The worst excesses of the Saintly Reading Cult
I read a lot of fiction. I always have. It’s not unusual for me to have three of four books…
Boris Johnson’s peculiar conservative conversion
In his most recent column for the Mail, Boris Johnson fires a shot at, among other things, ‘the leftie twittersphere’.…
Harry and Meghan may still have a bright podcasting future
After Spotify sacked/let go/‘mutually agreed to part ways’ with, in the words of one of its executives, those ‘f-ing grifters’…
We are far stranger than aliens
You may have missed it amid all the other news of the last few days, but the aliens have apparently…
What the Smiths’ critics don’t get
It’s forty years since the Smiths released their first single ‘Hand In Glove’. We’ve already seen a slew of articles…
The Tories need to get serious about the Blob
The government has paid a whacking out-of-court settlement of £100,000 to Anna Thomas, a whistleblower sacked after she tried to…
Succession’s only real flaw
It’s strange to reach the end of something you’ve relished with a sense of relief. HBO’s Succession has given me…
The fascinating obsession with Phillip Schofield’s downfall
The rift between Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, long-standing sobbing/giggling presenters of This Morning, has been one of the big…
The sad decline of BBC Radio 4
Radio 4 is in trouble. Listening figures for the station have dipped to their lowest level since 2007. The Today programme,…
A Lib-Lab coalition would be hilarious
Talk of a new Labour-Lib Dem coalition is in the air. This is piquantly nostalgic to those of us whose…
Could AI save the human race?
Two things are buzzing about in the air at the moment: decline and artificial intelligence. Douglas Murray and Louise Perry…
Monarchy and celebrities should not mix
This weekend’s coronation will be an historic moment, a milestone in the mass memory. Just think how many dreary British…
Jolyon Maugham’s opening sentence might be the worst of all time
In the first sentence of his book, Jolyon Maugham – the anti-Brexit KC best known for clubbing a fox to…
The rise of rowdy theatre audiences isn’t a surprise
The incident at Manchester’s Palace Theatre last Friday night at the close of a performance of the musical version of The…
Paul O’Grady represented a bygone era of TV
The tragically early death of the magnificent Paul O’Grady struck a blow at the national heart that’s unusual for a celebrity…
The very British Kinks
It’s been 60 years since Muswell Hill brothers Ray and Dave Davies – then 19 and 15 respectively – formed The…
The last thing we need is more TV adaptations of Dickens
Allow me to introduce you to a fun game you can play in your own parlour. You take it in…
Gary Lineker has exposed the truth about television
The Gary Lineker debacle has exposed the breathtaking historical and political ignorance of the supposedly educated. Lineker’s suspension – and…
Radio 2 has misjudged its audience
BBC Radio 2 is one of the many modern cultural enterprises which seems to have as its primary aim alienating…
The decline and fall of Matt Hancock
When Covid first hit the headlines in early 2020, I remember asking myself a question: who’s the health secretary again?…
The Tories should be planting some bombs for Labour
The recent self-defenestration of Nicola Sturgeon led to a rash of columns listing her dazzling lack of actual achievements, many…
Is ‘woke’ dead?
If you don’t live online, you may have missed the controversy over Hogwarts Legacy, the latest computer game to have…
JK Rowling will stand the test of time
I have a problem with magic. Even as a small child with a big imagination, I found magic very hard…
Britain is the sick man of Europe – again
Liz Truss’s recent written confession is remarkable for its childlike air. It reminded me of my buck-passing wheedling whenever I…
Sam Smith and the embarrassing terribleness of LGBTQIA+ culture
Pop music – and specifically pop music stardom – has an incredible power to transform people into things they are…
