Yorkshire, whether you think of it as 'God's Own County', or an uppity region with a Pennine-sized chip on its shoulder, is nevertheless a place with a firm identity, which for many years has clamoured for more autonomy of its own. In the early-2000s, it was one of three regions in the North of England that was mooted for devolution, but a failed referendum in the North-East, coupled with an increasingly ambivalent Westminster, scuppered proposals before they began. Over a decade later, no...

In the spring of 1917, Vladimir Lenin was taken from his exile in Switzerland, loaded onto a sealed train, and taken to the Russian capital of Petrograd – a city where all manner of revolutionary ideas were in the air. Sent by the German government to add his radical voice to the chaos of the post-Tsarist regime, few would have expected that Lenin would soon preside over the establishment of the world's first communist state and inexorably change the course of human history.But wha...

A NEW NOVELLA FROM THE TEAM BEHIND 'AGENT LAVENDER'At time of writing, Britain has been led by thirteen men and two women since the Second World War. But not all countries have this kind of turnover - some, like Italy, have had dozens of leaders.But others still have seen sustained periods of democratic governance by a single individual. What if Britain, a country in which a decade in office is seen as a long spell, had a post-war Prime Minister who found himself able to go...

Harold Wilson dominated British politics for almost two decades. His political skill saw him make powerful enemies and bitter rivals, both inside the Labour Party and out. Conspiracy theorists, some in very high places, even circulated rumours that he was an agent of the Soviet Union. In reality, of course, there was not a shred of truth to these malicious claims.But what if there had been?In Agent Lavender, Harold Wilson flees Whitehall in the dead of night, with MI5 and t...

Harold Wilson dominated British politics for almost two decades. His political skill saw him make powerful enemies and bitter rivals, both inside the Labour Party and out. Conspiracy theorists, some in very high places, even circulated rumours that he was an agent of the Soviet Union. In reality, of course, there was not a shred of truth to these malicious claims. But what if there had been? In Agent Lavender, Harold Wilson flees Whitehall in the dead of night, with MI5 and...

"Welcome to the BBC's coverage of the 2015 UK Presidential Election…"In President Ashdown Is Retiring, the authors of Shuffling the Deck team up once again to explore the aftermath of a thoroughly modern and fundamentally Blairite republican revolution.Now, join David Dimbleby and many familiar faces on Election Night 2015, including Business Secretary Peter Mandelson MP, Green Party Lord Senator Robert Llewellyn, a blonde-haired eccentric Mayor of London,...

First Among Equals is an exciting political drama, by master storyteller Jeffrey Archer.In the 1960s, four ambitious new MPs take their seats at Westminster. Over three decades they share the turbulent passions and upheavals of the race for power with their wives and families, men and women caught up in a dramatic game for the highest stakes of all. But only one man can gain the ultimate goal – the office of Prime Minister . . .

Plan Aurora, hatched in a remote dacha in the forest outside Moscow and initiated with relentless brilliance and skill, is a plan within a plan that, in its spine-chilling ingenuity, breaches the ultra-secret Fourth Protocol and turns the fears that shaped it into a living nightmare.A crack Soviet agent, placed under cover in a quiet English country town, begins to assemble a jigsaw of devastation. MI5 investigator John Preston, working against the most urgent of deadlines, leads a...

Former steel worker Harry Perkins has, against all the odds, led the Labour Party to a stunning victory at the general election. His manifesto includes the removal of American bases, public control of finance, and the dismantling of the newspaper monopolies. The Establishment is appalled by the prospect, and secretly decides that something must be done. As MI5 conspires with the city and the press barons, Perkins the PM finds himself in a no-holds-barred battle for survival.

Michael Stone was born in East Belfast in 1955. In 1988 he was sentenced to 800 years in prison. He served twelve years in the Maze prison before being released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. He is now an artist, and proponent of the peace process.

Allowing you to uncover the woman behind the 'Iron Lady' image, 'Iron Lady: The Thatcher Years' takes a thorough yet lighthearted look at the life and times of Britain's longest-serving twentieth-century prime minister. As both the first woman to become leader of a European country and the first British premier to achieve re-election for three consecutive terms, Margaret Thatcher's legacy is such that even today she plays a significant role in British political life. Reflecting on her life...

News, views and hilarious stories from the legend of Newsnight and long-standing quiz master of University Challenge.‘Bursting with good things’ Daily TelegraphDuring 25 years as BBC Newsnight’s supreme inquisitor, Jeremy Paxman proved himself as the master of the political intervview. From John Major to Theresa May and Tony Blair to Ed Miliband, he has them quaking in their boots. But it wasn’t just politicians. Paxman’s interview...