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I was Jeremy Hunt’s main political adviser and helped put together multiple Autumn Statements and Budgets. This is what I think Rachel Reeves’s Budget means for the countryside
Adam Smith, former chief of staff to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, reflects on what last week's Budget means for the countryside and how we ensure the rural voice is heard loudly inside Budget preparations.
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‘I cannot bring myself to believe that Emily Brontë would be turning over in her grave at the idea of Jacob Elordi tightening breathless Barbie’s corset’: In defence of radical adaptations
A trailer for the upcoming adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights' has left half of Britain clutching their pearls. What's the fuss, questions Laura Kay, who argues in defence of radical adaptations of classic literature.
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53 years ago, a Wren masterpiece was replaced with a glorified roundabout. We must not make the same mistake again
The plans to rid Christ Church Newgate Street of traffic should be cause for celebration — but a mistake as bad as the one made in the 1970s is about to happen, says Ptolemy Dean.
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Nothing is more important than trust, and our institutions would be wise not to undermine it
From big businesses marking their own homework, to the debacle at the BBC, trust has never been more important.
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The Budget: What do we need to fix a broken countryside, and what will we get?
With the Autumn Budget looming, countryside and heritage organisations reveal what they are hoping to hear to fix the turmoil — and what they are dreading
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The Labour government of the 1970s saved our country houses. Will a Labour government of the 2020s save our country churches?
Why not invest to save the most valuable community resources we have, perfectly placed at the heart of communities?
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William Hanson's 39 steps to being a gentleman
Many have attempted to update the codes of gentlemanly conduct for 2025, but as, William Hanson shows, the timeless rules are still the best ones
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Athena: This Government must open its eyes to the contribution that heritage and culture can make to our economy
Heritage is a forgotten driver of growth laments our cultural crusader.
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Nôtre-Dame: An over-crowded Parisian triumph
Athena visits the re-built French wonder, and is more than impressed by the restoration work that has been completed so far.
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Agromenes: Evolution, not revolution, is what we need for a green and sustainable future
The short-term pain of a green transition will be worth it in the long run. What we need is some bold vision to get there.
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The proposed National Gallery extension is a ray of light in a stormy sector
The announcement of a new wing for one of the nation's top art galleries 'is a transformative initiative undertaken through private philanthropy to clear and universal benefit. What is there not to celebrate?'
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Don't blame it on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonlight, don't blame it on the good times, blame it on the bats
Bats and newts are an easy target, but can they actually be blamed for not building enough houses?
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Agromenes: Why is our tax money not being spent on British food?
A Freedom of Information request reveals that many of our local councils and government departments aren't buying British-grown food. It's an insult to our farmers.
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Affordable, sustainable, rural: How a group of volunteers embarrassed the government and built some of the best new homes in the country
Hazelmead has won almost every RIBA award going. The development on the outskirts of Bridport might be a springboard for a rural housing revolution, much like the Arts-and-Crafts movement more than a century ago.
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William Hanson: Why etiquette must evolve to suit modern life
Noodle slurping and the left-handed taboo. The king of modern manners details the evolution of proper conduct in his latest book.
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Athena: In the eyes of Government, will the Arts always be last?
After a year of Labour rule, life doesn't seem to be getting any better for Britain's cultural institutions.
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Agromenes: 'See it. Say it. Sorted. This is truly where Britain is broken'
Country Life's Cultural Crusader rails against the constant annoying reminders of how we should live our lives.
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In our built heritage, is the truth stranger than fiction?
Athena considers how our historic buildings are presented in an age of film and television.
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Will Hosie: In defence of gatekeeping and why we have to stop confusing TopJaw with proper critique
Modern audiences expect critics to keep up with the times, but it's always been their job to keep some places under wraps.
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Defanging the Gardens Trust will hurt our most precious landscapes
The Government has proposed to remove the Garden Trust's position as a statutory consultee in planning permissions for up to 1,700 historic landscapes and gardens in order to speed up building.
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Patrick Galbraith: 'The publishing company I had just begun working for went pop pretty spectacularly. Capitalism is a bucking bronco and occasionally you hit the ground'
Our columnist discovers that being in your early 30s can be quite confusing.
