The rebirth of Sutherland's portrait of Churchill Tuesday, 23 April, 2024 In a letter to The Daily Telegraph published on 23 April, Alistair Lexden drew attention to the existence of a copy of Graham Sutherland’s remarkable portrait, painted for Churchill’s 80th birthday in 1954, which his wife later arranged to have destroyed. SIR -- Graham Sutherland’s preliminary work for his controversial portrait of Churchill possesses all the qualities which made this great artist... Articles
The truth about One Nation - yet again 3rd July 2019 Some historical errors are so firmly entrenched that it seems almost impossible to correct them. Neville Chamberlain continues to be regarded a weak man who was... Articles
Ratting and Re-ratting 26th June 2019 Some recent letters in The Spectator magazine have featured politicians who altered their positions—more than once. Alistair Lexden contributed to the... Articles
The triumph of William Pitt 24th June 2019 Pitt’s remarkable political success from the 1780s until his early death in 1806 is the most memorable feature of a new book about his bitter rivalry with... Articles
The duplicity of Conservative MPs 22nd June 2019 The parliamentary stage of the Tory leadership contest ended on 20 June amid widespread reports of dirty tricks and bullying by Boris Johnson's supporters... Articles
Are the talks in Northern Ireland making progress? 21st June 2019 Six weeks ago, a fresh round of talks—the latest of many—began in Northern Ireland on the restoration of the devolved government which collapsed two and a half... Speeches
Neville Chamberlain: A formidable politician 18th June 2019 On 17 June, a letter published in The Times stated that “the assessment that Mrs May is oddly lacking in political skills may be unusual but not unique in... Articles
Tory leadership concepts since 1965 18th June 2019 Over nearly fifty-five years they have changed considerably in some respects, but not in others, as Alistair Lexden pointed out in an article published in... Articles
A man who was loved and loathed 10th June 2019 Lord Beaverbrook, the famous press magnate, made friends and enemies everywhere. A new biography of him has recently been published . Alistair Lexden reviewed... Articles
Parliament paralysed 5th June 2019 As a historian, Alistair Lexden is often asked: “what precedents are there for today’s extraordinary, long-running political crisis?” Bitter divisions between... Articles