@tomkelsey.bsky.social
Lecturer in Defence Studies at the UK Defence Academy, King’s College, London. Writes on industrial strategy, British politics, and the history of technology.
@politicalquarterly.bsky.socialReposted by @tomkelsey.bsky.socialCalls to break up the Treasury are often tied to arguments about British greatness.
But the question is not whether the Treasury should win, but whether the state has the capacity to know when it should.
@politicalquarterly.bsky.socialReposted by @tomkelsey.bsky.socialHistory suggests Treasury control is sometimes for the best.
@tomkelsey.bsky.social“Why Concorde Failed: Political Economy and the Limits of Techno-Nationalism” is now freely available via King’s Research Portal. An earlier version won the Society for the History of Technology’s 2023 Levinson Prize for the best essay by an early-career scholar.
kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/pu...
@tomkelsey.bsky.socialDelighted that my wife got me some Concorde cufflinks for our tenth wedding anniversary. As I say in the acknowledgements to my book, my wife and daughter remind me daily that, unlike Concorde and British-designed reactors, not all plans for the future end in failure.
@tomkelsey.bsky.socialThanks. I’d definitely agree with that assessment so far!
@tomkelsey.bsky.socialThanks Diane
@tomkelsey.bsky.socialThanks Helen! My plan is still to write that biography of Tony Benn btw
@tomkelsey.bsky.socialThanks!
@tomkelsey.bsky.socialThanks Andrew. By the way, I read ‘Our NHS’ over the summer. A fantastic book. I really enjoyed it
@politicalquarterly.bsky.socialReposted by @tomkelsey.bsky.socialThe possibility that Treasury constraint could be beneficial is largely absent from debate.
Many see the Treasury as responsible for Britain’s poor economic performance in recent years.
But is this fair?
By @tomkelsey.bsky.social
@tomkelsey.bsky.socialAfter nearly 18 months at @niesrorg.bsky.social, I’m excited to be starting a new role as a Lecturer in Defence Studies at the UK Defence Academy. Great to be back with @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social. Very grateful to everyone at NIESR for a transformative time, and excited for the next chapter!
@tomkelsey.bsky.socialDoes the Treasury deserve its reputation for holding back the British economy? My new article in The Political Quarterly uses the histories of Concorde and civil nuclear power to challenge common arguments about the Treasury, industrial strategy, and state capacity. 🧵
