Columns
Durham’s maths problem
More exciting news arrives from Britain’s dimmest university, Durham, which is embarking on a programme to ‘decolonise’ mathematics. About time.…
Rishi Sunak’s political naivety
Before the war in Ukraine, ministers and Tory MPs believed a fixedpenalty notice for the Prime Minister would mean the…
I feel sorry for Rishi Sunak
Perhaps I should stress from the get-go that I do not know Rishi Sunak. So far as I know, we’ve…
Can I convert you to my opinion?
I see that on the issue of gay conversion therapy, the Prime Minister has been floating around all over the…
How to lose an election
I have remarked here before about our era’s tendency to accept election results if your side wins but to reject…
Our children are at breaking point – and it’s our fault
I think it’s time we stopped scaring the children. I think they’ve had enough. They’re at breaking point now, every…
The changing face of No. 10
David Canzini has made quite an impression since he joined No. 10 as the Prime Minister’s deputy chief of staff…
I’m taking in a Ukrainian
Delighted though we all are that Benedict Cumberbatch has decided to allow a Ukrainian family to live in one of…
How to avoid heating your house
Spring commonly augers a quickening warmth, but for Britons this year the season coincides with a chilling marker: a 54…
The three stumbling blocks to a Ukraine peace deal
A month in, and the war in Ukraine looks very different to how anyone expected. On the first day of…
How should Prince William respond to questions about slavery?
It is uncanny how swiftly British culture imitates the worst of American culture. Take Whoopi Goldberg, who distinguished herself again…
In defence of healthy opposition
Glasses chinked. From massive chandeliers, lights glittered beneath the high vaulted ceiling; heroic statuary around the carved stone walls stared…
The day I nearly brought RT down
It is interesting to watch Ofcom finally remove the broadcasting licence from the Russian propaganda channel Russia Today (RT). I…
What schools should be teaching
The state of Florida recently passed a piece of legislation making it illegal for teachers to hold discussions with pupils…
The Chancellor’s difficult choices
The Office for Budget Responsibility was designed to protect the Chancellor from accusations that he is cooking the books. If…
What can save China from Covid?
It is tempting to believe that we have gone from one crisis to another: Russia invaded Ukraine hours after Covid…
Why are so few Americans willing to defend their country?
For many of us war voyeurs watching the news with a glass of sherry, admiration of the little-engine-that-could Ukrainian fighters…
Nobody will forget what Russia has done
At the heart of the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sits an ambiguity that it is convenient, perhaps…
The West has rediscovered its purpose
Over recent days I have been reflecting on War and Peace. Or Special Operation and Peace as it must now…
The myth that Russia and Ukraine are fighting over
It seems strange now that any of us ever imagined that Putin might not invade. He thinks of Ukraine as…
Why C.S. Lewis was right about war
Well, at least Covid is over. No sooner had Vladimir Putin’s tanks rolled into Ukraine than the UK’s Covid advisory…
Is global warming really more dangerous than Putin’s nuclear threats?
Having just dusted down my Geiger counter and argued with the family about whether or not there is room for…
Rising energy bills are a price worth paying to stop Putin
Nato countries are being careful not to do anything that Russia could claim is an act of war. Just look…
The free world’s new reality
We are about to see brutality in Europe on a scalethat will be almost beyond our comprehension. Russia is turning…
Has Putin saved Boris?
It was with some relief that I heard that Labour’s Diane Abbott was opposed to the Russian invasion of Croatia,…
