King Lear to In the loop : fiction and British politics

Abstract

On 11 December 2009, Nottingham University's Centre for British Politics held a conference at the British Academy that drew together politicians, writers and academics to explore the interaction of British politics and fiction.

In addition to the conference several video interviews were conducted with some of the speakers on the day.

In this interview taken at the Fiction and British Politics Conference in London, Research Fellow - Matthew Bailey - answers a question posed by Hazel Blears. Could a West Wing-styled drama improve the standing of British politicians?

Suitable for Undergraduate study and community education

Dr Matthew Bailey, Research Fellow, The Centre for British Politics, The University of Nottingham.

Dr Matthew Bailey has published work on a variety of topics regarding British politics, in particular the Conservative Party and Margaret Thatcher’s election as party leader. Between 2005 and 2008 Matthew has also been working on the frontline of British politics – managing the constituency office of one of Hull’s MPs. With that experience behind him he has become poacher turned gamekeeper, assessing the representation of our political masters across a variety of fictional forms.

Recent papers on this subject include: ‘Sympathy for the Devil: must fictional portraits of politicians be so negative?’ (delivered at the 2007 Political Studies Association Conference) and ‘Stranded on the middle ground: reflections on consensus in post-war political film and fiction’ (presented to the 2009 PSA Conference).

The Centre for British Politics is based in the University's School of Politics and International Relations. www.nottingham.ac.uk/politics/cbp