By: Alys Denby

Alys Denby is opinion and features editor of City AM. She writes the weekly Free Thinking newsletter and presents the video series of the same name. She regularly appears in broadcast media including BBC, Channel 5 Sky News, Times Radio, LBC and GB News. She has previously worked for a think tank and as a parliamentary researcher

Connect on socials

All 63 Articles

IMF downgrade Reeves is gaslighting voters on energy crisis

Opinion

Rachel Reeves is set to urge other countries to “follow her plan” for the energy crisis, but international analysts expect Britain to perform the worst among comparable nations thanks to decisions she has made, says Alys Denby The war in Iran has come at the worst possible time for a government already struggling to command [...]
Rejoining the single market by stealth is a danger to democracy

Opinion

Keir Starmer once accused conservatives of “silencing parliament” by using Henry VIII powers. Now he’s doing the exact same thing, says Alys Denby Denby pottery and Gentleman’s Relish: two icons have gone to the wall in recent weeks. One I’m taking personally. The loss of these brands leaves our commercial landscape a little blander and [...]
Christian nationalism is a dead end for British conservatives

Opinion

JD Vance supports re-election of Viktor Orban because the Hungarian autocrat funds a network of think tanks and writers that are crucial to his own succession of Donald Trump. This is not the way forward for the British right, says Alys Denby “This is the horniest place I’ve ever been,” a fellow attendee said, noting [...]

Donald Trump is deluded, but so are we

March 25, 2026

On the public finances, energy and national security, comforting rhetoric has concealed policy drift that has undermined the status quo it purported to uphold, says Alys Denby Donald Trump’s claims of an imminent end to the war in Iran may bear only a tenuous connection to reality – like his on/off tariff threats – but [...]
Iran war: blood, sweat, toil and Keir

March 6, 2026

Trump is right: weak, vacillating and indecisive Keir Starmer, overly influenced by his worst cabinet minister Ed Miliband, is no Winston Churchill, says Alys Denby In war, Britain once offered blood, toil and tears – now we must make do with blood, toil and Keir. There is a case to be made that America and [...]
If MPs can’t fix the Palace of Westminster, how will they fix Britain?

February 18, 2026

The Palace of Westminster is a perfect mentonym for the state of Britain. It’s recognised and envied the world over. It’s both ceremonial and functional, ancient and modern. Like our democracy, it’s beautiful, but it’s also broken, infested with pests and at imminent risk of immolation in a ball of fire. Yet our entire political [...]
Starmer campaign group’s alarming assault on press freedom

February 16, 2026

Morgan McSweeney and Labour Together acted as a fifth column within the Labour party seizing control from the Corbynites and smearing journalists who exposed its dirty tricks. That deception is coming home to roost for Keir Starmer, says Alys Denby Ever since the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks, factional in-fighting has been a defining characteristic of [...]
In defence of Ruth Davidson, Andy Street and the Tory ‘wets’

January 27, 2026

The right has no path to victory without also winning back voters who defected from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats in 2024. Recent Tory defections to Reform have made that job easier for Kemi Badenoch, says Alys Denby Wet Wet Wet is the name of the musical outfit behind “Love is All Around”, which [...]
It’s time for Starmer to choose: is he a lawyer or a leader?

January 8, 2026

The international, rules-and-rights-based order is crumbling in the face of Trump’s brute force. This leaves career human rights lawyer Keir Starmer in an interesting position… A Venezuelan friend once showed me a small purse made out of folded and woven 100,000 Bolivar notes. These would be sold to tourists for a few dollars as their [...]
The Debate: Are Londoners safer drivers?

December 10, 2025

A new survey has found that Londoners cause more accidents on country roads than their rural counterparts. But are sophisticated urbanites really more reckless drivers? YES: Rural roads are a deathtrap Picture this: It’s five o’clock on a December afternoon, completely pitch black, and a giant Rangerover comes hurtling round the corner, right wheel just [...]

‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain

Manchester City: Sheikh Mansour faces calls for ban from English football over UAE links to genocide

The watch podcast disrupting the ‘pale, male and stale’ image

By: Alys Denby

All 63 Articles

Subscribe