Live from the Royal Gallery

For many years, a favorite guest of Q&A has been Daniel Hannan, the British writer and politician—since 2021 a member of the House of Lords. In this new Q&A, Dan is sitting in the Royal Gallery, in Parliament. (I am sitting at home.)

Bill Buckley taped some episodes of Firing Line in the Sistine Chapel. I can’t see myself podcasting from that room; but I enjoyed looking at Dan in the Royal Gallery, via Zoom.

My conversation with Hannan is wide-ranging, as usual. We talk about the British monarchy, and its meaning to the United Kingdom. (Of course, it has different meanings to different Brits.) We talk about the nature of democracy, in its multiple forms (constitutional monarchy being one of them).

Many countries are seeing the rise of populism, and worse. Hannan wonders whether “the tide is going out on the culture of democracy.” People will accept the results of elections if their side wins, of course. And if their side does not?

We touch on Nigel Farage, Nick Fuentes, and others. We talk about antisemitism and philosemitism. The Ukraine war, too. Brits as a whole have been foursquare behind Ukraine and against Putin. This makes a contrast with the United States.

Our conversation is leavened by poetry: Philip Larkin and Robert Conquest—and Shakespeare. Dan closes with some lines from Richard II. A joy and a privilege, and an education, to sit with Daniel Hannan.

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