Politicians and writers have long been conversational bed fellows but something has changed in the British literary festival world. Forget Glastonbury-style camping out in the beer can-strewn fields of Hay-on-Wye, along with long muddy queues to see ‘celebrity’ authors read from ghosted books they didn’t even mostly write.

A new, chicer breed of boutique cultural festival has emerged from the literary shadows, and what’s interesting is their political DNA and how in our fractured political stage, there is a demand for genuine debate.

This week (12^th to 16^th May) sees the return of The Fleet Street Quarter’s Festival of Words which celebrates the vibrant culture and history of the Fleet Street area of London. The festival brings together five days of literary and political debate, talks and enlightening and “transformative” conversations to the west side of the City of London. Featuring a glitzy line up of politicians, authors, playwrights, journalists and other speakers – including James Graham, Hanif Kureishi, Sajid David, Tom Bradby, Iain Dale, Steve Richards and many more –  the Festival of Words “celebrates Fleet Street Quarter as the place where stories have always been born.” 

​The theme this year comes from the opening lines of Charles Dickens’s novel, A Tale of Two Cities: ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness’, a line that also nicely sums up the folly and chaos of the last few days of Labour’s attempts to drag the Prime Minister to the Westminster scaffold. It’s fair to say the last few days of political drama have provided a colourful backdrop for political debate. 

Tickets are still available all week. Political highlights this year have includes Chris Steele and Anthony Scaramucci: What Keeps Donald Trump Awake at Night?. On Thursday 14^th May, the day kicks off with ‘Breakfast with The Times’. At 6pm, from St Bride’s Church, Damian Collins will be chairing “Political Journalism in an Unstable World” featuring some big editor guns including Caroline Wheeler, political editor of the i Newspaper, Jason Groves, political editor for The Daily Mail, Jack Elsom, political editor for The Sun, Jessica Elgot, deputy political editor, The Guardian. With Starmer’s future as PM dangling like a thread, it will be a fascinating debate for sure. 

Next month (June 29th to 31st) will see Tory treasurer David Ross’s Nevill Holt Festival take this to a new level with the festival’s inaugural Health Agenda Day, a new addition to the programme bringing together leading voices at the forefront of British medicine, policy and research.

Former prime minister David Cameron will be joining John Micklethwait – a Leicestershire neighbour of David Ross  – for a “rare and personal conversation”, setting out Britain’s case as a world leader in genomics and the profound impact of advances in personalised and preventative medicine. Reflecting on both public policy and personal experience, he will explore why he believes real progress is now within reach for patients and families affected by Alzheimer’s, rare diseases and cancer

Yes, it’s fair to say that the social use of Ross’s Elizabethan stately pile has come some way forward since being owned by the pre-war bi-sexually libertarian society hostess Nancy Cunard. Ditto the super-A list Cliveden Literary Festival, hosted annually in September at the former pre-war country political salon of Nancy Astor – the first woman seated as an MP – and the louche setting for the scandalous Profumo affair of the 1960s.  

The Festival of Words, founded by former Tory MP Damian Collins OBE and Lady Lucy French – whose grandfather was created the first Earl of Ypres in 1922. Collins is an acclaimed author himself and the former MP for Folkestone and Hythe where he was also chairman of the DCMS Select Committee. 

Whilst you may think of Fleet Street as being a throwback to Grub Street, Lady Lucy French and Damian Collins have used such venues as Samuel Johnson’s former 17^th century townhouse in Gough Square where the great dictionary writer used to hold court to his biographer James Boswell before he went street crawling. St Bride’s church and Stationer’s Hall are also used as venues.

Although The Festival of Words only launched last year, Lucy French agrees that spirit of place is key to the identity of the festival. “We want to celebrate the history of the press here in Fleet Street’ says Lucy. ‘But are more than just a literary festival. We include politics, journalism, current affairs, AI and screenwriting. The way in which we communicate and share ideas is changing. We wanted to encapsulate the way we communicate through books, exploring the challenges of this fast-moving space.”