A great Prime Minister's early death Thursday, 11 July, 2024 Prime minister at the age of 24, the Younger Pitt died when he was 46 in 1806 after serving in the highest political office for eighteen years, a term exceeded in length only by Walpole. His health was never robust. It is well-known that he added to his problems by drinking heavily, and it is often said that drink killed him. Far from that being the case, the illness that proved fatal to him can... Articles
Creativity and skills in schools 9th February 2024 A Lords cross-party select committee, of which Alistair Lexden was a member, spent several months last year looking in detail at the way pupils between the ages... Recent NewsSpeeches
Kings and cancer 7th February 2024 The following letter was published in The Times on 7 February. Sir, It is immensely poignant that the King’s cancer diagnosis should have been announced the day... Articles
No united Ireland 3rd February 2024 The appointment of a Sinn Fein first minister in Northern Ireland has led to speculation that a united Ireland is now a serious prospect. Alistair Lexden... Articles
Critics of the Empire 30th January 2024 A full and accurate understanding of the British Empire is impeded by the unremitting hostility of many writers and commentators. As Alistair Lexden stressed in... Articles
Stepping out - backwards 20th January 2024 This was a skill that the most senior royal courtiers needed until recently. Some managed better than others, as Alistair Lexden noted in a letter published in... Articles
The first Whigs and Tories 19th January 2024 The attached article was published in Parliament’s magazine The House, to which Alistair Lexden contributes regularly, on 15 January. It is an abridged – and... Articles
Ted Heath: will a great wrong ever be righted? 18th January 2024 For over five years Alistair Lexden has been campaigning alongside others to get an independent inquiry into a deeply flawed police investigation of child... Speeches
A Conservative history essay: how the Tory Party was born some 340 years ago 22nd December 2023 The modern histories of the Conservative Party do not provide a full account of how it first came into being as the Tory Party in the early 1680s. This essay... Articles
Edward VIII speaks out 18th December 2023 Few people have come under more sustained attack . Some have accused him of being a Nazi collaborator. The King’s side of the story, drawing on hitherto... Articles