The following letter was published in The Spectator on 22 July.

Sir: ‘Why does the Conservative party not field candidates in Ulster constituencies?’, asks John Nugee (Letters 15 July).

Professor Roy Foster, a distinguished Irish historian, assessed the implications of Brexit for Ireland in an article in TLS: The Times Literary Supplement on July 14. Alistair Lexden commented on the article in the main letter in the next issue of the paper on July 21.

On 27 July 1967, Royal Assent was given to the Sexual Offences Bill following long campaigns in the country at large, and in both Lords and Commons; in the Lords, the 8th Earl of Arran, a Liberal peer, was at the forefront, taking a Private Member’s Bill through the House to achieve reform.

On 12 July, the King of Spain, Felipe VI, began a three-day State visit. There was comment in The Times about his family connections with our royals.

On Monday, 3 July James Brokenshire, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, gave an optimistic assessment of the prospects for re-establishing devolved government in the Province which has been in abeyance since the collapse of  the Northern Ireland Executive last January.

On 10 July it became clear that Mrs May now believes that the political parties should work together in the national interest. A week before in the Lords Alistair Lexden made the same point in relation to Kensington and Chelsea where the reputation of the Tory council has been badly damaged by th

Sartorial traditions recently discarded in the House of Commons are stoutly maintained in the Lords chamber –though it is not entirely immune from change where wigs are concerned, as Alistair Lexden revealed in a letter published in The Daily Telegraph on 10 July.

It is widely believed that the historical background to Ulster’s troubles is so complicated that it cannot be readily understood. In fact, its principal features can be grasped quite easily.

Lord Lexden finds much to enjoy about this concise account of the battle to publish parliamentary debates – and the sometimes violent confrontations that ensued.

On 3 July, Alistair Lexden introduced a short Private Member’s Bill in the Lords where it was given its formal First Reading. The Bill would extend the Civil Partnership Act 2004 to include siblings aged over thirty who have lived together for a continuous period of twelve years.