Just as I had imagined it, the death of Nelson Mandela has provoked a most extra-ordinary reaction. On the night his death was announced, Barack Obama, standing at the lectern at the Rose Garden in the White House, said: βhe… Read more »
On this day 50 years ago in Dallas, Texas, President John F Kennedy was killed by an assassin’s bullet. The death of Kennedy in a way marked the death of hope and innocence. In the past half a century, on… Read more »
The news that Hull has been nominated the UK city of culture for 2017 fills me with joy. In a stiff competition between Swansea, Leicester and Dundee, Hull, describing itself in its bid as ‘a city coming out of the… Read more »
Watching Major and Cameron take lumps out of each other over the subject of social mobility reminds me of a conversation I once had with Sir Richard Wilson, the erstwhile head of the UK civil service. Introducing myself to him… Read more »