Denis Healey and Douglas Hurd, two heavyweights from different sides of the political spectrum, will headline today's Festival of Politics line-up.

Healey, who turns 91 this month, will talk about his four decades of political life. He will give his take on Labour's highs and lows, from the 'Winter of Discontent' to the Blair revolution, during an hour-long discussion with Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson MSP from 1pm.

Deputy Presiding Officer Alasdair Morgan MSP will later host an interview with Douglas Hurd who will give an insight into his time as cabinet minister during the Thatcher-Major years. Lord Hurd played key roles during periods of change in Northern Ireland and Europe. He will also analyse the UK's influence on the world stage during his session at 5pm in the Chamber.

At 12.30pm, Committee Room 1 will be the venue for a discussion on why more than 80 years after UK women were given the vote they are still under-represented in politics. The 'Women and the Vote' event, held by the Parliament's cross party group on Men's Violence Against Women and Children, will discuss what needs to be done to achieve gender equality.

The Festival will also hear from older carers who dedicated their lives to caring for children with learning disabilities born the post-war era. The 'No Time to Retire' event, at 12.30pm, will hear from parents as they share their experiences of caring for these children in an era before formal support mechanisms were widely available.

Philanthropy will also be put under the spotlight at the "New Politics of Giving" session, in association with the Carnegie Festival, at 4.30pm. Among those taking part are Diana Leat, a consultant at the Carnegie UK Trust, and philanthropist Sigrid Rausing, whose trust has given away over £60m for work in the fields of human rights and social and environmental advocacy. Magnus Linklater will chair the event, which will focus on how philanthropists can shape politics nationally and internationally.

In the last session of the first day of the Festival of Politics, actor Simon Callow shared his personal experiences of Britain's changing attitudes to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people and discussed what still needs to be done to achieve full equality.

Callow said: "There has been an unprecedented change in people’s attitudes. I have lived through post-war changes and the changes in the law have been miraculous. I am immensely hopeful that remaining prejudice will fade away. The more people get to know gay people, the less prejudice will survive."

A full programme can be obtained at www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk.

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