You're listening to the London Review of Books podcast. My name is Thomas Jones.

Last week, the United Kingdom acquired both the new head of government and a new head of state.

To discuss the appointment of Liz Trasas as Prime Minister and the accession of

King Charles III, I'm joined by Florence Sutcliffe Braithwaite and James Butler, who both have pieces

in the new issue of the LRB. Florence Sutcliffe Braithwaite teaches history at UCL. She's one of the

editors of the neoliberal age, Britain since the 1970s, an essay collection that came out last year.

And she's currently working on a study of women's activism and experiences in the minor's

strike of 1984-85. Her piece in the latest LRB is a review of Waterloo Sunrise, London

from the 60s to Thatcher by John Davis. Hello, Florence.

Hi, Tom. James Butler is one of the founders of Navarra Media and a contributing editor at the LRB. He's written in this issue about the challenges facing Liz Trust and the ways her government is likely, or rather perhaps, unlikely, to rise to them. Hello, James. Hi. During the wall-to-wall coverage of the Queen's death last week, there were bound to be a few odd things said. But one of the oddest was the BBC reporter or commentator who said that the

cost of living crisis was insignificant now due to the gravity of this situation. I was reminded

of a phrase of Glenn Newey's grief totalitarianism. So much has been put on hold or delayed, including strike action and football matches,

but no one seems to be offering a moratorium on energy bills out of respect to her late majesty.

This could be a moment to reconsider all sorts of things about the way the country has run,

but it doesn't seem as if that's going to happen. We can see the full machinery of the state

working hard to maintain continuity, to transfer the consent of the governed from the old monarch

to the new. The queen is dead, long live the king. The atavistic and often frankly bizarre

traditions that we're seeing take place are a way of saying this is the way it's always been done, this is the way

it always will be done. Is this, in fact, a vulnerable moment for the monarchy, James?

I think it's really very difficult to say. I mean, I like that phrase of Glenn Neweis,

whom I wish were living at this hour, actually, and who would give us something refreshingly

different to the sort of 24-7 rolling prostration of the British media. There is something

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