Historians object to AV

Last week a group of historians wrote a letter to the Times raising their objections to the Alternative Vote, which will be considered in a referendum on 5 May. Amongst them are David Starkey, Niall Ferguson, Anthony Beevor, John Guy, Alison Weir and Chris Skidmore (the last two of whom have visited Nonsuch in the last few years). Their objection is that throughout British history people have struggled to gain the right to suffrage and establish the principle of one vote for each man or woman. They believe that AV weakens the equality of everyone's vote and leads to (In the words of Winston Churchill) "the most worthless votes given for the most worthless candidates". You can see the full text of the letter here.

Here is Chris Skidmore's longer explanation, and here is an alternative point of view. Hopi Sen's blog post also objects, and includes the interesting fact that until 1950, several Westminster seats were given to universities, where graduates of them were able to vote for a second time, using the single transferable vote system.

What's your opinion of AV? Please let us know.

PS: If you would like to see how the Daily Mail's reaction, click here.

Elizabeth I and her Government

There are some useful websites available commenting on how Elizabeth governed her country and how successful she was. www.elizabethi.org has a good collection of useful material plus some good reading suggestions. Here is a useful summary of how the council was established, and here is an argument from Natalie Mears suggesting that the council wasn't as influential as was first thought. (Here is an overview of the book, plus references to other articles that may be helpful) Finally, here is a more historiographical account from John Guy, assessing differing historians' opinions on Elizabeth's political approach, which is an excellent source for interpretations.

John Guy

John Guy's website has been mentioned before on Nonsuch HP. It includes this article on historians' views on Elizabeth and politics which is particularly useful for Year 13s gathering interpretations. There are also notes on Elizabeth and religion, the mid-tudor crisis and the role of faction amongst others.

Year 12s will find useful articles on Henry VII's reputation and foreign policy plus the significance of Wolsey, his domestic and foreign policies, and his fall.

John Guy

The historian John Guy (Clare College, Cambridge) has a useful website with notes on key Tudor issues. His essay on Mary's court and how it affected policy making is very detailed and has a useful bibliography of other Tudor historians, such as David Loades and Penry Williams. His links to primary sources are also interesting, particularly this book, which contains letters from Edward IV to Queen Elizabeth. Have a look! The pages really turn!