All articles written by Lord Lexden on PoliticsHome.com

13 Sep Books & culture

Lord Lexden reviews 'Ancestral Voices in Irish Politics'

Lord Bew has written an absorbing study of the often fraught relationship between the remarkable Charles Stewart Parnell and his intellectually impressive lieutenant, John Dillon

20 Jul Books & culture

Fascinating: Lord Lexden reviews 'A Liberal Chronicle in Peace and War'

The magnificent efforts of two industrious editors have rescued these invaluable diaries from oblivion

19 Jun Defence

Lords Diary: Lord Lexden

From record-breaking late night sittings – with remarkable endurance skills – to becoming a 'national treasure'

07 Jun Books & culture

Written with characteristic verve and skill: Lord Lexden reviews Antonia Fraser's 'Lady Caroline Lamb'

In this delightful new book, Antonia Fraser captures the appeal of a woman whose indifference to societal conventions helped pave the way to equality

09 May History

The king’s dilemma: how it fell to George V to choose a new prime minister

A century ago, it fell to King George V to select a new prime minister. Lord Lexden revisits the machinations that lay behind the eventual decision

28 Dec 2022 Foreign affairs

How an Irish state was created 100 years ago

“You have agreed to a revolution in Ireland.” So said Edward Carson, the famous leader of the Irish Unionists, as the legislation giving full internal self-government to 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland was passed by the House of Lords, of which he was then a Member, in December 1922.

05 Dec 2022 Political parties

Secrets of the ballot box: 150 years of voting in private

Seldom can a major constitutional reform have aroused so little enthusiasm. No public meetings were held to demand it; no great demonstrations were organised in its support. After much parliamentary dithering and delay, the Ballot Act finally became law in the second half of 1872, exactly 150 years ago.

02 Nov 2022 Books & culture

'Entertaining': Lord Lexden reviews 'Cheers, Mr Churchill! Winston in Scotland'

In a carefully researched and lively account, Andrew Liddle finally sets the record straight on Winston Churchill’s attitude to Scotland

04 Oct 2022 Books & culture

'Magnificently indiscreet': Lord Lexden reviews the last of Henry ‘Chips’ Channon’s diaries

No praise is too high for Simon Heffer’s editing of these irresistible records of upper-class life in a vanished Britain

13 Jun 2022 Books & culture

An 'impressive' account: Lord Lexden reviews 'Great Hatred: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP'

Assassinated on his London doorstep 100 years ago this month, this impressive book uncovers the fateful events that led to the murder of the military statesman and Ulster Unionist MP, Sir Henry Wilson

24 May 2022 Parliament

Elections to the House of Lords – 100 years of debate

Which was the first government to try to reform the composition of the House of Lords by bringing in elected members?

14 Jan 2021 Foreign affairs

"Statesman of Europe": restoring the reputation of Britain's longest serving foreign secretary

Thomas Otte’s superb biography turns the tables on Sir Edward Grey’s critics

08 Nov 2018 Home affairs

How the Armistice changed our democracy forever

The end of the Great War ushered in a new era of mass democracy, as millions of newly enfranchised working men and women voted for the first time. As we mark 100 years since the Armistice, historian Lord Lexden reflects on how it helped shape our politics

30 Apr 2018

60 years of Life Peers

Queen Victoria was an early and strong supporter. Harold Macmillan referred to them as ‘the day boys’. Hugh Gaitskell feared they would be used to block a reforming Labour government and preserve the privilege of the House of Lords. Sixty years on from the Act which finally created Life Peers, historian Lord Lexden looks back at how Parliament’s Upper Chamber was transformed