Columns
Sky News has lost its way
Occasionally I am told that I go too hard on the BBC. It is an understandable gripe which I sometimes…
Whatever happened to Lionel Shriver?
For many readers, my absence from these pages may have gone unnoticed. Those few who’ve detected my disappearance might have…
Are the Tories brave enough to be conservative?
The Conservative party is out of power – and that’s not easy if you’ve been in power for more than…
The adult ADHD trap
I was on the bus recently and bored when I decided not to ignore but to answer one of those…
The tyranny of lawyers
I have spent most of the morning trying to convince people online that Huw Edwards’s conviction does not mean that…
Ed Davey’s game plan
Ed Davey owes much of his election success to Boris Johnson – and in more ways than one. The slide-loving,…
The C of E’s raving madness
In February there was a commotion at Canterbury Cathedral. Or, to be more precise, there was a silent commotion. The…
The BBC’s strange silence
In the long and illustrious history of race chancing, there must have been many more egregious examples than that of…
Is Gordon Brown back?
Last week, there was a surprise visitor to the Treasury: Gordon Brown. The former prime minister and chancellor secretly returned…
Why people would hate a property tax
My friend Tim Leunig is a cerebral thinker of the best kind. Though not party-political, he has worked for Tory…
The joy of our deluded politicians
There are a number of joys in life that do not get enough attention. One is the sheer, unadulterated pleasure…
The rise of the Gaza Five
What should the Tories do about Nigel Farage? The leadership candidates have made many speeches and written many columns explaining…
No one will change their mind about Hamas
Earlier this summer, my son and I biked over to fashionable east Hackney where it’s normal to pay £4.20 for…
What happened to pride in our nation?
I suppose there must be someone somewhere in this nation of ours who was surprised by the news that our…
Labour’s age of miracles
I am not yet eligible for the winter fuel allowance. Nor am I especially in favour of it, regarding it…
Who will protect me?
Police are hunting a ‘hooded figure’ who sprayed ‘no whites’ on the wall of a primary school in Birmingham. The…
Inside the long race for the Tory leadership
Conservative MPs who hoped for a relaxing summer break have had a nasty shock: their phones have been ringing on…
Afrikaners have been endlessly maligned
This I began writing two weeks ago as an overnight guest in a cosy cabin on a farm beside an…
Shattering the myth of the ‘glass ceiling’
What a thrilling number of glass ceilings have been broken this century – with more still to come, apparently. In…
Should radical lesbians dictate what we eat?
Are radical lesbians dictating what we can and cannot eat, through the offices of this very magazine? It would certainly…
Farage’s next move in his plan to destroy the Tories
On Tuesday afternoon, a familiar figure pulled up at a Westminster café to plot the Tories’ downfall. Nigel Farage beamed…
Can you spot an ‘extreme misogynist’?
Can you tell the difference between an extreme misogynist and a moderate misogynist? Hating women has always seemed, to me…
Bankers are hot again
‘I’m looking for a man in finance/ Trust fund/ 6’5”/ Blue eyes.’ When Megan Boni posted this ditty on her…
The persecution of ‘the plebs’
Not so long ago we went to politicians for politics and comedians for comedy. Today, like many others, I watch…
Why China’s nostalgia industry is booming
Nostalgia is a thriving industry in China. I first noticed this while walking around Nanjing last summer. There were shops…
