On Saturday I visited the Vasa Museum, The Vasa was a Swedish warship that sunk on its maiden voyage in 1628, after only 1500 yards after being launched into Stockholm Harbour. It was found and ...

It was in the interval of watching a Cliff Richard concert in Cardiff last night that I learned that Brian Hayes had died at the age of 87. I knew he was ill, but it was still something of a shock, ...

I’m writing this having just watched the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, try to tell is that she wasn’t lying or misleading us about the need for £26 billion of tax rises in the budget, and that she had ...

Sometimes I think: “Is it me, or is the world going mad?” This weekend is one of those occasions. We’ve had weeks of the Chancellor flying all sorts of tax raising kites and leaking different budget ...

This collection of essays about the sixteen men who have led Irish governments has the subtitle: “a century of political leadership”. The essays, however, demonstrate that leadership qualities were in ...

Finding the right Christmas present for men of a certain age can be a nightmare. They have enough socks at this stage to last three lifetimes. That’s why so many sports biographies come out in autumn.

When a high profile prisoner, who has been found guilty of committing sex offences against young girls, is wrongly released from prison, and when you find out that last year 262 prisoners were ...

The current political consensus appears to be that the next election is Reform’s to lose. According to one veteran Tory strategist the Tories are approaching an “Extinction Level Event”. Political ...

Reshuffle in haste, repent at leisure. I suspect that will be what people conclude about Keir Starmer’s reshuffle. It bore all the hallmarks of being scribbled on the back of a fag packet. If you’re ...

My colleague, the brilliant political commentator Lewis Goodall, and I usually get on famously and find plenty of shared perspectives. Yet, on the subject of inheritance tax, we stand at opposite ends ...

I don’t envy my friend Jacqui Smith having to look after the university sector. In some ways it ought to be one of the most enjoyable jobs I government. But then you read the lead story on page 2 of ...

Today, the world of broadcasting lost an original. James Whale was an icon, a titan of an industry which is full of fakes. He was a pioneer, someone who wasn’t afraid to innovate or try new things, ...