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1 week ago | 
telegraph.co.uk | Simon Heffer
The huge pylons, made of concrete faced with granite, are 292ft tall - one now has a viewing platform near the top for tourists - and were designed by Thomas Smith Tait, a Scottish architect who in the 1920s became known for his embrace of modernism and art deco. In 1927-28, he had designed one of the earliest art deco housing estates in Britain, for the employees of the Crittall steel works at Silver End in Essex.
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1 week ago | 
telegraph.co.uk | Simon Heffer
Some of us have been highlighting cricket's moral decline for years, and it may be too late to reverse it now. Modern cricket, thanks to the dominant influence of T20 and its ruthless projection and promotion by commercial forces in India, now works relentlessly against the interests of Test cricket. This could not matter less to those to whom cricket is plainly and simply a means of generating wealth.
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2 weeks ago | 
telegraph.co.uk | Simon Heffer
However, in my opinion, the best conductor of Ravel in that repertoire is the Swiss Charles Dutoit, who in his time as the music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra made recordings for Decca that I feel have never been bettered. His first disc was in 1981, with the complete Daphnis et Chloé, which deservedly won a clutch of prizes. The following year, a second CD featured peerless recordings of Alborada del Gracioso, the Rapsodie Espagnole, Boléro and La Valse.
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2 weeks ago | 
yahoo.com | Simon Heffer
The British political system does not normally allow us the luxury of simultaneously repudiating both His Majesty’s Government and His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. That appears, however, to be happening now. A YouGov poll last Wednesday showed Reform UK ahead on 25 points, Labour second on 23 and the Conservatives third on 20. Further indications of the travails of the two main parties may come at next Thursday’s local elections.
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2 weeks ago | 
telegraph.co.uk | Simon Heffer
As the sands shift in British politics, Kemi Badenoch is showing that common-sense conservatism can prevailThe British political system does not normally allow us the luxury of simultaneously repudiating both His Majesty's Government and His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. That appears, however, to be happening now. A YouGov poll last Wednesday showed Reform UK ahead on 25 points, Labour second on 23 and the Conservatives third on 20.
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2 weeks ago | 
connexionfrance.com | Simon Heffer
About 30 years ago when Britain was in the early stages of MPs and peers being hauled up for financial irregularities, I recall the colleague of a disgraced MP being interviewed on television. He told a reporter, quite brazenly, that in his colleague’s case ‘his only crime was being caught’. Similar sentiments have been voiced about Marine Le Pen, who along with some Rassemblement National associates has been given a suspended prison sentence, a heavy fine and a four-year ban from public office.
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3 weeks ago | 
yahoo.com | Simon Heffer
Recently, I had an interesting conversation with a Labour Party stalwart. He told me that “our people”, as he put it, were increasingly hostile to the BBC licence fee: not just because it took a chunk out of these voters’ disposable income, but because they rarely consumed the BBC’s services at all. The Corporation’s charter is due to be renewed in December 2027. Whether the Government will renew it on the same terms is unclear, which should trouble BBC executives profoundly.
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3 weeks ago | 
telegraph.co.uk | Simon Heffer
This is a primary reason for the BBC's failure with its original content: millions of us simply don't share such thinking, and don't want our televisions to pump it out. Indeed, such a patronising view of the preferences of the culture of the masses has helped to drive many Britons away from Labour and the Conservatives, and into the arms of the Reform Party. Historical drama is a particular casualty.
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3 weeks ago | 
afr.com | Simon Heffer
What are Donald Trump’s politics? For years, he was a Democrat but now claims to be a Republican. This matters because of the Republicans’ association with conservatism, demonstrated most notably in recent history by Ronald Reagan. It is worrying because many conservatives seem to feel they must express loyalty to President Trump and his policies (or purported policies, as he is making it up as he goes along). Ironically, he feels no loyalty to them, or to any of their ideas, unless they suit him.
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3 weeks ago | 
aol.co.uk | Simon Heffer
What are Donald Trump’s politics? For years he was a Democrat but now claims to be a Republican. This matters because of the Republicans’ association with conservatism, demonstrated most notably in recent history by Ronald Reagan. It is worrying because many conservatives (the lower-case ‘c’ embraces many in the Reform party, and in other parties globally) seem to feel they must express loyalty to President Trump and his policies (or purported policies, as he is making it up as he goes along).
