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
Tory leadership concepts since 1965 18th June 2019 Over nearly fifty-five years they have changed considerably in some respects, but not in others, as Alistair Lexden pointed out in an article published in... Articles
A man who was loved and loathed 10th June 2019 Lord Beaverbrook, the famous press magnate, made friends and enemies everywhere. A new biography of him has recently been published . Alistair Lexden reviewed... Articles
Parliament paralysed 5th June 2019 As a historian, Alistair Lexden is often asked: “what precedents are there for today’s extraordinary, long-running political crisis?” Bitter divisions between... Articles
D-Day 75 years on 5th June 2019 On 4 June, the Lords held a debate to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. In his contribution, Alistair Lexden spoke principally about Churchill’s role. Follow... Speeches
Queen Victoria's sketches of her children 2nd June 2019 A number of Queen Victoria’s drawings of her children, which were given to the British Museum in 1926, are to go on public display for the first time to mark... Articles
The worst election result ever 29th May 2019 In the May European elections, the Tories won 9.1 per cent of the vote; just three of their candidates were successful. This result was widely described in the... Articles
An unexpected award 25th May 2019 Alistair Lexden has presented a number of awards in the House of Lords over the last few years; on 16 May he unexpectedly received one. The award came from the... Recent News
Mrs May and history 24th May 2019 It is Alistair Lexden’s view as a historian that Mrs May has done worse than any of her Tory predecessors. He has repeated his view on a number of occasions... Articles
Inhumanity in Brunei 23rd May 2019 Speaking in the Lords on 11 April ( see below), Alistair Lexden condemned the barbaric decision of the Brunei government to make homosexuals liable to death by... Recent News