Should medics be hassling old people with 'do not resuscitate' forms?
A neighbour of ours, self-isolating and with poor lung function, has twice been telephoned recently by the medical authorities. After pleasant…
Covid-19 is giving me hyper-focus on the beauty of spring
We know, because of the lack of widespread testing, that incidences of Covid-19 are under-reported. What is less well known…
The problems of a sick prime minister
It is good of President Trump to offer Boris Johnson his best wishes and the best American pharmaceuticals (though no…
Perhaps we are all communists now
‘I am a columnist for the Daily Telegraph,’ I began a text message to an NHS executive last week. Due…
The psychological and economic dangers of enforced idleness
‘Lourdes shrine closes healing pools as precaution against coronavirus,’ says a discouraging headline in the Catholic Herald. Jesus ‘made the…
Coronavirus has even kept the sex-strikers at home
When we left this Britain on Thursday last week, life was almost as usual. Shops and restaurants were open. The…
Coronavirus might not be all bad news for the stock market
There cannot be many positive aspects to the coronavirus outbreak, but I wonder if it carries one for stock markets.…
Coronavirus is a metaphor for our vulnerability over Huawei
Monday night’s Commons rebellion over Huawei was on a surprisingly serious scale for a new government with a big mandate.…
The ugliness of carbon zero
The government is trying to get onshore windfarms going again, defying the damage they do to unique environments. I am…
The government’s zero-carbon policies will do harm to Britain’s beautiful landscapes
The government is trying to get onshore windfarms going again, defying the damage they do to unique environments. I am…
Jean Vanier’s sad fall from grace
The fall from grace of Jean Vanier is truly a sad story. The founder of the L’Arche communities did extraordinary…
The perils of owning an erotic Nazi toy
My parents told me that their wartime childhoods were punctuated by the expression: ‘Don’t you know there’s a war on?’…
The BBC’s big problem is its obsession with itself
One reason people are disillusioned with the BBC is its obsession with itself. Here is the text of a question…
Does anyone really think HS2 will be good for the country?
How depressed should one be about the HS2 go-ahead? The cost is stupefying. The offering to the north — considered…
Boris has fallen into a trap by sucking up to David Attenborough
Regardless of one’s views on climate change, one should welcome the fact that Boris Johnson removed Claire Perry O’Neill from…
The real reason Glasgow’s UN climate summit will be a nightmare
Regardless of one’s views on climate change, one should welcome the fact that Boris Johnson removed Claire Perry O’Neill from…
The reason our civil service is soft on China
The creation of the National Security Council under David Cameron was supposed to join up parts of British government which…
Philip Pullman is right about the Oxford comma
It was with regret that I read that Albert, retired King of the Belgians, has finally had to admit, following…
Do alarmists know the difference between weather and climate?
Until recently, those expressing scepticism about climate-change catastrophe have been hauled over the coals (or the renewables equivalent) for not…
I won’t be applying to be director-general of the BBC
Despite huge public pressure, I shall not be applying to be director-general of the BBC. It was kind of Tony…
Anyone for a Sussex Royal potato?
Earlier this week, we accompanied our daughter-in-law, Hannah, to her British citizenship ceremony, she having passed the necessary tests. (Hannah…
Why bother joining the Labour party?
Now that there is yet another chance to vote for a leader of the Labour party, if you are prepared…
Am I in the mainstream now?
The moment of Boris’s victory makes me stop and look back. In the referendum of 1975 — my first vote…
What a relief Jeremy Corbyn never became PM
It is worth fixing for posterity the feelings which, on polling day, swirled in the breasts of many who wanted…
The mysteries of the Corbyn world-view
It is worth fixing for posterity the feelings which, on polling day, swirled in the breasts of many who wanted…