Previous events
-
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...
More info -
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...
More info -
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...
More info -
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...
More info -
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...
More info -
SEP 10
Kenny MacAskill at Edinburgh Speaker’s Festival
On 21 December 1988, Pan Am flight 103 departed London Heathrow for New York. Shortly after take-off, a bomb detonated, killing all aboard and devastating the small Scottish town of Lockerbie below. Only one man has ever been convicted of the crime: Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, though few believe that he acted alone. In 2009, following a request for the...
More info -
SEP 10
John Plender at Edinburgh Speaker’s Festival
In the West, capitalism has lifted millions out of poverty. The trail blazed by Japan is being followed by other emerging market countries across the globe, creating prosperity on a breath-taking scale. Yet capitalism is unloved and voices compete to point out that the system allows powerful elites to grab an ever larger share of the collective wealth...
More info -
AUG 21
Kenny MacAskill at Edinburgh International Book Festival
UNLOCKING LOCKERBIE In 2009, then Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill controversially granted the release on compassionate grounds of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only man ever convicted for the Lockerbie Bombing in 1988. Now MacAskill has written his own account of the terrorist attack, the trial and the turmoil that has ensued. With forensic detail...
More info -
AUG 13
Malcolm Rifkind at Edinburgh International Book Festival
MEMOIR OF AN EDINBURGH MAN As the longest serving minister of the 20th century, Defence Minister and Foreign Secretary in Thatcher’s government and more recently Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Malcolm Rifkind has witnessed the monumental political moments of recent times. He joins us to share the highs and lows of his astonishing career,...
More info -
JUL 25
Power and Pragmatism by Sir Malcolm Rifkind – An LSE IDEAS public lecture
Chaired by Professor Michael Cox For almost forty years, Malcolm Rifkind served at the forefront of British politics. In this lecture, Sir Malcolm will give a lively account of his years in government and opposition, detailing his involvement in some of recent history’s most important events. This event marks the launch of Sir Malcolm's new book...
More info