Whatever Happened To…?
From armchair space exploration to prison chaplaincy, Rosa Herxheimer and Emelia Wild look at the ways politicians approach the second acts of their lives
Tag Archives: issue2
Sex, Politics, Access
Introducing our Top 50 Westminster Power Couple Index
Team Trump v Team Biden: Family v Experience
As Trump’s numbers soar in Florida ahead of the final Presidential debate on Thursday, the Mace considers the sea of difference between the Biden and Trump campaign
Donald Trump – Burning Bright
The American President is an apex predator, while his opponent is a pantomime horse, says Conrad Black
Never Let You Go: Clinging to our Leave/Remain Identities
James Tilley on why our Brexit identities still dominate four years on from the referendum.
Boris’s new Tudor court
Austen Saunders on why breaking with Europe, the SNP’s rising and Black Lives Matter is turning Britain into a divided, post-Brexit imperial Empire – And expect more waltzing with America…
How the Momentum moment came and went
This Land: The Story of a Movement, by Owen Jones, reviewed by Emelia Wild
Soundbites and ‘Gotcha’ journalism have killed public discourse
Why Can’t We All Just Get Along…, by Iain Dale, reviewed by Ferdie Rous
Iain Dale’s Top 100 in British Politics
The movers, shakers and rule-breakers making their mark in Westminster
The Jackdaw
Parliament may be up and running but what’s the point of Westminster if all those endless drinks receptions are still forbidden? All work and no play is no fun for anyone.
Act Fast to Fix the Homeless Crisis
As the government’s emergency housing programme, Everyone In, winds down, the homelessness sector is on high alert for a rise in rough sleeping
The Mace Questionnaire
Ever wondered what MPs are really thinking? Here’s a preview of the Westminster Index, where we’ll be profiling everybody who’s anybody
Front and Centre of Brussels Hospitality
Contemporary, quirky and classic, William Cash reviews the Hotel Amigo – a converted 16th-century prison with an award-winning Italian restaurant.
Cultural Fears and Condescension Brought on Brexit
Brexitland: Identity, Diversity and the Reshaping of British Politics, by Maria Sobolewska and Robert Ford, reviewed by Damian Collins
Sharp Pencils, Sharper Wit
The ongoing cull of political cartoonists by national newspapers has triggered new conversations about the status of this idiosyncratic art form.
Wanted: A Sea-side Tsar
William Cash sets out the case for a new seaside tsar and what needs to be done to reverse the decline of our coastal towns
‘Wokeness has never been a majority thing’
Douglas Murray discusses the nature of public discourse and Donald Trump’s reelection chances
How the National Trust Lost Its Way
Faced with a £200m revenue shortfall and under fire for dumbing down its role as a cultural institution, the beloved heritage organisation must not damage its reputation irrevocably
APPG – Football Brings People Together
As a proud season ticket holder at Manchester United, my passion for football started at a young age, writes Katherine Fletcher MP
Crony Island?
Political scientists have long alleged that the UK political system is one of the world’s least corrupt. When it comes to cronyism, however, why is Westminster’s record far murkier?
The Strategist: How to Win Elections with Jim Messina
In an exclusive Mace interview, William Cash talks to Jim Messina, the man known as The Fixer for his success in both Obama and Cameron election campaigns.
Clashing Tribes: The Longevity of ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ Politics
Whatever you think of identity politics, the social battleground between ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ is here to stay, argues Robert Ford.
Hard rain coming: Inside the Whitehall revolution
George Peel examines Downing Street’s ruthless approach to civil service reform
The Corridor – Blues Brother
The ascension of Davie to the top job at the Beeb in June aroused a considerable degree of suspicion among the corporation’s not insubstantial number of lefties on account of his Tory history.
Long Table: Peter Mandelson’s Cosy Country Life in Lockdown
Tucked away in Wiltshire, Peter Mandelson read his way through lockdown, when he wasn’t zooming into the Lords
Pepys: A Tsar is Born
Since the first UK tsar was appointed, a veritable explosion has followed – but what exactly are the rules regarding such headline-garnering appointments?
The Spike: The Hard Nose of Harry Cole
In the grand tradition of lobby journalists, The Sun’s swashbuckling new political editor is not afraid to rub people up the wrong way.
The Courtier: Simon Case from Court to Cabinet
Can the man who positioned the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as the royal
family’s greatest asset now rescue the beleaguered civil service?
Wonk Warriors: The Think Tanks that Run the Show
Ferdie Rous looks at the brightest and best think tanks operating in Westminster and looks at how Covid gave think tanks a revamp
Digital Confidential: Flood the Zone
In his first column on politics and digital technology, Damian Collins MP writes about flood zones, the deep state and why Silicon Valley is evasive over fake news
The Unconventional Diplomat – Vanessa Neumann
I signed up for diplomacy, but got politics, says Venezuela’s British Ambassador
Unspun: Mess with Government Comms at your Peril
Those undertaking Dominic Cummings’ shake-up of government communications should not underestimate the persuasive power of Downing Street’s Nudge Unit
Diary: The Hack is Back
Peter Cardwell is enjoying his retirement from SpAd life
Bring Back Politics-by-the-sea
Seaside-town voters in red wall seats helped secure the prime minister’s landslide
More money, more problems
High inflation looms in the US as the country increases the quantity of money to combat recession, writes Tim Congdon.
Erskine: Bernard Jenkin MP
Attempts to modernise the civil service, one of the great institutions of state, will put unnecessary strain on the UK constitution
Protecting our Heritage
There is perhaps no organisation that exemplifies Britain’s regional spirit of place better than English Heritage.