I have just watched The Iron Lady, a film about Baroness Thatcher’s life. It does not deal with her period in the House of Lords at all, but focuses on her rise to, and tenure of the position of the first and, so far, the only female Prime Minister of this country. In most ways,…
As Lord Soley asked who was the Prime Minister who was not British-born, I thought I would stick with the theme for this week’s quiz and ask about Prime Ministers in relation to the House of Lords. As usual, the first two readers to supply the correct answers will be the winners, though feel free…
I was talking to an Ambassador at the Labour Party conference and he said he was saddened about the ever lower age of British political leaders. He said he had always associated Britain with wise statesmanship and that the younger age of Prime Ministers meant we were no longer getting this. There have been…
The last Prime Minister to be drawn from the Lords and to remain in the House was the Third Marquess of Salisbury. All subsequent premiers have sat in the Commons. When they have given up the reins of office, they have been offered peerages. Not all have taken up the offer or not taken it…
On Tuesday, Americans will go to the polls. They will choose between two principal candidates. The focus on their relative merits has rather obscured discussion of the process by which they became candidates. Both have risen to the top despite not having any executive experience. The last Senator to be elected President was John Kennedy…
