My recent publications include:
Books
London Clubland: A Companion for the Curious (London: Robinson/Little, Brown, 2025).
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"Seth Alexander Thévoz’s witty guide...a cheerfully eccentric introduction to London clubland...enormously entertaining...There’s a great deal of practical information here as well...Thévoz makes a persuasive case as to why you should join one."
Sunday Times
“Wit as well as clarity…Thévoz writes pretty sensibly…There’s some pretty racy stuff here."
The Oldie
“Seth Thevoz’s London Clubland: A Companion for the Curious is an exuberant, suave, and discreetly indiscreet user’s guide to clubland. The perfect companion to his clubland history Behind Closed Doors (2022), it tells you everything you need to know…This is not trivia. It is social history.”
Washington Examiner
“Delightful…a gem…the antidote to dull conversations…Thévoz’s book will serve as my guide — and it should be yours as well.”
Clubland USA“Impeccably researched…Reading it feels less like consulting a guidebook and more like being taken aside by a well-connected friend, one of those older Englishmen who seem to possess neither a visible job nor any shortage of memberships, and being guided through the cobbled backstreets of London…Thévoz writes with that same conspiratorial ease, informative, amused, and never, ever overeager…Thévoz understands this tension instinctively.”
Washington Free Beacon
“It's absolutely brilliant...It is a very good book.”
Tom Parker-Bowles, Intoxicating History“Invaluable…absolutely indispensable.“
Simon Heffer, New Criterion.
“If you have ever wanted to know what goes on behind the doors of London's clubs, then this is your chance. What could be a rather dry book looking at histories, joining procedures and facilities actually turns out to be enormously good fun, rather like a Schott's Miscellany of clubs.”
Henry Jeffreys, Drinking Culture
“A club-by-club overview, along with a deep dive into their particularities – customs, rules, traditions and even a few recipes.”
BBC Culture website
“Excellent.”
Joe Fattorini, wine critic and pundit
“Wisden for clubs.”
Rowan Pelling, Editor of Perspective
“A livener."
The Fence
“If you ever get to read Seth Alexander Thévoz’s books - do… [They] will astound you.“
Kameel Premhid, advocate, South Africa
(With further press coverage in the Daily Telegraph, The Times of London, Late Night Live on ABC Australia with David Marr, The Rake, The Resign! Triannual, and the Literary Review.)
Behind Closed Doors: The Secret Life of London’s Private Members’ Clubs (London: Robinson/Little, Brown, 2022; updated paperback edition, 2024).
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“This well-researched romp through the history of the capital’s private members’ clubs overturns many myths along the way…Compendious and entertaining, Behind Closed Doors is the result of thorough research, lightly worn. Thévoz writes with energy, conviction and amusement at the ever-changing variety of human congregation and its foibles.” Financial Times
“Hugely entertaining and full of stuff I didn't know I wanted to know, but I now do know, and I'm delighted by it.” Jonathan Lynn, co-author of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister
“Thévoz…offers much more than tales of delicious eccentricity, pink gins or popping monocles. He’s a serious researcher, and offers a lively, exhaustively comprehensive, soup-to-cigars history of this cosy but often corrupt institution.” Sunday Times
“Thévoz…is clearly a brilliant researcher. He is very good on the history of clubs and the buildings that house them. As for what went on behind those closed doors, there are riveting snippets between great chunks of earnest fact.” Anne de Courcy, Daily Telegraph
“A lively and comprehensive study of London clubs…entertainingly readable and well-researched”, The Observer
“Riveting…despite the vastness of its ambition, Behind Closed Doors serves as a well-researched one-stop introduction to the complex social history of the club.” The Spectator
“Exuberant, rollicking…Behind Closed Doors is full of amusing anecdotes and waspish character sketches…Thévoz, who is the librarian of the National Liberal Club, clearly knows at first hand what has been going on behind the “closed doors” of his title.” Times Literary Supplement
“[A] secretive world of arcane rules, unbelievable anecdotes and disreputable behaviour…To have a guide to this world - someone who can sail through the ‘haughty frigidity’… - is indispensable.” The Times
“A fair-minded overview of three hundred years of club history, neatly researched and quite fact-heavy, but overwhelmingly preoccupied with carnal and financial appetites.” Jonathan Parry, London Review of Books
“Superb”, Peter Oborne, Byline Times
“Highly knowledgeable”, The Week
“It’s a very interesting book indeed.” Michael Portillo, Times Radio
“Utterly fascinating”, Dr Kate Lister, Betwixt the Sheets podcast, HistoryHit
"Fascinating. Really enjoyed it." Tim Hayward, restauranteur, food critic and columnist“A splendid new tome.” The Chap
“Entertaining and adeptly written” Current Archaeology
“The definitive book on clubland.” L’Officiel
“Eloquently told…makes interesting reading…Thévoz’s detailed research has uncovered a real treasure trove of information and critical thought that opens the doors so we, the readers, can look in.”, Queensland Reviewers’ Collective
“This week we’re loving Behind Closed Doors.” The People’s Friend
“Keen to debunk myths...Startling…Thévoz gleefully punctures the notion that clubs were a male bastion.” Air Mail
“This brilliant book…It is EXTREMELY timely, well told and glorious fun. 10/10”, Dr Fern Riddell
“Very good”, Dr Tim Stanley
“Very much enjoying this splendid volume”, Ben Schott
“Superb…finished it in two evenings…Impressively wide-ranging and deeply analytical.” David Palfreyman, author of London’s Pall Mall Clubs (2019).
“Most enjoyable…gave me just exactly the background to the London clubs which I needed.” Malcolm Shifrin, author of Victorian Turkish Baths (2015).
“Admirably broad reach…does a great job of demythologising.” Lesley A. Hall
“Fab”, Prof Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London
“Seth Alexander Thévoz is a wonderful, impressively well-informed tour guide, leading you past the heavily guarded Porter’s Lodge into the vaulted halls of clubland…meticulous…genuinely hilarious” Buzz magazine
“A great read - rich in evidence and robust in analysis. And full of stories told with dry wit.” Dr Matt Cole, University of Birmingham
“I enjoyed it greatly! It is a remarkable collection of history, anecdote and reference and I'm baffled at how you had any time to eat or sleep whilst researching all the material!” Michael Meadowcroft, former Liberal MP
“An excellent book.” Alexander Larman
“Equal parts entertaining and intriguing” Hatchards bookshop, Piccadilly
One of the “10 Best Books of the Year” Heywood Hill bookshop, Mayfair
Further coverage in The Guardian, The Times (1st time and 2nd time), and Private Eye.
Club Government: How the Early Victorian World was Ruled from London Clubs (London: I. B. Tauris/Bloomsbury, 2018).
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Shortlisted for the Royal Historical Society’s 2019 Whitfield Prize, for the best book on British or Irish history by a first-time solo author. The judges noted the shortlist comprised, “rigorous and innovative works of historical research, many of which will endure among classic studies in their fields“.
“A fascinating forensic study of the period’s networks of power." Ian Hislop, Editor, Private Eye
“We are in Seth Thévoz's debt for this splendid book, at once a scholarly work and an insider's account.” Prof Eugenio Biagini, Cambridge University
“Presenting a wealth of new evidence, he has produced a tour de force of scholarship.” Dr Piers Brendon, author, The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (2007)
“Skilful presentation as well as uniquely well-informed content” Sir Peter Newsam, former Director of the Institute of Education, London University
“Magisterial” Dr Sunny Singh, Chair of the Authors’ Club and novelist
"Seth Thévoz has undertaken the most comprehensive and rational analysis of the part clubs played and how they were enabled to do so. He has demystified some of the aura that Trollope and Disraeli tried to create around clubland." Journal of Liberal History
“Dr Thévoz's scholarly and readable book is an outstanding and important contribution to our understanding of politics in nineteenth century Britain.” Sherlock Holmes Journal
“Compelling and detailed” David Palfreyman, London's Pall Mall Clubs (Oxford, 2019)
“Provides important new insights into the political impact of London’s clubs.” Dr Kathryn Rix, History of Parliament Trust
“[An] important book” Prof Rohan McWilliam, London Journal
“Excellent…a carefully sourced study…It’s an easy and educative read from someone who not only researches (and then writes) well, but whose understanding of what drives politicians to do what they do is weaved throughout the book.” Liberator.
I have also served as a research assistant on seven books, most recently Will Hutton, This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain (London: Apollo/Bloomsbury, 2024), and including the #1 bestseller Prannoy Roy and Dorab R. Sopariwala, The Verdict: Decoding India’s Elections (New Delhi: Penguin India, 2019), and Michael Crick, Sultan of Swing: The Life of David Butler (London: Biteback, 2018). Further details of these books (including reviews, and author testimonials on my input) can be found on my “Editorial“ page.
Book Chapters
“The MPs of Brooks’s, 1832-68”, in J. Mordaunt Crook and Charles Sebag-Montefiore (eds), Brooks’s 1764-2014: The Story of a Whig Club (London: Paul Holberton, 2013), pp. 38-49.
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“Enlightening“ Ian Robertson, British Art Journal, 14:3 (2013/4), p. 121.
[The chapter is] “rather amazing . . . Seth Thévoz, not a member [of Brooks’s] but a student of the political significance of clubs in the 19th century, provides a good statistical analysis of the heyday of the Whig party in the aftermath of the Reform Bill, during which the aristocratic dominance of the Whigs was gradually transmogrified into a broader liberalism.” The Spectator.
Working Papers
"‘Every Treasurer of the Party Has Gone to the Lords, and I Hope I Don't Set a Precedent by Being the First Who Doesn’t’: Conservative Party Treasurers and Peerages, 1986-2016" (Oxford: Gwilym Gibbon Centre for Public Policy, Nuffield College, Oxford, September 2016), 32pp.
(co-written with Andrew Mell and Simon Radford), “Is There a Market for Peerages? Can Donations Buy You a British Peerage? A Study in the Link Between Party Political Funding and Peerage Nominations, 2005-14” (Oxford University Department of Economics Discussion Paper, March 2015), 34pp.
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“a groundbreaking study with profound implications for the country’s democracy”, The Observer.
“a comprehensive analysis”, Daily Telegraph.
“a new, exhaustive study”, Daily Mail.
“the most detailed cross-party examination into peerages that has ever been conducted”, The National.
“an academic spotlight on donations and peerages”, Michael White, The Guardian.
“Mell, Radford and Thevoz . . . have taken one of the oldest scandals in Britain, and tied it to modern concern about the power of the wealthy to manipulate government. They used the techniques of the investigative journalist to find how the parties’ nominees for the peerage donate through shell companies, holding companies, wholly owned subsidiaries, spouses and children. Then they used the techniques of the academic statisticians to analyse their findings”, Nick Cohen, The Observer.
“What very British coyness [in the paper’s findings].” Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The Independent.
“It presents a set of powerful statistical correlations but wisely avoids mentioning any individuals.” Dr. Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, How is Contemporary British Politics Funded? (London: Committee on Standards in Public Life, 2016), p. 15.
(Further positive coverage of the paper was to be found in numerous other outlets including the Daily Mirror, the Herald Scotland, the Huffington Post, Shout Out UK, and by George Monbiot in The Guardian.)
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles - Published/Accepted
“‘I Do Like This Club’ - Winston Churchill and his Clubs”, Finest Hour, 207 (Q4 2024), pp. 44-47.
“Petticoat Alley: London’s Forgotten Women’s Clubs”, History Today, 74:5 (May 2024), pp. 22-24.
(co-written with Andrew Mell and Simon Radford), “‘Lordy Me!’ Can donations buy you a British peerage? A study in the link between party political funding and peerage nominations, 2005–2014”, British Politics, 5 (June 2020), pp. 135–159 - first published online, 14 March 2019.
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“[A] rather brilliant article”, Prof. David Howarth, former Electoral Commissioner.
“Authoritative…a great polsci article”, Prof. Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London.
“Extraordinary“, Michael Crick, Daily Mail.
“The Mystery of Doctor Watson’s Club”, Sherlock Holmes Journal, 34:3 (Winter 2019), pp. 110-116.
“The Diogenes Club: The Case for the Junior Carlton Club”, Baker Street Journal, 69:3 (Autumn 2019), pp. 6-24.
“Cambridge University Liberal Club, 1886-1916: A Study in Early Student Political Organisation”, Journal of Liberal History, 91 (Summer 2016), pp. 10-22.
“Club Government”, History Today, 63:2 (February 2013), pp. 58-9.
“Winston Churchill and the Dundee Unionists, 1908-22″, Conservative History Journal, 2:1 (September 2012), pp. 7-10.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles - In Preparation/ In Peer Review
“Defeat in Dundee: Winston Churchill and the 1922 general election” (forthcoming article,).
(co-written with Alec Corio) “Defending the Protestant principles of the constitution: the National Club, 1845-55” (forthcoming article).
“Local Political Clubs and Constituency Electoral Politics, 1885-1910” (forthcoming article co-written with Luke Blaxill, research still in progress).
Reviews
“Book Review: ‘The Athenaeum - More Than Just Another London Club’ by Michael Wheeler”, London Journal, 46:2, (February 2021), pp. 1-2.
“Review: ‘My Road from Saigon’, by Brian Staley”, Liberator, 398, November 2019, p. 20.
“Liberal Lives: Review of ‘Workhouse to Westminster‘ by Trevor Smith“, Journal of Liberal History, 103, Summer 2019, pp. 37-38.
“Review: Keynes and Kearns - Am I a Liberal?”, Lib Dem Voice, 3 March 2019.
"Review: Coalition Diaries, 2012-2015, by David Laws", Liberator, 387, November 2017, p. 29.
"BFI Review: Simon Callow and Keith Baxter on Orson Welles", Wellesnet, August 10 2015.
“Book Review: A Room of His Own – A Literary-Cultural Study of London Clubland”, Canadian Journal of History, 49:2, Spring/Summer 2014, pp. 101-3.
“Review: Around the World by Cole Porter and Orson Welles”, Wellesnet, November 12 2013.
Pamphlets
The Richmond Park By-Election in Perspective: Lessons from Liberal, Social Democrat and Liberal Democrat By-Election Gains (London: Social Liberal Forum, February 2017), 28pp.
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“Like everything he [Thévoz] writes, it is worth reading.“ Jonathan Calder, Liberal England.
Show Me the Money: A Study of the Efficacy of Donations and Spending on Lib Dem Seats at the 2015 General Election (London: OpenDemocracy, September 2016), 46pp.
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"some incredible detail on one of the most dramatic stories of last year’s election...thorough interrogation" Adam Ramsay, Co-Editor, OpenDemocracyUK
"Complete nonsense! Complete nonsense!" Former Lib Dem leader Sir Nick Clegg
Digital Disruption in the Public Sector (London: Leadership Centre, June 2016), 12pp.
(Editor) Leaving the EU: An Assessment of its Impact on Services and Trade (London: London First, May 2016), 20pp.
(Coverage in The Guardian.)
(with Henry Kippin and Anna Randle) Demand Management and Behaviour Change: A Manual for Collaborative Practice (London: Leadership Centre, November 2015), 36pp.
Electing the Lords: How Did That Work Out for the Lib Dems? A Study into the Effectiveness of the Interim Peers Panel System for Electing Liberal Democrat Nominees to the House of Lords, 1999-2015 (London: Social Liberal Forum, September 2015), 28pp.
(Editor and contributor) The Local Parliament: A Liberal Democrat Approach to Devolution (London: Local Government Association, September 2009), 48pp.
Theses
“The Political Impact of London Clubs, 1832-1868”, (University of Warwick, PhD thesis, 2014).
“Winston Churchill’s 1922 electoral defeat in Dundee” (King’s College, London, MA thesis, 2009).
Bibliographies
British Liberal history bibliography [substantively original, but embeds a sizeable pre-existing bibliography produced by the Liberal History Group] (prepared during my 2013-2023 stint as Librarian of the National Liberal Club; and though it has since been taken down, an archived version of it is available in three parts below):
London clubs bibliography (updated since 2010).
Journalism
“On the Reform Problem, Labour Faces a Serious Dilemma”, openDemocracy, 2 October 2025.
“Inside the Many, Many Labour Party Conferences Taking Place in Liverpool”, openDemocracy, 30 September 2025.
“How to crash parties and impersonate people”, Gentleman’s Journal, Spring 2025, pp. 159-161.
“The tortuous process of joining London’s private members’ clubs”, Spear’s, 95, Q2 2025, p. 26.
“The Athenaeum”, Humanist Heritage, December 2024.
“Why MPs Love to Hate the Register of Members’ Interests”, The Spectator, 21 May 2024.
“Brilliant” Politico Influence
(with Adam Ramsay) “The Tories’ Lesson from Uxbridge: Pretend Not to be Tories”, openDemocracy, 21 July 2023.
“Assault Rifles, Wind Farms, Immmigration and Hormones: Inside NatCon”, openDemocracy, 16 May 2023.
“Rishi Sunak May Not Have Broken the Rules, But His Government Has”, openDemocracy, 13 April 2023.
“How Boris Johnson Raked in £5m in 6 Months After Leaving Office”, openDemocracy, 23 March 2023.
“Exclusive: Moonlighting MPs Raked in £6.9m from Second Jobs in a Year“, openDemocracy, 5 December 2022.
“Entire UK Government Breaks Ministerial Code by Failing to Declare Interests“, openDemocracy, 1 December 2022.
“Exclusive: Priti Patel Tipped for House of Lords Seat“, openDemocracy, 13 October 2022.
“London’s Best Private Members Clubs”, Sphere, 6 October 2022.
(with Martin Williams) “Boris Johnson Accused of ‘Partisan Interference’ Over Election Watchdog”, openDemocracy, 24 August 2022.
“Tory Lord Cutting Civil Service Jobs ‘Used Official Trip to Tout for Private Work’”, openDemocracy, 18 August 2022.
“Behind Closed Doors”, Perspective, July 2022, pp. 23-25.
“How to Get Away with Breaking the Rules like Boris Johnson”, openDemocracy, 25 May 2022.
“Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak Have Been Fined. Now What?”, openDemocracy, 12 April 2022.
“Revealed: Brexit Donor Behind Net-Zero Backlash has $130m in Fossil Fuels”, openDemocracy, 22 March 2022.
(with Anita Mureithi) “Pro-Russia Westminster group at centre of lobbying row disbands”, openDemocracy, 4 March 2022.
“Revealed: Tories given £44,000 by top official at sanctioned Russian bank”, openDemocracy, 2 March 2022.
“Fresh Tory Lobbying Row Over Unregulated ‘Westminster Russia Forum’”, openDemocracy, 24 February 2022.
“How Jacob Rees-Mogg’s new Brexit post could make him richer”, openDemocracy, 9 February 2022.
(Story picked up by the Independent and City AM.)
“Elite private members’ clubs are at the heart of Boris Johnson’s government”, openDemocracy, 19 January 2022.
“18 times Boris Johnson was accused of breaking rules – and got away with it”, openDemocracy, 13 January 2022.
“After North Shropshire, Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer should be worried”, openDemocracy, 17 December 2021.
(Column picked up on the Natasha Devon programme on LBC radio.)
(with Martin Williams), “Tories fined £17,800 as Boris Johnson accused of lying about flat refurb”, openDemocracy, 9 December 2021.
“Want a Seat in the House of Lords? Be Tory Treasurer and Donate £3m”, openDemocracy, 6 November 2021. Joint investigation with the Sunday Times ‘Insight’ team, who simultaneously published Jonathan Calvert, George Arbuthnott and Tom Calver, “New Tory Sleaze Row as Donors Who Pay £3m Get Seats in House of Lords”, Sunday Times, 7 November 2021.
Coverage in BBC News, ConservativeHome, Daily Express, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Evening Standard (1st and 2nd story), GB News, The Guardian, The Herald, Independent, iNews, LabourList, Mail on Sunday, Metro (1st and 2nd story), The National (1st, 2nd and 3rd story), Newsnight, Observer, Sky News (1st and 2nd story), The Scotsman, Sunday Mirror, The Times, and Wales Online.
(with Martin Williams), “Oil and Gas Firms Have Given £1m to Boris Johnson’s Conservatives”, openDemocracy, 1 October 2021.
“Tories Rake in £11m from Hedge Funds and Finance Tycoons”, openDemocracy, 27 September 2021.
“a detailed, well evidence article”, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, i News.
“Human Rights Act Could be Scrapped by UK Government, Experts Warn”, openDemocracy, 17 September 2021.
“Concerns Raised Over Top Tories Bankrolling Prince Charles’ Charity”, openDemocracy, 9 September 2021.
“Boris Johnson Borrowed £52,000 for Downing Street Refurb”, openDemocracy, 26 August 2021.
“George Galloway May Have Broken Election Law by Failing to File Expenses on Time”, openDemocracy, 11 August 2021.
“Johnson Continues His War on Whitehall with New Nomination for Powerful Job”, openDemocracy, 25 July 2021.
(with Martin Williams), “Boris Johnson Charged Taxpayers £28,000 for Fancy-Floorboards Refurb”, openDemocracy, 15 July 2021.
(with Martin Williams and Peter Geoghegan), “Tories Have Accepted £2.6m from ‘Shadowy’ Donors Since Boris Johnson Became PM”, openDemocracy, 8 July 2021.
(with Adam Bychawski) “Urgent Changes Needed to Tackle Dirty Money in British Politics, Says New Report", openDemocracy, 7 July 2021.
“Batley & Spen Shows That Johnson is Mortal”, openDemocracy, 2 July 2021.
“Voter Suppression Lib Dem Style in the Chesham & Amersham By-Election", openDemocracy, 20 June 2021.
“Obituary: Trevor Smith”, Liberator, 407, June 2021, p. 33.
(with Martin Williams and Peter Geoghegan), “Boris Johnson’s New Ethics Adviser Works for an Arms Company”, openDemocracy, 28 April 2021.
“Headline of the day.” Jim Pickard, Chief Political Correspondent, Financial Times.
“7 Ways Boris Johnson’s Refurb May Have Broken Rules”, openDemocracy, 26 April 2021.
“Frozen Peas The Full Story”, Wellesnet, 19 April 2021.
“David Cameron Then and Now: How the Ex-PM Changed His Tune on Lobbying”, openDemocracy, 12 April 2021.
“Gove Grilled About UK Government Secrecy on Payments to Ministers”, openDemocracy, 25 March 2021.
“Boris Johnson Government in ‘Scandalous‘ Breach of Ministerial Code”, openDemocracy, 19 March 2021.
(Story picked up by the Daily Mail and The National.)
“Inside Mar-a-Lago: The Secret History of Trump’s Florida Retreat”, openDemocracy, 21 January 2021.
“A fine piece”, Prof John Naughton, The Guardian.
(co-written with Adam Ramsay), “Conservative Party ‘Racially Profiled‘ 10 Million Voters”, openDemocracy, 20 November 2020.
(co-written with Adam Ramsay), “Deloitte Gets Another Huge COVID Contract - for ‘Crazy‘ Plan to Test Millions Each Day”, openDemocracy, 21 August 2020.
(Subsequently shortlisted by the Press Gazette for the 2020 British Journalism Awards, in the “Best Investigation“ category.)
(co-written with Peter Geoghegan), “‘Not Like Dominic Cummings!’ Boris Johnson’s Dad and the 300-Mile Lockdown Laptop Trip”, openDemocracy, 5 June 2020.
(additional reporting, for main article by Caroline Molloy), “Cleaners Forced to Work in Empty Houses of Parliament”, openDemocracy, 9 April 2020.
(co-written with Peter Geoghegan), “Revealed: The Secret Cash That Put Boris Johnson in Number 10”, openDemocracy, 18 February 2020.
“Inside the Elite Tory Fundraising Machine”, openDemocracy, 9 December 2019.
(co-written with Peter Geoghegan and Jenna Corderoy), “Cabinet Office Urged to Investigate Fresh Tory ‘Cash for Honours’ Scandal”, openDemocracy, 3 December 2019.
(Coverage in The Independent.)
(co-written with Peter Geoghegan and Jenna Corderoy), “Revealed: The Elite Dining Club Behind £130m+ Donations to the Tories”, openDemocracy, 22 November 2019.
(Coverage in The Guardian and the Daily Mirror.)
(co-written with Peter Geoghegan) “Revealed: Russian Donors Have Stepped Up Tory Funding”, openDemocracy, 5 November 2019. (Subsequently republished as “Russian Donors Have Given £3.5 Million to the Conservative Party”, The Ferret, 6 November 2019 .)2019.
(Coverage in The Times of London, and Business Insider.)
“India Sees a Landslide”, Liberator, 397, September 2019, pp. 22-24. (Simultaneously printed in Interlib: Journal of the Liberal International British Group, 2019:4, September 2019, pp. 16-18.)
“What to make of the Labour Breakaway?”, Social Liberal Forum blog, 18 February 2019.
"Clubs and Club Government", Resign: The Newsletter of the New Sheridan Club Newsletter, 143, September 2018, pp. 4-7.
"How the Lib Dems Lost Their Think Tank", Liberator, 384, May 2017, pp. 8-9.
"Chucking its Money Down the Drain", Liberator, 380, September 2016, pp. 10-11.
(co-written with John Lubbock) "This Ludicrous Election to Replace Lord Avebury Should be Boycotted", The Guardian, April 18 2016.
"In Defence of 'Dodgy'", Huffington Post UK, April 14 2016.
"A Very Nearly Successful Coup", Liberator, 376, February 2016, pp. 8-9.
"Letter to the Editor: Nameless Donors", The Times, January 26 2016, p. 26.
"How Do Political Parties Take Defeat?", Huffington Post UK, January 5 2016.
"Winston Churchill's Portrait by Ernest Townsend", National Liberal Club News, 69, November 2015, p. 18. (Coverage in the Sunday Times.)
" 'Mr Cameron's Poodle?' The House of Lords and its Powers", Huffington Post UK, October 28 2015.
(co-written with Lewis Baston), "Lib Dem Seats in 2010-5: Where did the Votes Go? (Part 2 of 2)", Social Liberal Forum, July 3 2015.
(co-written with Lewis Baston), "Lib Dem Seats in 2010-5: Where did the Votes Go? (Part 1 of 2)", Social Liberal Forum, July 2 2015.
(Coverage in the Daily Telegraph.)
"very interesting...It’s worth reading the whole thing...helps to explode the myth that so many seats were lost because the Tories persuaded huge numbers of Lib Dem voters to switch." Nick Barlow, What You Can Get Away With
"Lib Dem Runners-up: Just How Bad Things Are", Social Liberal Forum, May 22 2015.
(Coverage in The Independent.)
"The Disappointing Election: Britain Votes", Hippo Reads, May 5 2015.
“What Price a Lib Dem Peerage?”, Liberator, 371, April 2015, pp. 6-7.
(with illustrations by Stuart Prior and Diana Ibáñez López) “Can I Buy a Peerage?”, Buzzfeed, March 24 2015.
“Cash for Peerages”, Social Liberal Forum, March 22 2015.
(co-written with Andrew Mell and Simon Radford), “We Need a Government Responsive to the People as a Whole, Not Just Those With Deep Pockets”, The Observer, March 22 2015.
"Blast from the Past: Wisdom from the old Liberal Party", Lib Dem Voice, September 10 2014.
“Why Nick Clegg is in trouble in his own back yard”, Huffington Post UK, August 11 2014.
“It may already be too late to save the Liberal Democrats”, Social Liberal Forum, September 30 2013.
“Politicians, steer clear of driving”, The Independent, March 11 2013.
“James Bond has always been stylish, insecure, and a bit rubbish”, The Independent, October 24 2012.
“Orson Welles and pan-Europeanism, 1947-1970”, I.B. Tauris blog, August 30 2012.
“Confessions of an immigrant: Knowledge of Life in the UK”, Independent blogs, July 2 2012.
“Letter to the Editor: A Chip Off the Old Block”, Private Eye, No. 1282, February 18 2011, p. 17.
“Letter to the Editor: Higher Education Funding”, Evening Standard, December 10 2010, p. 53.
"Clubland - A Beginner's Guide: When Gentlemen's Clubs Ruled the Earth", New Sheridan Club Newsletter, 43, May 2010, pp. 4-8.
“Dishonorable Members”, The Chap, No. 50, April 2010, pp. 20-3.
It has also been rumoured that I have been known to contribute to Private Eye in some capacity or another. Allegedly. Probably from around the mid-2010s onwards. There are excellent legal reasons why the Eye never offers up named bylines on individual articles.
Edited Pamphlets
From 2015-2017, I was also Editor of the 'Long Reads' pamphlet series run by the Social Liberal Forum:
Lewis Baston and Seth Thévoz, Lib Dem Seats in 2010-5: Where Did the Votes Go? SLF Long Reads Number 1 (London: Social Liberal Forum, July 2015), 22pp.
Simon Radford, Shouldn't We Listen to Those Who Predicted the Crash? SLF Long Reads Number 2 (London: Social Liberal Forum, August 2015), 12pp.
Seth Thévoz, Electing the Lords: How Did That Work Out for the Lib Dems? A Study into the Effectiveness of the Interim Peers Panel System for Electing Liberal Democrat Nominees to the House of Lords, 1999-2015. SLF Long Reads Number 3 (London: Social Liberal Forum, September 2015), 28pp.
Paul Pettinger, Why Centrism Doesn't Work for Minor Parties. SLF Long Reads Number 4 (London: Social Liberal Forum, April 2016), 18pp.
Edward Robinson, The European Carbon Market isn’t Working — and Social Liberals Should be Worried. SLF Long Reads Number 5 (London: Social Liberal Forum, February 2017), 10pp.
Seth Thévoz, The Richmond Park By-Election in Perspective: Lessons from Liberal, Social Democrat and Liberal Democrat By-Election Gains. SLF Long Reads Number 6 (London: Social Liberal Forum, February 2017), 28pp.
Michael Mullaney, Northern Discomfort: An Analysis of the Liberal Democrat Performance in the 2017 General Election. SLF Long Reads Number 7 (London: Social Liberal Forum, June 2017), 10pp.
Tom Holden, Universal Basic Income as a Tool for Tax and Benefit Reform. SLF Long Reads Number 8 (London: Social Liberal Forum, August 2017), 14pp.
Paul Pettinger, The Progressive Alliance: Why the Liberal Democrats Need It — Revised Edition. SLF Long Reads Number 9 (London: Social Liberal Forum, September 2017), 20pp.
Wider impact
My work has been cited in Air Mail, Archaeology Today, Australian Journal of Political Science, Baker Street Journal, BBC Culture website, BBC News website, The Bookseller, British Art Journal, British Journal of Healthcare Management, British Politics, Buzz, Buzzfeed, Byline Times, Canadian Journal of History, The Chap, CityAM, Conservative History Journal, ConservativeHome, Country Life, Daily Express, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Daily Telegraph, Economic History Review, Economic Times of India, Economist, Enterprise & Society, Études Anglaises, Evening Standard, Femmes d'Aujourd'hui, The Fence, The Ferret, Financial Times, Gentleman’s Journal, Global Food History, Guardian, Hansard, Hello!, Herald Scotland, Historical Journal, Historical Research, History News Network, History Today, Huffington Post, iNews, Independent, Indian Historical Review, Insider, Journal of Criminal Law, Journal of Liberal History, Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, Journal of Politics, Journal of Romanian Literary Studies, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, LabourList, Lady, Liberator, Literary Review, London Journal, London Review of Books, Management & Organizational History, Metro, Le Monde, National, New Criterion, Observer, L’Official, Oldie, L'Opinion, Pakistan Journal of Criminology, People's Friend, Perspective, Policy Quarterly, Political Studies, Press Gazette, Private Eye, The Rake, L’Est Républicain, Scotsman, Scottish Historical Review, Sherlock Holmes Journal, Society, Spear’s, Spectator, Sphere, Der Spiegel, The Sun, Sunday Times, Tatler, The Times, Times Literary Supplement, Urban History, Varsity, La Voz de Galicia, Wales Online, Washington Examiner and the Week; plus across dozens of books, pamphlets and PhD theses.