Few people today can recall the man who launched premium bonds, gave us the motorway network, or invited Dr Beeching to swing his axe on the United Kingdom's railway network. It was Ernest Marples, a post-war Conservative MP and ally of Harold Macmillan. Marples has a claim to be one of the most consequential ministers of the 1951-64 Conservative governments, but his personal immorality and financial failings left him off the frontbench, out of the Commons, and soon fleeing the taxman in Monaco. Lee and Richard discuss his sensational but consequential political career in this podcast.

In this podcast, the following books are mentioned:

'The Carlton Club 1832-2007' by Charles Petrie and Alistair Lexden.

'The False Promise of Liberal Order: Nostalgia, Delusion, and the Rise of Trump' by Patrick Porter. Available at: https://amzn.to/43LJBXz

You can also read more about Ernest Marples, among other topics, on the Since Attlee & Churchill Substack here: https://www.sinceattleeandchurchill.com/

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Since Attlee & Churchill is the podcast all about post-war British political history, hosted by:

Lee David Evans is an historian of the Conservative Party and the John Ramsden Fellow at the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary, University of London. He is on social media @LeeDavidEvansUK.

Richard Johnson is a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, and among his other areas of expertise is an historian of the Labour Party. He tweets at @richardmarcj.