third s... Read More about Conservative Party Ideology in the Age of Brexit.

Conservative Governments in the Age of Brexit (2023)
Book
Beech, M., & Lee, S. (Eds.). (2023). Conservative Governments in the Age of Brexit. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21464-6

This book provides the first evaluation of the three Conservative administrations which have been affected, shaped and largely determined by the age of Brexit.It breaks new ground by collectively analysing the Cameron, May and Johnson administrations... Read More about Conservative Governments in the Age of Brexit.

Interpreting Brexit: Reimagining Political Traditions (2022)
Book
Bevir, M., & Beech, M. (Eds.). (2022). Interpreting Brexit: Reimagining Political Traditions. Palgrave Macmillan (part of Springer Nature). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17281-6

This volume examines the impact of Brexit on political traditions such as nationalism, liberalism and conservatism, cosmopolitanism and decentralization. Bringing together scholars of British Politics, the chapters focus on the following topics: Bre... Read More about Interpreting Brexit: Reimagining Political Traditions.

Brexit and the Labour Party: Europe, cosmopolitanism and the narrowing of traditions (2021)
Journal Article
Beech, M. (2021). Brexit and the Labour Party: Europe, cosmopolitanism and the narrowing of traditions. British Politics, 16(2), 152-169. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41293-021-00168-6

The phenomenon of Brexit is reordering British politics. Its effects have led to political and cultural shock, disruption and rifts. This article explores how the phenomenon of Brexit has decentered the Labour Party’s ideational traditions. The artic... Read More about Brexit and the Labour Party: Europe, cosmopolitanism and the narrowing of traditions.

Divided by values: Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party and England's 'North-South Divide' (2020)
Journal Article
Beech, M., & Hickson, K. (2020). Divided by values: Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party and England's 'North-South Divide'. Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique, 24(2),

This article explores the sociocultural divide in England exposed by Brexit. The metaphors of ‘North’ and ‘South’ are used to explain this, where the former is seen as more culturally conservative and the latter as more cosmopolitan. We examine the... Read More about Divided by values: Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party and England's 'North-South Divide'.

The place of human rights in the foreign policy of Cameron's Conservatives: Sceptics or enthusiasts? (2019)
Journal Article
Beech, M., & Munce, P. (2019). The place of human rights in the foreign policy of Cameron's Conservatives: Sceptics or enthusiasts?. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 21(1), 116-131. https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148118819066

The purpose of this article is to explain the place of human rights in the foreign policy thinking of David Cameron’s Conservatives (2005–2016). The article asks three interrelated questions: First, what role has human rights come to acquire in inter... Read More about The place of human rights in the foreign policy of Cameron's Conservatives: Sceptics or enthusiasts?.

The Progressives (2018)
Book Chapter
Beech, M. (2018). The Progressives. In M. Beech, K. Hickson, & R. Plant (Eds.), The Struggle for Labour's Soul: Understanding Labour's Political Thought Since 1945 (67-79). (2nd edition). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315170848-6

The chapter on New Labour in the first edition of this volume was finished in 2003. Tony Blair resigned in 2007 and Gordon Brown left office in 2010. This chapter seeks not to cover previous ground but to take the long view. By that I mean to explain... Read More about The Progressives.

The struggle for Labour's soul: Understanding Labour's political thought since 1945 (2018)
Book
Beech, M., Hickson, K., & Plant, R. (Eds.). (2018). The struggle for Labour's soul: Understanding Labour's political thought since 1945. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315170848

The election of the most left-wing Labour Party Leader since 1945, followed by the Party's third consecutive general election defeat and the ongoing cultural divisions around Brexit present an ideal opportunity for a thorough re-evaluation of the sta... Read More about The struggle for Labour's soul: Understanding Labour's political thought since 1945.

Neoliberalism, New Labour and the Welfare State (2017)
Book Chapter
Beech, M. (2017). Neoliberalism, New Labour and the Welfare State. In R. E. Backhouse, B. W. Bateman, T. Nishizawa, & D. Plehwe (Eds.), Liberalism and the Welfare State: Economists & arguments for the Welfare State (118-130). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780190676681.003.0007

This chapter argues that the New Labour governments (1997–2010) were not a political project wholly based on neoliberal assumptions, as the “majority view” in the scholarship asserts. In the area of welfare policy New Labour adopted a modified social... Read More about Neoliberalism, New Labour and the Welfare State.

Labour parties ideas transfer and ideological positioning : Australia and Britain compared (2016)
Journal Article
Edwards, B. M., & Beech, M. (2016). Labour parties ideas transfer and ideological positioning : Australia and Britain compared. Policy studies : the journal of the Policy Studies Institute, 37(5), 486-498. https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2016.1188914

As part of this special issue examining policy transfer between the Labour Parties in Australia and Britain, this paper seeks to explore the relationship between the two on ideological positioning. In the 1990s there was substantial ideas transfer fr... Read More about Labour parties ideas transfer and ideological positioning : Australia and Britain compared.

Parliament and the constitution: The coalition in conflict (2015)
Book Chapter
Norton, P., & Thompson, L. (2015). Parliament and the constitution: The coalition in conflict. In M. Beech, & S. Lee (Eds.), The Conservative-Liberal Coalition: Examining the Cameron-Clegg Government (129-144). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137461377.0014

The provisions of the Coalition’s agenda covering constitutional issues were embodied in section 24 of The Coalition: Our Programme for Government, entitled ‘Political Reform’ (HM Government, 2010: 26–7). The 27 bullet points included fixed-term five... Read More about Parliament and the constitution: The coalition in conflict.

The Ideology of the Coalition: More Liberal than Conservative (2015)
Book Chapter
Beech, M. (2015). The Ideology of the Coalition: More Liberal than Conservative. In M. Beech, & S. Lee (Eds.), The Conservative-Liberal Coalition (1-15). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137461377_1

For those who study British politics from a contemporary history or political science perspective the role of ideology is notable. British party ideology is diverse, fluid and contains contradictory strands. At certain times a particular expression d... Read More about The Ideology of the Coalition: More Liberal than Conservative.

Indebted and Unbalanced: The Political Economy of the Coalition (2015)
Book Chapter
Lee, S. (2015). Indebted and Unbalanced: The Political Economy of the Coalition. In M. Beech, & S. Lee (Eds.), The Conservative-Liberal Coalition : Examining the Cameron-Clegg Government (16-35). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137461377_2

On 20 May 2010, when the Coalition published its Programme for Government, two key objectives were identified which would provide the twin benchmarks for evaluating the political economy of the Coalition and its economic policy performance in office.... Read More about Indebted and Unbalanced: The Political Economy of the Coalition.