Conscience is not for Conservatives
Book review of The Conservatives: A History by Robin Harris
Politics, Ideas and the Arts
Nick Clegg Captures the Mandarins’ Castle
Party-funding and constitutional reform reveal the Whitehall machine playing into the hands—and coffers—of the Lib Dems
What We Didn’t Know About Boris and Ken
Millions think next year’s London mayoral election is between an amiable Bertie Wooster and a Cockney cheeky chappie. Don’t you believe it
The Bores Have It
A new book on election reform forgets the fact that voters did not want AV
Obstacle Source
Government financial obstacles often start as interventions. But they have a habit of making life more difficult for the Chancellor and his aides
The Red Roots of Folk Music
Folk music has long been influenced by ultra-Left politics. Yet as the example of composer Cornelius Cardew has shown, even those with Communist sympathies have things to teach us about community music
Durable Diplomatist
Book review of Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny by John Bew
The Anti-Elitist Elite Versus the Underclass
The writer and former Tory minister and the political commentator discuss the genesis of the riots with the Editor of Standpoint, Daniel Johnson
Moscow Martyr
David Cameron's forthcoming visit to the Kremlin should not just be another exercise in deferential "diplomacy"
He Never Had It So Good
Review of The Macmillan Diaries Prime Minister and After, 1957-1966 Edited by Peter Catterall Macmillan
No Such Thing
The infamous phrase shouldn't be attributed to Mrs T — it was first coined by David Lodge in his novel, Ginger, You're Barmy
Blowing the BBC’s Gaff
Book review of When One Door Closes by Peter Sissons