I promised to reveal the grand prizewinners of the quiz prior to Christmas. Since the quiz resumed following the election, there have been 22 readers who have won the quizzes. Some of these are grand prizewinners, having won three or more. Indeed, three have won ten or more and three have won between five and…
In the Commons yesterday, during Topical Questions to the Deputy PM, Peter Bone returned to a question he has pursued before. Who is in charge if the PM dies? I have previously written on the problem of who succeeds if a Prime Minister dies in office. The last one to do so was Palmerston, but…
The House of Lords has its origin in the King’s court, which comprised the leading churchmen and landowners. In the 13th Century, some knights from the shires and later burgesses from towns were summoned and the court developed into a parliament. Later, the churchmen along with earls and barons sat separately from those drawn from…
I have been somewhat surprised to see media speculation that, in the light of tensions within the coalition, we could see the end of the coalition and ‘an early election’. Comparative experience suggests coalitions can survive internal tensions – as I pointed in a chapter on the subject, disharmony should not be confused with instability…
In the run-up to Christmas, I shall publish the names of grand prize-winners to date. I also plan to include those readers who have been regular contributors to the quiz, frequently getting answers correct but not necessarily being among the first two to supply the answers. I think they too merit an invitation to tea…
