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

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The Debate: should Britain abolish the monarchy?

November 5, 2025

The disgrace of the former Prince Andrew has led some to question whether it’s time Britain abolished the monarchy altogether. Two experts make their cases in this week’s Debate. No: Constitutional monarchy is a shield against instability and tyranny The list of countries which retain a ceremonial constitutional monarchy contains many of the world’s most [...]
Margaret Thatcher would never have made a pact with Farage

October 13, 2025

On the 100th birthday of Margaret Thatcher, Alys Denby reflects on what lessons she’s learned from the Iron Lady, and why her legacy remains relevant today… My mother tells me that when I was about three, I asked her if a woman could be a doctor. She replied: “darling, a woman is Prime Minister!”. It [...]
Kemi gets the stamp of approval, but for how long?

October 8, 2025

Kemi Badenoch’s speech at Conservative Party Conference was a vital moment to reset her leadership and reclaim her party’s mantle as the party of business. She rose to it, says Alys Denby One of the chief joys of Conservative Party Conference is being denounced as “Tory scum” by a protester standing outside in the rain. [...]
The Debate: This house has confidence in the president-elect of the Oxford Union

September 16, 2025

Following the horrifying death of Charlie Kirk, the president-elect of the Oxford Union, George Abaraonye, posted comments online appearing to celebrate his murder. Since then, many have called for him to be removed from the post. The whole affair has raised questions about the necessity and limits of free speech in a democracy – and [...]
Mandelson scandal is sickening, but it’s the economy that’s fatal for Starmer

September 11, 2025

Despicable Peter Mandelson is deeply damaging for Keir Starmer, but it’s the economy that will collapse his government, says Alys Denby Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘birthday book’ is a sickening document. It doesn’t just contain damning messages from Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, but a cartoon depicting the financier grooming children to give him lewd massages, images [...]
Forget Seville, Cordoba is the real jewel of Southern Spain

September 8, 2025

The first thing you notice about Cordoba in spring is the smell. When the orange trees that line the streets and the jasmines that climb the walls blossom, the whole city fills with their sultry fragrance. The historic centre of Cordoba is a Unesco world heritage site that bears memories of its Roman, Moorish and [...]
The real villain in the Angela Rayner saga: stamp duty

September 4, 2025

Labour has launched a patronising defence of Angela Rayner for her “working class” background. They should be gunning for a different target: the insidious tax that’s caused her so much trouble, says Alys Denby Being working class is, if you’re to believe the Labour front bench, a reasonable excuse for tax avoidance. Keir Starmer stood [...]
Nigel Farage’s Brexit grudge match

August 29, 2025

Nigel Farage is capitalising on decades of failure to deliver on immigration, but there’s a deeper question: what did Britain really mean by Brexit? Asks Alys Denby “There’s a high priest of Euroscepticism who thinks quoting large amounts of Shakespeare will help connect with people” said Nigel Farage when vying with Daniel Hannan to head [...]
Lionesses make us proud to be English – perhaps for the last time

July 28, 2025

The Lionesses’ inspiring Euros victory will be a moment of joy in a summer threatening to descend into civil unrest, tensions over immigration, public sector strikes and political fragmentation that will damage social cohesion, says Alys Denby I watched the Euros final in a converted industrial estate in south east London – and the biggest [...]
Doctors’ strikes prove militant BMA is prepared to put patients’ lives at risk

July 16, 2025

Resident doctors are endangering their patients’ lives with immoral strikes based on distorted calculations. The British public must finally see their militant union for what it really is, says Alys Denby “Resident doctors” as we must now call them (‘junior’ being a term fit for barristers but far too demeaning for these life savers) will [...]

Tory councillors pledge to ban smartphones in classrooms ahead of local elections

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By: Alys Denby

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