David Lawton

Modern History

+44 020 7309 2029 d.lawton@ghil.ac.uk

David Lawton joined the GHIL in April 2021 as a PhD researcher. He is working on the BMBF-funded project‘Euroscepticism in Britain from the 1970s to the 1990s’.

Research Project

Euroscepticism in Britain from the 1970s to the 1990s

Image of a classic red Routemaster London double-decker bus

My project focusses on the emergence of a network of Eurosceptic individuals working in broadcasting, journalism, literature, and in the legal profession from the 1970s to the 2000s. By exploring this rhizome of like-minded people, I want to shed light upon the growth of ‘Euroscepticism’ outside of Westminster politics and explore the ways in which individuals came together at critical junctures to protest and prophesise about future European integration. My aim is to connect sceptical visions of a ‘European’ future to the broad network of cultural influencers who helped produce them, thus exploring the relationship between politics, culture, and the institutions through which they were mediated to wider publics in Britain.

Student PhD Researcher

Research Interests

20^th Century British History
Euroscepticism
Heritage & Popular Culture

Education and Academic Background

2021–	PhD Researcher, German Historical Institute London
2021–	PhD in History, Queen Mary, University of London
2019–2020	MA in History, University College London
2014–2017	BA in History, St. Hilda’s College, University of Oxford

Fellowships, Grants, and Scholarships

2021–	BMBF-funded PhD studentship: ‘Euroscepticism in Britain from the 1970s to the 1990s’

Honours and Distinctions

2020	MA dissertation prize for the highest mark in the cohort of MA programme at UCL
2017	Jane Willis Kirkaldy Prize for best undergraduate thesis in the history of Science, Medicine, and Technology at the University of Oxford