Whitehall is in for a shake-up but will it go far enough?
- 23 Dec 2019
Government is responsible for the provision and delivery of a range of services, directly or indirectly, on a scale no business or charity has to deal with. It is the provider and guardian of our safety and health of last resort. We rely, often unthinkingly, on government to d...
British business needs a fresh approach to the new Tory government
- 19 Dec 2019
Boris Johnson’s huge General Election victory is good news from the perspective of the political stability that business needs to succeed. The UK government will now continue to be a strong supporter of innovation and enterprise. The principles of the free market and free flow...
Get ready for the Boris revolution
- 19 Dec 2019
In 2005 Boris Johnson came to Great Yarmouth where I was the parliamentary candidate. I went to pick him up and take him to the event we had planned. He was accompanied by a journalist who was following him around collecting material for a profile they were writing. Sitting in...
Prince Andrew’s disgrace has now become a political issue
- 18 Nov 2019
There is a firm, if unwritten, rule that the Royal Family keeps a low profile during General Election campaigns. It doesn’t mean they stop working or going about their duties. It does mean they take extra special care not to say anything controversial or anything that could be...
Trafalgar Service Talk
- 27 Oct 2019
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen This morning I received the following signal from the Admiralty: “On the 214th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar I join with you in remembering all those who fought at this great engagement. The br...
Brexit is proving to be a brutal experience for all our institutions including the Church of England
- 11 Oct 2019
Like a great scythe Brexit slices its way through our national life, from Parliament to the courts, the civil service to civil society, no institution or organisation, public or private, is left untouched – including the nation’s Church, the Church of England. Brexit is, and w...
Thatcher: A Very British Revolution
- 28 Sep 2019
BBC Two, 20 May–17 June 2019 First published in the Conservative History Group's journal To mark the fortieth anniversary of the Conservative Party’s 1979 general election victory and Margaret Thatcher’s arrival in Downing Street as Prime Minister,the BBC produced a five...
The 1960s - what a time
- 13 Sep 2019
“You must go and study under Hennessy,” said Ben Pimlott on the day I graduated from his Masters course in politics and public administration at Birkbeck. “You’ve a lot in common – he’s a journalist, likes tweed jackets, loves the Queen, and he’s conservative in the best sense...
The Battle of the Atlantic has much to teach us today
- 3 Sep 2019
September 3rd 2019 marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Atlantic. It was the single biggest and longest battle of the Second World War, lasting five years eight months and five days. It involved the Royal and Merchant Navies and eight other allied p...
Boris Johnson proroguing parliament proves he has a plan – unlike everyone else
- 28 Aug 2019
The announcement this morning that Boris Johnson is to deliver a Queen’s Speech and that this requires the prorogation of Parliament should come as no surprise to anyone. It is a perfectly obvious and constitutionally respectable move by the Prime Minister. Mr Johnson is actin...