Political cartoons: a heritage under threat?

BRLSI’s Democracy Under Threat series invites you to pause and take stock by surveying the wealth of history and political thinking which underpins our long-held democratic systems and institutions. It explores the laying down of democratic principles from Ancient Athens to the present day, and takes in current scenarios in international geopolitics, while considering Britain as its own small island with its own set of political traditions.

So, how can we hold our politicians to account? For years, political cartoons have appeared regularly in newspapers to comment on events in the news. They catch the attention and often convey issues far more quickly than words can. Some are perceptive, some are satirical, some are humorous – and some have proved to be deeply controversial. They represent an important part in our democracy, and have embedded themselves in our heritage – they are uniquely British.

But newspapers are in decline, and with them so are political cartoons. Would our democracy – and heritage – be the poorer without them?

Tim Benson is Britain’s leading authority on political cartoons.  Every day, he scours the press looking for great examples so that he can compile an annual of “Britain’s Best Political Cartoons” of the year.   Who better to tell us about his personal favourites, the stories behind them and the ones that arguably pushed at boundaries too far.

A discount of 20% is on offer to all those purchasing five tickets or more from the series, excluding the conference on the 4th of July.

To learn more about Democracy Under Threat and the exciting range of speakers coming up as part of the programme, don’t forget to follow our Democracy Under Threat Webpage: https://www.brlsi.org/democracyunderthreat/