Three cheers for Oriel College, which after years of dither and delay, has finally come to the only possible decision about its little statue of Cecil Rhodes. Nobody thinks Rhodes was a saint. Entrepreneurs and empire-builders rarely are. But as prime minister of the Cape Colony, founder of the De Beers diamond empire and the … Read more
What would Boris Johnson have to do, I wonder, for his critics to take him seriously? For weeks he’s been battered by dreadful headlines, culminating in the Mail’s revelations of his alleged use of donations to pay for the redecoration of his Downing Street flat. Day after day, his critics hammered away at the issue … Read more
What would Boris Johnson have to do, I wonder, for his critics to take him seriously? For weeks he’s been battered by dreadful headlines, culminating in the Mail’s revelations of his alleged use of donations to pay for the redecoration of his Downing Street flat. Day after day, his critics hammered away at the issue … Read more
The year is 1900, and on a chilly February morning, a group of men in heavy woollen suits are deep in conversation in the Congregational Memorial Hall on Farringdon Street in London. Exasperated by the existing political parties, these grizzled trade unionists have come together to form a group of their own, the Labour Representation … Read more
The year is 1900, and on a chilly February morning, a group of men in heavy woollen suits are deep in conversation in the Congregational Memorial Hall on Farringdon Street in London. Exasperated by the existing political parties, these grizzled trade unionists have come together to form a group of their own, the Labour Representation … Read more
Great royal occasions — and make no mistake, the funeral of Prince Philip was a very great occasion indeed — are always charged with historical meaning. For the senior members of the House of Windsor, this was above all a poignant personal farewell. I defy even the most strident republican to watch the footage of … Read more
Great royal occasions — and make no mistake, the funeral of Prince Philip was a very great occasion indeed — are always charged with historical meaning. For the senior members of the House of Windsor, this was above all a poignant personal farewell. I defy even the most strident republican to watch the footage of … Read more
Baroness Shirley Williams, who tried to ‘break the mould of British politics’ in the 1980s, has died aged 90. The Liberal Democrat peer served in the Labour governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan in the 1970s, rising to be education secretary, before leaving the party to form the SDP in 1981. She later supported … Read more
Baroness Shirley Williams, who tried to ‘break the mould of British politics’ in the 1980s, has died aged 90. The Liberal Democrat peer served in the Labour governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan in the 1970s, rising to be education secretary, before leaving the party to form the SDP in 1981. She later supported … Read more
Wenn Sie in einem Loch sind, hören Sie auf zu graben. So runs the German translation of what the late Labour politician Denis Healey called his First Law of Holes. To put it in simple English: ‘When you’re in a hole, stop digging.’ I’ve translated it into German on the off chance that the president … Read more