Brendan Simms is one of Britain’s leading historians. Professor of the History of International Relations at Peterhouse College, Cambridge, Brendan has published extensively on Britain’s role in the world, European grand strategy, and the rise of fascism in the C20th. His books are widely acclaimed and include Europe: The Battle for Supremacy, Britain’s Europe: A Thousand Years of Conflict and Cooperation, and his latest, Hitler: Only the World was Enough.

Our Deputy Editor, Frank Lawton, sat down with Brendan for discussion that ranged from the Holy Roman Empire to the future of Europe (with the odd trip down a Brexit byway for good measure).

But first, Frank began by asking if there was such a thing as ‘historical thinking’ and whether it was of any use to policy makers.

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This week is the latest instalment in our Illiberalism in Europe series, exploring the many different challenges to freedom on the continent – our topic is the way the UK approaches drugs: should we legalise them, decriminalise them or keep the status quo? If we do, which substances would be allowed, and which would remain prohibited? What have countries that have changed their drug laws experienced, and what might the UK learn? 

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This week we’re stepping back into antiquity for a look at political life in Ancient Rome. Our guest is the Daily Telegraph’s political journalist and Classics enthusiast Asa Bennett, who has just written a book entitled Romanifesto looking at how our current crop of politicians could learn from the travails of their ancient forebears.

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Whether it’s interfering in Syria, Venezuela or Iran, Vladimir Putin is rarely out of the headlines. But what’s life like for the opposition activists trying to take the fight to the Russian president on his home turf? To find out, we spoke to Vera Kichanova, the first ever Libertarian Party candidate elected to public office in Russia.

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Lord David Willetts has been an intellectual titan on the centre right for the past 30 years. Having worked in Margaret Thatcher’s policy unit, Willetts was an MP between 1992 and 2015, and served as a Cabinet Minister in the coalition government. He is President of the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation, and the author of a number of books, including The Pinch: How Baby Boomers took their children’s future – and why they should give it back.

The book caused quite a stir on publication in 2010, and its thesis has proved remarkably prescient in the years since. So to mark the release of the second edition, our Deputy Editor Frank Lawton sat down with him to discuss the broken social contract and how to fix it.

Frank began by asking him when – as a Baby Boomer himself – he first realised he was to blame for everything.

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It’s the Brexit Election – at least according to some broadcasters – yet we’ve had relatively little scrutiny of what ‘getting Brexit done’ actually means if Boris Johnson does win his cherished majority.

To shine a light on the next phase of negotiations, I caught up with one of the key players involved in putting together the Withdrawal Agreement. Raoul Ruparel spent two years as Special Adviser to then Brexit Secretary David Davis, followed by a year in 10 Downing St as Theresa May’s Special Adviser on Europe. 

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With the general election just two weeks away we wanted to get the inside track from three party political experts on how their side’s campaign has gone so far, and what they expect to happen on December 12. From the Lib Dems we welcomed Mark Pack, the Editor of Liberal Democrat Newswire. From Labour, Sienna Rodgers, the Editor LaboutList, and completing the line-up was the regular CapX contributor and Assistant Editor of ConservativeHome, Henry Hill. 

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Throughout 2019, CapX has been working with the anti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on a project about rebalancing Britain - looking at how to tackle the longstanding issues in the British economy such as the gap between towns and cities, rural and urban areas and the different regions of the UK.

A big focus of that project has been how to improve the lot of low-income voters. So to discuss that this week, we brought together JRF’s Executive Director Claire Ainsley; pollster extraordinaire James Kanagasooriam; and CapX's Deputy Editor Frank Lawton. I began by asking Claire about just how important low-income voters will be in the coming election. 

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In confusing times, Tim Bale is a rare voice of clarity. Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, Tim is a regular presence on radio and tv, providing insightful commentary on the latest political crises. The author of many incisive books, including The Conservative Party: from Thatcher to Cameron, and Five Year Mission: Labour under Ed Miliband, Tim spoke to our Deputy Editor, Frank Lawton, about elections, Brexit and his latest co-authored book, Footsoldiers: Political Party Membership in the C21st. Frank began by asking why we need political parties in the first place.

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This week we were delighted to welcome Peter Pomerantsev to CapX Towers. Peter is one of the world’s leading writers on propaganda and fake news, and has even given evidence to the US Congress on Russian disinformation. He also boasts a fascinating and varied CV, including many years working as a TV producer in Putin’s Russia – an experience he documented in gripping style in his first book ‘Nothing Is Real and Everything is Possible’. 

Peter sat down with CapX Editor John Ashmore to discuss his latest book ‘This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality”, in which Peter travels the world finding out how despots and demagogues are twisting the truth – and how we can start to fight back.

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