A lifelong love of music has sustained Lord Armstrong through a high-flying Whitehall career – and at a key moment of constitutional crisis, won him the trust of a famously private PM.
In October 2003, troops carrying machine guns boarded Russian oligarch Mikhael Khodorkovsky's plane on the runway of a Siberian airfield.
Fine weather tempers the anti-parliamentary tone on the streets of South Manchester for Graham Brady, who is also tempted to adopt ‘roundabout gardening’ as a campaign theme.
Professor Paul Whiteley discusses how the parties are faring in the opinion polls.
Professor Paul Whiteley looks at voter attitudes towards Labour and the Conservatives.
With pockets of extreme wealth and deprivation, racial tensions and a row over Heathrow expansion, the capital and its environs is set to produce some thrilling election battles, says Joe Murphy.
With the leaders of the two largest parties seeking to overcome personal problems and the UUP fighting for its survival, it promises to be a dramatic election in Ulster, explains Noel McAdam.
Change might be the buzzword of the national campaign, but the electoral map north of the border is set to remain largely the same, explains Robbie Dinwoodie.
Chris Moncrieff recalls the pivotal role played by Enoch Powell in the February 1974 campaign, when a hung Parliament, with Labour the largest party, forced Edward Heath out of 10 Downing Street.
Just as inefficiency has diluted the benefit of increased NHS funding, so poor public health is putting an intolerable burden on the service, explains Chris Ham.
Gerard Kelly says it is high time that politicians asked themselves the fundamental question: what is education for?
Motorists are being driven too far by the parties’ plans to gobble up motoring revenues without investing sufficiently in our roads, says Stephen Glaister.
With widespread recognition that wealth inequalities must be tackled, it makes no sense to scrap the Child Trust Fund, writes Sunder Katwala.
When all the agencies involved in social care are agreed on the need for a viable long-term solution, James Lloyd regrets politicians’ desire to keep arguing about it.
No party will have a coherent policy on the family without confronting the creed of individualism in British society, says Lisa Harker.
Local government Councils are doing the wrong things and doing them badly, says Tom Shakespeare – and whoever wins the election must radically re-evaluate their role.
The need to protect agricultural land, use renewable technology in farming, monitor the growth of GM crops and roll out broadband to rural communities top the election wish list of James Jones.
The third sector is a buzz phrase for politicians, says Pete Alcock – but if they’re serious, they’ll need to give the sector its head.
With the imperative of Digital Britain for online services, it is all the more important that government IT problems are cured once and for all, says James Garner.
Peter Ainsworth took a late decision to stand down as an MP, after judging that he could be a more effective advocate for the environment and culture outside Parliament.
With David Cameron last week accompanied by Sir Michael Caine at a campaign event, the age of celebrity endorsement of the political parties remains very much with us. Although the stars’ support is not unqualified, and things can sometimes go awry (such as when Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane came out for Scottish independence while sharing a platform with Labour’s Donald Dewar), the short-term cultural clout of celebrities can be important. We cite here some of the best-known associations of recent years, and some that ended in tears…
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