Previous events
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OCT 02
Claire Fox at Wimbledon Bookfest
What’s happened to the idea that ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me?' asks Claire Fox, Director of the Institute of Ideas. Here she turns her pin-sharp mind to the question of why people are offended, what on earth no-platforming is about and asks whether we are inadvertently raising Generation Snowflake? In conversation...
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OCT 02
Gerry Hassan & James Mitchell at Wigtown Book Festival
The Scottish National Party's story is a dramatic one. Surveying its early years against the odds, it has changed Scotland and Britain. In doing so, it has been changed itself. This book is the first to tell this story by loooking at the party's senior figures, leaders of very varied temperaments and views. Editors Gerry Hassan and James Mitchell discuss...
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SEP 29
Kenny MacAskill at Wigtown Book Festival
The former MSP and Scottish Justice Minister from 2007 to 2014, Kenny MacAskill discusses his account of the Lockerbie affair, how and why he believes the bombing took place, and his role in the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted of the 1988 murders.
Sponsored by The Old Bank Bookshop
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SEP 28
Bel Mooney at Henley Literary Festival
Writing an advice column for the Daily Mail with six million readers is no easy task – but, with 40 years of journalistic experience, Bel has succeeded superbly. Lifelines collects the best of these insights, while Goodbye Pet looks at the impact of losing an animal in the household. Much of her appeal is down to sharing her own life experiences of...
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SEP 27
Malcolm Rifkind at Henley Literary Festival
Sir Malcolm served as a minister for 18 years, the longest uninterrupted government service since Lord Palmerston. In the company of his columnist son Hugo (of The Times and The Spectator) he reflects on his battles with Margaret Thatcher, the Gorbachev-Thatcher summit and his time as defence minister and foreign secretary under John Major. He is the...
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SEP 26
David Laws at Henley Literary Festival
When David Cameron and Nick Clegg stepped out into the rose garden at No. 10 to launch the first coalition government since the Second World War, it was amid a sea of uncertainty. Some doubted whether the coalition could survive a full term – or even a full year. Five years later, this bold departure for British politics had weathered storms, spending...
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SEP 24
The Year of Living Dangerously: Claire Fox at Wigtown Book Festival
The year 2016 has been the most turbulent in living memory with the established order taking a beating. It has given us Brexit and Donald Trump, politicians falling (and refusing to fall) on their swords, and a wave of terror attacks across Europe. The backdrop has been one of unease and anger. What lessons might history offer and what might the future...
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SEP 23
Malcolm Rifkind at Wigtown Book Festival
From battling Mrs Thatcher over Scotland to negotiating with Gorbachev and overseeing Britain’s security services, Sir Malcolm Rifkind was at the forefront of British politics for more than three decades. As he enters political retirement, the former Foreign and Defence Secretary discusses his memoir. Sponsored by Andrew Plunkett Steel Buildings...
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SEP 21
Joan Ruddock: Going Nowhere at Blackheath Halls
The story of Joan Ruddock, born in the Welsh valleys, who came to lead one of Britain’s biggest protest movements, and went on to address the United Nations and become an MP and minister, is remarkable. After her election to the Commons in 1987, Joan held three consecutive shadow portfolios and, by 1997, was thought to be on the fast track to high...
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SEP 13
Crisis on the left: the future of progressive politics
£15 plus £1.11 booking fee Partners/Patrons save £4.11 (20% off and no fees) Since the 2015 general election delivered an unexpected outright majority to the Conservative party and a landslide victory for the SNP in Scotland, the landscape of British politics has been radically altered. A divisive referendum on the EU further exposed faultlines...
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