There have been some high profile (if not high level) Blairite defections to the Tories. While there are some similarities between the Blair legacy and our coalition partners, the defectees seem to have overlooked or discarded one idea – joining the Liberal Democrats. As Jonathan Powell says in his book, The New Machiavelli, and as

This week’s bookbencher is Sam Gyimah, the Conservative MP for Surrey East. Which book's on your bedside table at the moment? Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: a great historical novel, covering a fascinating period.   The personalities may change, but the human dynamics of politics are the same today as portrayed in the 16th century. Which book would you read to your children? I donR...

Presentation of Dr Johan Van Overtveldt's book, "The end of the euro: The uneasy future of the EU", 6 December 2011, London

1. My book manuscript is finished (for better or worse), so I soon hope to be using the space that Galrahn has graciously granted for something more than self-promotion. In particular, I plan to return to the idea of writing a series on seapower in fiction. However, also expect some more book reviews, mostly associated with recent work on the airpower manuscript.  2. Until then, self-promotio...

Head of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority warns that postponements would stymie efforts to implement single rule book

Full marks to Ed Miliband. He had a good Prime Minister’s Questions this week. One of the reasons he did so well is that he took a leaf out of Margaret Thatcher’s book. He lowered the tone of his voice. Gone was the shrill shouting of recent weeks. Instead we had a calm, firm low

In recent years, a perception has sprung up suggesting that those forced to claim benefits to survive, regardless of whether they may be living with a disability that prevents them working or are unable to obtain one of the few jobs available nowadays, must be no good lazy ‘scroungers’. I recall, whilst a junior doctor, hearing the somewhat unpleasant conversations of a couple of my co...

I am currently putting together a new book for ALDC which has at its heart ways that councillors and local campaigners can make use of the new legal powers heading their way under the Localism Act and other devolving legislation. Many of the powers are very effective for getting local issues sorted and local communities

It's the halftime coffee break here at the launch of the Institute for Fiscal Studies' Green Budget, so I thought I'd send CoffeeHousers a quick update. But first, just to be clear, that's green meaning green, not green meaning environmental. This is the IFS's annual, different-hued version of the Treasury's Red Book. It's their overall take on the economy and pu...

Tomorrow the Welfare Reform Bill returns to the House of Commons. To mark the occasion Soundings journal publishes an ebook ‘Welfare Reform The dread of things to come’. Free download at ]. Contributors: Peter Beresford, Declan Gaffney, Kaliyah Franklin, Steve Griffiths, Sue Marsh, Jonathan Rutherford. Contributors bear witness, employ argument and offer statistical evidence