Jolyon Maugham and the rise and fall of the celebrity lawyer
They say that politics is showbiz for ugly people – but with the rise of the radiantly beauteous Keminator (and,…
We don’t need to be afraid of the Greens any more
There’s an ungallant phrase from the old days, generally used by men, the rotters; ‘Coyote Ugly’ which refers to the…
Call me a cripple
In case you missed it (well done, if so), last week Will Self wrote an extraordinary rant on Substack attacking…
Zia Yusuf gives me the ick
Rather like Andy Burnham, you can imagine a younger version of Zia Yusuf being sent into Love Island in the…
How I learnt to stop worrying and love pessimism
I was on friendly terms with Rod Liddle for quite a few decades. He applied for the job I got…
Jason Arday and the terrible truth about students
When I was a young punk, my favourite badge (we loved badges!) was a big white one which a reader…
In defence of Quentin Letts
We’re living in a golden age of parliamentary sketch writing; never have so many been made mincemeat of by so…
Therapy speak is turning us into sissies
As one who’s always been keen on putting their hand up and admitting to their faults (a perverse form of…
Thomas Tuchel has done the impossible: he’s made me love the Germans
Oh Thomas Tuchel, how I love you! Unlike the last boss of the England team, Saint Gareth of Southgate, there’s…
Disability is becoming the new normal
Longer life expectancy means that most of us will eventually qualify as disabled. But how many of Britain’s present claimants are merely suffering from ‘anxiety’?
Andy Burnham’s reality TV show rise
I knew that the endless hours I’d spent watching reality TV would one day stand me in good stead in…
Here’s to ten years of Brexit Derangement Syndrome
I didn’t fully realise how much Brexit Derangement Syndrome – the reaction to being on the losing side in the…
Kim Kardashian deserves better than Lewis Hamilton
I’ve always been keen on Kim Kardashian, going right back to the earliest years of her family reality show. At…
Mocktails are pathetic
Mocktails. Even the name sounds dodgy. Who is this apparently innocuous canned drink mocking, pray? Probably you, if you’ve shelled…
Why I have high hopes for Wes Streeting
Regarding the possible candidates for the Labour leadership, I’ve travelled so far down the nihilistic road to nowhere that I’m…
Are any fans weirder than Michael Jackson fans?
What does a star need? A great lawyer, a good publicist, a silent plastic surgeon on speed dial – and…
Reform voters will regret turning their back on Kemi Badenoch
Like most people of my age – I’m 66 – I grew up in a time when politics was a…
Don’t whitewash Michael Jackson
We’re not used to famous paedophiles having a great talent; perhaps because all of their drive goes into their secret…
Bash Back are thugs posing as victims
There are times when it seems that violence against women and girls – forever these days being hand-wrung over by…
Why modern ‘comedians’ like Romesh Ranganathan aren’t funny
It’s funny that the George Orwell statue outside the BBC’s Broadcasting House has a quote etched nearby from a proposed…
The shocking entitlement of Huw Edwards
There are few things more savagely amusing than a disgraced member of the BBC becoming indignant. (‘Member’ seems the oddly appropriate…
The bittersweet death of Lycra
There are a lot of things that Ozempic & Co. have killed business for. Weight Watchers. Diets from cabbage soup…
In praise of juicing
‘Enhanced’– it’s such a slinky word. A ‘boob job’ sounds like a gimmick on a stick and a ‘breast augmentation’…
The extraordinary daftness of Olivia Colman
‘Daft’ is such a wonderful word. Not for the first time, I’ve wished I was from Yorkshire, so that I…
The Mandelson scandal is far grubbier than the Profumo affair
The pundits are convinced that Peter Mandelson’s friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein is the ‘biggest British political scandal since…
