Was this a pre-election Budget?
So damaging was Rachel Reeves’s tenure that a Budget from her successor aimed at doing as little as possible seems…
Which years have had the highest numbers of named storms?
We will survive Defence Secretary Wes Streeting told us to prepare for war in three years’ time and to keep…
Letters: Peter Hitchens is wrong about Ukraine
Peter’s denial Sir: In his article ‘The warmongers’ (24 October) Peter Hitchens is too extraordinary. In fact, General Sir Roland…
Books of the Year I – 2026
Our regular contributors choose the books they have most enjoyed reading in 2026
Sally Rooney and the comfortable violence of the left
Kate Evans is a dedicated and widely respected sergeant in Avon and Somerset Police. But her ability to do the…
Letters: Don’t knock the Salvation Army
In defence of Trump Sir: Your lead article ‘Like the Roman’ (17 October) praised some of Trump’s early achievements but roundly…
Who made the first flying car?
Cars might fly Elon Musk demonstrated a flying car. – The concept goes back further than most people imagine. The…
Donald Trump is no friend to conservatives
Perhaps P.J. O’Rourke put it best. When explaining, in 2016, why a self-declared ‘Republican Party Reptile’ was voting for Hillary…
2771: Steps – solution
BLACK agent (flack), film (flick), coppers (flics), diptera (flies), circular (flier), cook (frier), FRIAR: 19D DOMINICAN is to be shaded.…
Letters: Prisons are for punishment
Little cheer Sir: I found the headline on Tim Shipman’s excellent article (‘Tories’ reasons to be cheerful’, 10 October) more…
How right-wing are labradors?
Lab test Labour MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter described black labradors, pubs and warm ale as a ‘far right fantasy’. Do labradors…
Kemi Badenoch knows the right way forward
Last year’s Conservative party conference was a difficult one. Reform UK was leading the polls; the local election results had…
Letters: Don’t worry about AI novels
A right old mess Sir: Although Andy Burnham seems to be turning to Old Labour, what he is really turning…
Andy Burnham begins the long march left
When the Social Democratic Party was launched in 1981, its prospectus was dismissed witheringly by the liberal thinker Ralf Dahrendorf…
Which old rockers are still touring?
Orange prize What is so special about the Garvaghy Road to Ulster Unionists? The area around Portadown attained significance for…
Letters: Brits should love Canada
Fire is a leveller Sir: It was disappointing to read Fin Taylor’s Diary (26 September) in which he reflected upon…
