Explorations in comparative history : economy and society in Malmo and Newcastle since 1945

This thesis explores the themes of economy and society in the cities of Newcastle upon Tyne in Britain and Malmö in Sweden after 1945. It is particularly concerned to examine the shared experience of industrial decline since 1970. In this latter concern, this research is distinguished by its attempt to discern the relationship between the international, national and local process of historical change. It also aims to establish the advantages and drawbacks of the comparative approach in historical study. This thesis makes an important contribution to existing research on Malmö and Newcastle, which have not been compared in a scholarly fashion previously. It also aims to make a contribution to historical methodology where, as yet, there exists little concrete analysis of the potential benefits of the comparative historical approach. This work is wide ranging, extending the analysis of economy and society to include chapters on the experience of local politics, social housing, cultural policy, regional identity and regionalism in both cities since 1945. In addition to comparing local research material, this thesis draws upon existing work at the national level comparing social democracy, labour relations and industrial organisation in Britain and Sweden. Much of this scholarship has utilised comparison to explain the differences between Britain and Sweden. This case study of two cities can be distinguished from national comparisons because the perspective is local, and the most important question concerns the shared experience of industrial contraction. In seeking to understand local similarities, in the context of national Anglo-Swedish differences, this thesis contributes a new understanding both to the history of Malmö and Newcastle, and to the comparative historical approach

Just transitions and sociotechnical innovation in the social housing sector: an assemblage analysis of residents’ perspectives

Creating low-carbon pathways for domestic electricity and heating is a core aspect of the UK Government's housing strategy. Understanding issues of energy justice and the socio-technical dynamics of low-carbon innovation are vital for successfully implementing new technologies and retrofit measures across diverse communities and different housing types. The social housing sector is particularly important in the study of just domestic low-carbon transitions due to the challenges faced by residents concerning energy affordability and insecurity during the ongoing cost of living crisis in the UK. This qualitative study, conducted in the Northeast of England, adopts an assemblage thinking approach to examine the experiences of social housing residents. Through thematic analysis of interviewee responses, we identify themes related to cost and affordability; decision-making dynamics and energy justice; disruption, retrofit and ‘fabric first’; energy autonomy and the practicalities of technology choice; and environmental values and collective climate action. We find that justice in the low-carbon home requires social housing organisations to strengthen mechanisms for resident engagement and interconnectedness before retrofit roll-out, to identify independent sources and arbiters of information on upfront and long-term energy costs, to ensure effective mechanisms for the social control of energy use, and to provide a platform to encourage nascent energy citizenship through which residents link pro-environmental behaviours in the home to broader networks of social action on climate change