In the county of his birth, among the people he called his own, Jack Charlton passed away. And as the nation mourns the man, it may look back in wonder at the England which formed him. For Charlton became a peculiarly English hero. He was talented, but not excessively so; quirky, yet curiously engaging. And … Read more
Everything was looking shipshape. Last week, we in the British cruise industry were talking about sailing dates, itineraries and recalling thousands of staff from furlough – just, we imagined, as the Government wanted us to do. We have worked hard to make sure our ships are safe and we were ready to relaunch our £10 billion-a-year … Read more
Of all the memorable speeches delivered by Winston Churchill, none was more influential than his 1946 address at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Although Churchill was no longer Prime Minister by then, the speech threw out phrases that would echo down the years. Describing a new post-war division of the world between East and West, … Read more
Every day I still see unhappy, frightened people cringing from human contact. They have been terrified almost out of their minds by foolish government propaganda, and the most basic trust, the very heart of civilisation, has been destroyed. This is another side of savage, unforgivably cruel rules which have prevented grandparents from touching their grandchildren, … Read more
Even pop stars must grow old, but it is rather a shock to learn that Tony Hadley recently celebrated his 60th birthday. ‘It’s a weird one, isn’t it?’ he says. ‘How did that happen? Where did all the time go? I haven’t got a clue.’ To cut a long story short, he hasn’t lost his … Read more
Take a deep breath. The BBC is encouraging all its staff to be be more sensitive to transgender and non-binary colleagues in emails, and include the pronouns they’d like to be called by in their email signatures. If I were to email, say, Jeremy Vine, I would stipulate at the end of it that I’d … Read more
As I write, I’m sitting at an enormous mahogany desk in my oak-panelled, book-lined study, attired in formal evening dress. My starched shirt-front, dazzlingly white, is as stiff as a sheet of tin. You can see your face in my patent-leather shoes, polished to a brilliant shine. My black tie and matching cummerbund are spun from … Read more
So the deed is done. But will the BBC pay a price for going ahead with its plan to end free TV licences for most over-75s after a two-month stay of execution because of the Covid-19 pandemic? The Corporation’s panjandrums evidently think they can get away with it. They will reason that, although more than … Read more
No Chancellor in modern times has faced the looming horror of mass unemployment that scarred this country and the world economy in the 1930s. But this is precisely what Rishi Sunak’s unprecedented measures yesterday were designed to stave off. As what has been called the ‘first phase’ of the pandemic comes to an end, the … Read more
The magic money tree… shaken by a Tory! Astonished former Chancellor NORMAN LAMONT gives his verdict on Rishi Sunak’s mini-Budget By Norman Lamont, Former Chancellor, For The Daily Mail Published: 22:36 BST, 8 July 2020 | Updated: 01:21 BST, 9 July 2020 As a former Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 1990s, I can honestly … Read more