Category Archives: Politics

Bullingdon-esque

Posted on April 16, 2018 by clivedav184z

One of the books I’m reading at the moment (for research purposes, really) is the diary of Duff Cooper (1890-1954),  Cabinet minister, bon vivant and David Cameron’s great-great uncle. (You can see the resemblance in the photo.) The early stages … Continue reading →

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Over-heated

Posted on May 17, 2017 by clivedav184z

Is Europe really committing suicide? The reasonable arguments in  Douglas Murray’s polemic about Islamism and immigration are undermined by ultra-Powellite rhetoric. My review in The Times: Anyone who has seen Murray — a gay, Old Etonian associate editor of The … Continue reading →

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Article 50

Posted on March 29, 2017 by clivedav184z

Twitter is a Brexit battleground today. I thought I’d feel more passionate one way or the other about the milestone we’ve just passed. Instead I’m just impatient for the whole process to start. I’ve already explained how I voted Remain … Continue reading →

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Notebook

Posted on February 19, 2017 by clivedav184z

We don’t know yet what the televising of the conventions will do to American politics, to elections, to the convention system itself. Some of us fear what one good demagogue with a fine voice and a rousing profile might do … Continue reading →

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Notebook

Posted on December 5, 2016 by clivedav184z

George Orwell, “As I Please”, Tribune, 1944.

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Out of the shadows

Posted on November 20, 2016 by clivedav184z

An intriguing book that sometimes tries too hard. My Times review of David Olusoga’s “Black and British: A Forgotten History” For all the fascinating material that it unearths, Black and British is not always an easy read. In his introduction … Continue reading →

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When John Major met Boris Yeltsin

Posted on October 10, 2016 by clivedav184z

Pithy. A  diplomatic tale from Lynn Barber’s review of Jeremy Paxman’s autobiography: JM: Well, Boris, in a word, how is Russia? BY: Good. JM: And in more than one word? BY: Not good.

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The life of a politician

Posted on April 10, 2016 by clivedav184z

From a Q&A with author and academic Danny Dorling: Are politicians any more interested in listening to academics than to members of the public? And is your time as an academic well spent in engaging with and advising politicians? Politicians … Continue reading →

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The champion & the preacher

Posted on March 12, 2016 by clivedav184z

In today’s Times, my review [£] of a fascinating account of the moment when sport and politics collided head-on: Thanks to Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith’s enthralling narrative we now have a better understanding of how a complex relationship was born, … Continue reading →

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Sundries

Posted on February 6, 2016 by clivedav184z

The FT’s correspondent interviews South Africa’s most notorious revolutionary over lunch and gets a surprise at the end: I shake his hand in the routine English way, apologising that I don’t know the elaborate South African variation, which involves three different … Continue reading →

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