This was a Budget for Martin Lewis’s Britain
The Budget is without doubt one of the most overrated days in British politics. Now that we are entirely at…
In praise of Master and Commander
Every year, around Trafalgar Day, I rewatch Peter Weir’s 2003 film Master and Commander. It seems obvious to say that…
The perils of baby names
As a Warwickshire girl, born and bred, I am rarely one to take issue with Shakespeare. However, when the intensely…
The humiliation of Miatta Fahnbulleh
Another week and another PMQs: Mr Burnham and Mrs Badenoch haven’t really had any major zingers yet, preferring a sort…
England, whose England?
For a long time, the mainstream political parties have adhered to an omertà – a ‘never complain, never explain’ –…
Andy Burnham’s cry for help at PMQs
The first question at PMQs was something which may not go away: Andy Burnham’s engagement with Manchester City – now…
Burnham’s Brexit babblings have already backfired
It was back to the future in the House of Commons today. After their weeks of backslapping and self-delusion, MPs…
The Tories love Kemi – but who loves them?
I swear that every year the introductions to leaders’ speeches at party conferences become more and more of a circus.…
At conference, the Tories are haunted by their past
Day three of the Tory conference. A giant drone hung over the stage for the afternoon’s session on defence. Plenty…
Burnham and Farage don’t fear the Tories… yet
It was a big day for the Tory conference. There was a real celebrity in town. Normally the sort of…
Britain is entering its Rococo period
There were many reasons why John Ruskin hated Rococo. The overly decorated style was a bête noire for the great…
Zack Polanski offers Labour voters the full-fat nut milk
You have to feel sorry for the people of Brighton. No, seriously. In the last two weeks they’ve been subjected…
Burnham’s brand of patronising tweeslop reigns supreme
Labour are in Liverpool and, as their conference reached its apogee, I was put in mind of John Lennon. What…
The fantastical world of Ed Davey
I’m sort of in awe of Ed Davey. How does he still manage to wake up every day and, despite…
The continuity idiocy of Labour’s foreign policy
There was for a time the vaguest sense that things had got better since Andy Burnham took charge. That the…
America is not our friend
Imagine, if you will, King Charles in the Deep South. The aesthetics are easy enough: it doesn’t take much to…
When will Labour ‘do their bit’ on illegal immigration?
Lisa Nandy’s media-round sounds like the sort of thing you might be signed up to if you failed to make…
On assisted dying, sense prevailed
Sequels to horror films can be a mixed bag. Some become classics in their own right, others fall into the…
Long live death’s dark humour
One of the things people don’t tell you about grief is the humorous side of it. Many will warn that…
Andy Burnham resembled an extreme train enthusiast at PMQs
Today was Andy Burnham’s second Prime Minister’s Questions and also his last one for five weeks. The mini-recess for the…
Why has John Healey started speaking like Confucius?
John Healey had been sent to Coventry, something he will have to get used to after his budget next month,…
Reform conference has an air of unreality
It hasn’t been a glittering 24 hours for Reform UK. To lose one senior official might be regarded as misfortune…
Andy Burnham is about to face a hard lesson
There was a cautious cheer for Andy Burnham as he stood up for his first PMQs. MPs were perhaps cautious…
Andy Burnham’s ‘triple helix’ is bizarre, meaningless guff
Andy Burnham was at the government despatch box for the first time in nearly 17 years, having had the sort…
Bond’s identity crisis mirrors Britain’s
Sometimes I wake up in the night disturbed by dreams of James Bond. Surely, you might say, that’s the point…
