No escape from 10 Downing Street Monday, 14 October, 2024 An article in The Times on 12 October detailed the dissatisfaction felt by many prime ministers with their official residence. Disraeli found it “dingy and decaying.” Lord Salisbury called it “cramped”. Only Margaret Thatcher sang its praises unreservedly. However, when an opportunity to move into more splendid premises arose, it was turned down. Alistair Lexden described how this happened in a... Articles
Starmer banishes Gladstone 13th October 2024 On 13 October, The Sunday Telegraph carried a report of the removal of a portrait of Gladstone from 10 Downing Street. It quoted comments by Alistair Lexden... Articles
Disraeli's sleepy support for trade unions 11th October 2024 An error in a recent article in The New Statesman was corrected by Alistair Lexden in a letter published in the magazine on 11 October. Robert Colls (The... Articles
"Giving up what one has is always a bad thing" 10th October 2024 This letter, which was published in The Daily Telegraph on October 10, echoed the widespread criticism of the Government’s decision to give away the Chagos... Articles
Unfinished business: sex abuse allegations against Ted Heath 9th October 2024 This piece of business—so very important for Heath’s reputation at the bar of history—could have been completed years ago if Home Office Ministers in the last... Recent News
Disraeli never said it! 5th October 2024 Many years ago (Lord) Robert Blake, Disraeli’s greatest biographer, asked if anyone knew how the term ‘One Nation’ had come into existence since he had been... Articles
The Conservative Party in better days 1st October 2024 There are many notable features of the Conservative Party’s history that are worth pondering as the Party sets out to rebuild itself. Alistair Lexden mentioned... Articles
A Prime Minister and his lover 30th September 2024 Robert Harris’s latest historical novel about the passionate love affair between Herbert Asquith and Venetia Stanley has attracted much praise. Alistair Lexden... Articles
The centenary of the Zinoviev letter 23rd September 2024 The closing stages of a general election 100 years ago were dominated by one of the most controversial letters of all time. Had it been sent by the Soviet... Articles
Starmer's free gifts 19th September 2024 The storm of criticism which Sir Keir Starmer has attracted for accepting numerous gifts - including clothes for himself and his wife - prompted the following... Articles