Telling a human tale

Christopher Silvester | Issue 7 | Comment, Culture & Travel, Magazine, Uncategorised

From the Archive

House_of_Commons_Chamber_1

From self-lacerating memoir to by-election madness and a Labour Together takedown, The Mace’s literary editor Christopher Silvester rounds up the latest political books.

Iain Dale, the journalist, publisher and LBC phone-in host, has edited a remarkable collection of essays called British By-Elections: The 88 By-election Campaigns That Shaped Our Politics (Biteback, £30). British by-elections, he explains in his preface, “often seem to take on a far greater political significance than, in retrospect, they really have. “At the time, they can appear to break the mould of British politics, signify the seemingly terminal decline of a particular political party or signal the end of a premiership. Some by-elections take on iconic status and are remembered several decades after they take place. Others quickly disappear into the depths of our memories, rarely to be thought about ever again.” The collection includes essays by historians, political journalists and activists of different political hues. Contributors include Peter Kellner, Sir Vernon Bogdanor, Andrew Marr, Lord Lexden, Sir Peter Riddell, Simon Heffer, David Laws, Michael Crick, Sir John Curtice, T...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



The government wants to make it harder for businesses to say no to WFH – what does this mean for young people?

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | September 17, 2026

The new government protocol raises concerns about whether young people are getting the necessary exposure they need in their early careers 

The existential threat AI poses for the free press

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | September 16, 2026

What happens when the technology that could one day threaten humanity begins to destroy the institution responsible for warning us about it?

Leader in UK Public Affairs: Dr Michelle Howard, Senior Advisor for Defence and Space, Lexington Communications: “The future of public affairs is full of promise for the creative”

Mace | September 16, 2026

Lexington’s Michelle Howard explains how an unconventional career spanning opera, journalism, hydropower and defence led her into public affairs, why political instability rewards creativity and listening, and what

Death of the British staycation

Mace Magazine | September 15, 2026

The government's new 5% tourism tax is the last thing the UK's hospitality sector needs, says William Cash

The exodus of the super-wealthy: Who pays the price?  

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | September 8, 2026

As speculation mounts over further tax rises, Britain’s ultra-rich investors and job creators are choosing to take their wealth elsewhere.

The Economic Paradox: Can Britain Afford to Penalise Parenthood?

Robert Richardson | September 8, 2026

In an exclusive op-ed for Mace, hospitality industry leader Robert Richardson sets out why the sector must do more to become accessible to young families.

The Politics of Power 

Simon Francis | September 7, 2026

End Fuel Poverty Coalition coordinator Simon Francis examines the four stories politicians hear about electricity and gas, and argues that the fight over which story shapes the agenda

A “little local difficulty” – Gawain Towler’s Reform Conference Diary

Mace Magazine | September 5, 2026

Seasoned Farage aide-de-camp Gawain Towler reflects on Reform's first ever Business Day at the NEC - and what it's like when a media grenade goes off during the

Farmers have suffered enough this summer — it’s time the government got on side

John Cooper | August 27, 2026

Britain’s farmers have battled repeated heatwaves and droughts, but MP John Cooper says the government’s Family Farm Tax is piling further pressure on an industry that desperately needs

It’s not a popularity contest: The case for protecting Meghan and Harry 

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | August 25, 2026

You don’t have to like the Sussexes to believe the government has a duty to protect them.