Britain has never been defined by its place on the map. Our nation’s reach and interests have always been global, not merely continental. Not so long ago, a quarter of humanity was united under our empire. Today, in empire’s place, stands the Commonwealth. This weekend, the Queen convenes the meeting of its various heads of
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, insisted on being present, along with leaders of the 10 EU countries not part of the eurozone, at a summit on the crisis surrounding the currency bloc. At an earlier summit of leaders of all 27 EU countries, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France told Mr Cameron: ‘You say you
Last week I travelled to New York for an audition. And before you ask, I haven’t heard yet. On the flight I sat next to a retired Hollywood producer from Santa Barbara. She would have been travelling upper class but today, owing to some kind of tier point issue, she had been downgraded to premium
The Great Debate about whether people of the same sex should be allowed to ‘marry’ would have bewildered the Romans, and not because they had any hang-ups about that style of sexual behaviour either. For legal purposes, Romans defined the familia (‘household’) as Roman citizens, joined in lawful marriage, producing legitimate children and with some
• Rebels, rebels 81 Conservative MPs defied a three-line whip to vote in favour of a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. Some other big rebellions. Number of rebels Majority 37 (Lab) National Service Bill 1947 Government win by 188 72 (Con) Shops Bill 1986 (Sunday trading) Government lose by 14 41 (Con) E.C.
The hands of Big Ben are approaching the designated hour, and the bells are about to toll for our Readers’ Representative Award. Only a few days remain for you to vote for your favourite parliamentarian. Dwindling time is not the same as no time, of course. New runners can emerge and overtake old favourites in
• God save the Queen Sir: Robert Hardman (‘The Queen’s manifesto’, 22 October) is right to say that we should respect the Queen for more than longevity and never putting a foot wrong. One of her great strengths is that she is so willing to take advice from those placed (or elected) to give it.
