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Robert Hutton

Robert Hutton

@RobDotHutton

Robert Hutton is a freelance journalist and sketchwriter for The Critic

Recipes for Disaster: Boris Johnson's cheese on toast
Parliament
By Robert Hutton
Recipes for Disaster: Boris Johnson's cheese on toast
An expert in guilty pleasures goes to the kitchen...
Recipes for disaster: David Cameron’s almond milk porridge
Political parties
By Robert Hutton
Recipes for disaster: David Cameron’s almond milk porridge
This is a story from early 2014, just before the start of what I think of as the Mad Decade of British politics. It is also one in which I played, to my intense distress, a major part.
Recipes for disaster: Gordon Brown’s sushi
Political parties
By Robert Hutton
Recipes for disaster: Gordon Brown’s sushi
Politicians making a meal of it. This week: Gordon Brown’s sushi
Recipes for disaster: Ed Balls' eight sausage rolls
Parliament
By Robert Hutton
Recipes for disaster: Ed Balls' eight sausage rolls
Politicians making a meal of it. This week: eight sausage rolls for Ed Balls
Recipes for disaster: David Cameron's Cornish pasty
Economy
By Robert Hutton
Recipes for disaster: David Cameron's Cornish pasty
It’s said that to be a minister in the Home Office is to have an entire staff under you working on things that will force you to resign. But if you think things are any better at the Treasury, you’ve got a lot to learn.
Dominic Raab's Pret Special
Brexit
By Robert Hutton
Dominic Raab's Pret Special
He doesn't have the same lunch every day. Really.
Recipes for Disaster: Kemi's steak
Parliament
By Robert Hutton
Recipes for Disaster: Kemi's steak
Back in 2006, a pollster advised George Osborne that the public generally knew at most three things about any politician, and that he should think what he would like them to be.
Recipes For Disaster: The Bacon Sandwich
Political parties
Recipes For Disaster: The Bacon Sandwich
To launch a new column on politicians making a meal of it, there was only one place to start.
How handovers work: John Major's final hours in No10
Political parties
By Robert Hutton
How handovers work: John Major's final hours in No10
For the first time since 1997, Britain is approaching an election where no one doubts that power is about to change hands. And by happy coincidence, last Christmas saw the release of a memo spelling out how Downing Street prepared for the moment last time around.
All must have prizes: Headmaster Hoyle's 2023 school report
Parliament
By Robert Hutton
All must have prizes: Headmaster Hoyle's 2023 school report
As a tumultuous term draws to a close, Robert Hutton hunts though the debris and hands out gongs
Illustrations by Tracy Worrall
The Ex-Files: What should former prime ministers do with the rest of their lives?
History
By Robert Hutton
The Ex-Files: What should former prime ministers do with the rest of their lives?
One day you’re feted by world leaders and fawning staff, the next you’re out on your ear. So what should a former premier do with the rest of their life? Robert Hutton explores the options
King of Chaos: Prime Minister Boris Johnson's tenure and departure
Political parties
By Robert Hutton
King of Chaos: Prime Minister Boris Johnson's tenure and departure
“The Prime Minister said: ‘I am more frightened of you having the power to stop the chaos than I am of the chaos. The chaos means everyone will look to me as the man in charge.’” – Dominic Cummings, May 26, 2021
Corbyn's Covid conundrum: what if Labour had won the 2019 general election?
Coronavirus
By Robert Hutton
Corbyn's Covid conundrum: what if Labour had won the 2019 general election?
It is two years since Boris Johnson led the Conservatives to victory at the general election, but one decision might have changed everything. Robert Hutton takes a trip down a parallel timeline.
Who Are The Tory Tribes?
Political parties
By Robert Hutton
Who Are The Tory Tribes?
The Wets and Drys. The Maastricht Rebels. The Notting Hill Set. The Conservative Party has long done a first class job of factionalism. Whereas Labour splits seem carved in stone, based on decades-old feuds and theoretical arguments, Tory gangs form and break up with great pace, something accelerated in recent years by both the changing demographic of its voters and ease of setting up a WhatsApp group. Robert Hutton reports.
From seabed to space
Defence
By Robert Hutton
From seabed to space
First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Tony Radakin has a remit stretching from the ocean floor to the outer hemisphere, along with responsibility for the welfare and wellbeing of more than 30,000 personnel and their families. He tells Robert Hutton he has reasons to be cheerful.
Field of Dreams: When Politicians and Festivals Meet
Culture
By Robert Hutton
Field of Dreams: When Politicians and Festivals Meet
Pop festivals and politicians – not an obvious match. But from triumphant appearances on the Pyramid Stage, to hangovers and hasty exits, many MPs have in-the-field experience.
The Definitive Guide to Boris Johnson's Buses, Bridges and Boreholes Under the Irish Sea
Political parties
By Robert Hutton
The Definitive Guide to Boris Johnson's Buses, Bridges and Boreholes Under the Irish Sea
His cable-car crossing was the most expensive ever built, and his ‘Boris Bikes’ made it into the Oxford dictionary. With proposals on the table for a ‘Boris Burrow’ to connect Scotland and Northern Ireland, Robert Hutton explores Johnson’s quest to secure a lasting legacy.
Adult Lockdown Lessons For Home Schooling
Education
By Robert Hutton
Adult Lockdown Lessons For Home Schooling
How Closely Did You Follow Politics In 2020?
Political parties
By Robert Hutton
How Closely Did You Follow Politics In 2020?
If you want to know how dramatic 2020 has been, the Chancellor of the Exchequer resigned, and this quiz doesn’t have room for a question about it. It might feel like year you want to forget, but before you open a bottle of Speaker Hoyle’s malt to wipe your memory completely, why not find out how much of it you can remember, with our Quiz of the Year? Answers at the bottom of the page.
The Culture War Report - 2020
Coronavirus
By Robert Hutton
The Culture War Report - 2020
Review: The Powerful and the Damned, by Lionel Barber
Economy
By Robert Hutton
Review: The Powerful and the Damned, by Lionel Barber
Though pacey, entertaining and readable, Lionel Barber’s misleadingly styled – and frequently anodyne – diaries lack any sense of immediacy or candour