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
A novel way of getting a peerage 12th January 2021 8 January was the centenary of Chequers in Berkshire becoming the prime minister’s official country residence. Lloyd George moved in very happily in 1921. The... Articles
Rules for referendums and Boris Johnson's Scottish failures 11th January 2021 The following letter was published in The Daily Telegraph on 9 January, under the heading “How committed is the PM to saving the Union?” SIR - Nicola Sturgeon... Articles
Protecting school staff 8th January 2021 On Sunday, 3 January Boris Johnson said it was perfectly safe for children to return to school after the holidays; the following day, he said that schools must... Speeches
Boris Johnson's Honours scandal 26th December 2020 Boris Johnson’s second list of new peers this year was published on 23 December. His 52 additions to the Lords in 2020 take the total size of the House to 830... Articles
Churchill and Bevan during the Second World War 22nd December 2020 We look back on the Second World War as a time when the country was united behind Churchill and his national government, a coalition of all parties, in the... Articles
Johnson and sovereignty 21st December 2020 In all the discussion in Parliament and the media about an EU trade deal, one small but central point has been lost to sight. Boris Johnson has said over and... Articles
Who were the first Asians to sit in Parliament? 16th December 2020 Three were elected to the House of Commons, and another became a peer, between 1892 and 1929. Their lives have been told by Lord (Mahomed) Sheikh, a... Articles
Final words on that Thatcher Statue 15th December 2020 On a number of occasions since 2017—most recently on 7 December ( see below)—Alistair Lexden has castigated a truly dreadful statue of Mrs Thatcher. In a letter... Articles
Times letters - claiming the record 11th December 2020 The publication of Alistair Lexden’s 300th Times letter on 7 December(see below) led a number of people in the House of Lords and elsewhere to ask whether this... Recent News