Why is Britain-hating Bank of England taking Churchill off our banknotes? Opinion The Bank of England is replacing British icons like Winston Churchill and Jane Austen with pictures of animals on our money. This is not a neutral act, says James Price The field of numismatics shows us that, in the ancient world, one of the ultimate symbols of a regime’s legitimacy was the minting of coins. [...]
Show them the book: why politicians need to read more novels Opinion Leading historian Dominic Sandbrook has said declining reading habits of our politicians tells you everything you need to know about why they’re so inadequate. William Atkinson couldn’t agree more… Would Keir Starmer be a better Prime Minister if he went to bed with a good Trollope? That was the suggestion of Dominic Sandbrook – Britain’s [...]
On this day: The special relationship is born with the Atlantic Charter Opinion On this day in 1941, Churchill and Roosevelt made a joint statement that would come to be known as the Atlantic Charter - and the start of the special relationship.
On this day: the Royal Navy drinks its last daily rum ration July 31, 2025 On this day in 1970, sailors’ daily rum ration – a tradition dating back to the glory days of the Royal Navy – was abolished, an occasion now known as Black Tot Day, writes Eliot Wilson On this date, 31 July, 55 years ago, at 11am, the Royal Navy performed one of its cherished traditions [...]
Churchill myths and bad history are no reason to defend the ECHR May 29, 2025 Defenders of the European Convention on Human Rights, from John Major to Keir Starmer, have peddled the fallacy that Winston Churchill was the brains behind it. He was no such thing, argues Yuan Yi Zhu Six decades after his passing, the legend of Sir Winston Churchill remains undiminished. Almost all of his contemporaries have faded [...]
Kioku by Endo at the Old War Office: OWO might be troubled but this sushi restaurant is the real deal April 29, 2025 The Old War Office, or ‘The OWO’ to insufferable industry types, is the most perplexing London hotel opening in decades. After spending over a billion quid turning Churchill’s wartime Cabinet Office into a hotel, industry bigwigs speak in hushed tones of low occupancy. One exec told me the breakfast room had eleven guests one morning [...]
The Capitalist: Tardy Tories, Heathrow’s VIP lounge and the ‘shadow DOGE’ February 27, 2025 Tory time zones, Heathrow’s new VIP lounge and a ‘shadow DOGE’. Catch up on the latest gossip in this week’s edition of The Capitalist TARDY TORIES If Reform do manage to oust the Tories from their HQ on Matthew Parker Street, they may wish to check the clocks. Reportedly, Tory aides have taken to working under [...]
How Conservatives won World War Two October 3, 2024 World War Two is meant to be ‘the people’s war’ in which ordinary people rose up, saved the nation and swept the Labour party to victory in 1945. That story is at best misleading and at worst untrue, says Kit Kowol The Second World War was the Tories War. Other than describing a love of [...]