Today's release of Prime Minister’s Office records and Cabinet Papers from 1985-1986 covers the mid-point of the Thatcher premiership. If this period is beyond your living memory, you might be tempted to think that the files would reflect the Thatcher revolution …
Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle, was one of the eighteenth century’s great political survivors and served as First Lord of the Treasury through peace and war. Born in Sussex in July 1693, he was the eldest son of Thomas Pelham, …
Henry Pelham’s tenure as First Lord of the Treasury continued the direction and style of politics inaugurated by his mentor, Robert Walpole. Pelham was the second surviving son of Thomas Pelham, first Baron Pelham of Laughton, and his second wife …
The Colonial Office and the Foreign Office have very distinct histories. The British Colonies were initially administered jointly by the Secretary of State for War, and the Board of Trade, who were focused on their own interests, not necessarily the Colonies themselves. From 1795 all …
Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, was a compromise First Lord of the Treasury during a period of political instability. Born around 1674 to aristocratic parents (his father was third Earl of Northampton), he was educated at St Paul’s School, the …
“My Lord Bath, you and I are now as insignificant men as any in England.” Today often viewed as the first British Prime Minister, Walpole was described by contemporary opponents as the ‘Screen-Master General’, adept at pulling all the political …
Charlotte Taylor, a 14-year old teenager, writes about her experiences whilst taking part in the First World War Centenary Battlefield Tours Programme. On 16th – 19th March 2014 a group of 30 students and 15 teachers from secondary schools across …
I stood in the square talking to East Germans and asked them what they were going to buy. They said first of all, Südfrüchte . . . tropical fruit, a very understandable thing because they didn’t have nearly as much …
On Wednesday, 1 December 1976, the Cabinet met to discuss the severe economic crisis confronting the UK and the terms of the rescue package then being negotiated from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It was an unusual meeting, one of …
The early years of the First World War brought a large number of casualties to the army of Great Britain and despite the number of volunteers the government was soon in dire need of more troops. On the 2nd March 1916 …