Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

But while the British empire is easy to write about, it is very difficult to summarise. This is because what we call 'empire' spans 400 years in time and thousands of miles in space; every continent on Earth was directly affected by it.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

Mansa Musa never spoke in public, and whispered everything to an interpreter; he was also never allowed to be seen eating a meal.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

Cutting VAT is a classic case of shutting the stable door, when the horse has already galloped a couple of furlongs down the road.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

In Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Angola and Cameroon maize is a staple, yet the earliest mention of maize in west Africa comes from a Portuguese document that lists it as being loaded on to slave ships bound for Africa.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

The British in South Africa always portrayed themselves as more enlightened and tolerant than the 'narrow-minded', 'intolerant' Boers.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

Of all the meals that represented British culture, perhaps none captured the imagination more than the Christmas pudding. It was the Victorians who firmly fixed the traditional plum pudding as a festive dish.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

In fact, the fast-changing, dynamic character of London makes perpetual Labour domination unlikely. Things are so fast-moving it would be impossible to say what the situation might look like in five years, let alone 10 or 15.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

From the start of her leadership of the Conservative party in February 1975, Thatcher's style seemed shrill and uncompromising, and she became an easy object of mockery. When she left office nearly 16 years later, she was a widely recognised, but clearly still highly controversial, figure.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

The extent to which lawyers and judges are interfering in politics is something that concerns many people.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

One good outcome of elections is that fresh talent comes into the House of Commons.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

It's often been said that conservatism is successful because it chimes with these basic human instincts. It's time for us to ask fundamental questions about what the Conservative Party is for, and what it actually believes.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

The name Noel Skelton is largely forgotten today, but his legacy in the Conservative Party in the 20th century was enormous.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

Aspiration, opportunity, and a stake in society are things which combine education, decent healthcare and the fruits of a capitalist system where individuals contribute to society, while also pursuing their natural inclination to improve their lot in life.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

I've always thought my main concern is to alleviate the burdens on people, who were earning less money, perhaps than £80,000.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

Using food as a way of understanding empire is highly effective. Food knows no barriers of race, gender or even time.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

For the British working class, the restrictions of conflict actually improved their diet. Under Lord Woolton, the minister for food, a programme of free school meals was introduced. Priority supplies of milk were provided for pregnant women and nursing mothers, while orange juice, milk and cod liver oil were given to the under-fives.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

Margaret Thatcher was Britain's most controversial modern politician.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

Mrs Thatcher not only made history by becoming Britain's first female prime minister, she was the first woman to hold any comparable position in the western world.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

The contrast between a figure such as Mark Zuckerberg, a billionaire before he was 30, and Alfred Krupp, who spent 60 years building one of the biggest manufacturing concerns in the world, is striking.

Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng

There seems to be no end of books about the British empire, and the fascination it holds for historians of all descriptions is inexhaustible.