Leading lights from the worlds of art, history, current affairs, science and poetry will take to the stage at this year’s spring Cambridge Literary Festival.

An eclectic line-up for the event, which runs from April 14-19, includes children’s author Judith Kerr (The Tiger Who Came To Tea) and queen of the High Street, Mary Portas.

Politics will also be high on the agenda and crossbench peer Peter Hennessy will be discussing the “Condition of British Politics” with political grandees Norman Tebbit and Dame Shirley Williams.

The New Statesman debate – now a firm fixture in the programme – will focus on an increasingly polarised European Union and Britain’s place within it. Patrick Cockburn, foreign correspondent and columnist, will be talking with BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen about the rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

There will also be some razor-sharp analysis from some of Britain’s best political commentators including Zoe Williams, Polly Toynbee, Will Hutton, and John Crace.

INFORMATION: Tickets for individual events, which are all taking place at the Cambridge Union and Trinty College, will be available from the box office from March 6, on 01223 300085 or www.adcticketing.com.