Democratic elections cannot be described as competitions aimed at revealing which candidates tell the unvarnished truth. Most politicians try to avoid telling outright lies; they bob and weave like prizefighters when faced with questions that might ensnare them in outright menda

The United Kingdom’s general election is a little more than a month away, but already the campaign seems to have been with us forever, rolling implacably forward, but with little evidence of any genuine excitement — or even significant movement in the polls. Support

In one of his last essays, the late, great, historian Tony Judt asked what we should have learned from the last century, a period in which so many soldiers and civilians died in conflict. One important part of the answer, I think, is the critical importance of the rule of law, b

I used to be considered a pretty good forecaster of British and other countries’ elections. I was, after all, once a party chairman. I can now confess my method. It was not based on any novel political insight.

As I put pen to paper, my wife threw out a seasonal challenge: “Christmas is approaching — the time for peace and joy and all that.

Hong Kong’s democracy movement has gained admiration worldwide.

It is not wholly true to say that the eyes of the entire world are on Hong Kong. They would be, of course, if people in mainland China were allowed to know what is happening in their country’s most successful city.

In the end, democracy came to the rescue.