Labour's schools tax raid sums don't add up Monday, 16 June, 2025 The following letter was published in The Daily Telegraph on 16 June in slightly edited form. SIR – At the spending review, Rachel Reeves boasted proudly that she had ended “the tax loophole which exempted private schools from VAT”, a grossly misleading description of the tax exemption that those independent schools which are charities had always enjoyed. She and her party believe they can squeeze... Articles
How the 1918 Armistice came to be announced at the eleventh hour 3rd November 2018 A virtually unknown account of how the decision to announce the Armistice at 11am came to be made was published by Alistair Lexden in the main letter to The... Articles
Civil Servants continue to rule Northern Ireland 31st October 2018 For the best part of two years, public services in Northern Ireland have been under the control of civil servants. No elected politicians have been available to... Speeches
The Lexden Prize 30th October 2018 The Independent Schools Association (ISA), of which Alistair Lexden is President, has established a national award in his name. The prize’s purpose is to... Recent News
A better class of insult 26th October 2018 In his Times column on October 24, Matthew Parris praised Disraeli’s repertoire of insults under the headline: “Our verbally abusive MPs have nothing on... Articles
A stylish survey of all our prime ministers 23rd October 2018 At the start of his career as a journalist in the mid-1980s, Andrew Gimson regretted the absence of a book that enabled the reader to gain a clear impression... Articles
School Partnerships in music 19th October 2018 On 18 October, the Lords held an important debate on the state of music education in schools. Speaker after speaker expressed grave concern about the decline of... Speeches
Ted Heath - let down by a Tory Government 12th October 2018 A year has now passed since the Wiltshire police brought to an end their much-criticised investigation of child sex abuse allegations against Sir Edward Heath... Speeches
Thatcher's law 9th October 2018 On October 6, The Times reported that “councils across the country are seeking to evade scrutiny by restricting media access to meetings”. In a letter published... Articles
A money-making Gladstone 5th October 2018 Despite having a wealthy father, William Gladstone was never a rich man. The Hawarden estate in Flintshire, which came into his family through his wife, was... Articles
