Columns
Will England pull out of the World Cup?
I wonder if the moral guardians of our country — the England football team — intend to participate in the…
The tax-and-spend Tories
When you ask a government minister why something hasn’t happened, you get a one-word answer: ‘Covid’. It has become the…
The 2020s will be boring, not roaring
Earlier this year, I noted the suggestion (made by an American academic and run with by a swathe of the…
What did the Romans ever do for us?
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is planning to install a statue of John Chilembwe in Trafalgar Square. Mr Chilembwe…
Immigration is Joe Biden’s Achilles heel
Having indulged an unhealthy interest in human migration for decades, I’ve been intrigued by how the number of illegal immigrants…
Can Boris crack the unwhippables?
‘Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won,’ wrote the Duke of Wellington after…
The death of the dream my family fought for
Before plunging into a vexed question, it’s sometimes wise to point out that one is aware how vexed it is.…
The long list of problems waiting for the Tories after 19 July
The long-awaited easing of restrictions will not be the triumphant moment that many expected back in May. The Delta variant…
Why the mangling of language matters
I thought that this week I would share with you a bunch of words and phrases which are currently overused…
The bogus business of stigma-busting
Our society is bristling with social stigmas, we’re told, even in the progressive West, even in London. Life is so…
Oli London and the trickiness of being ‘trans-racial’
Not everyone will have heard of Oli London, a British social media influencer who made news for two reasons last…
The political baggage of moving house
We are currently house-hunting — please let me know if you have one going spare. We are looking for a…
The UK’s immigration figures are a fantasy
Journalists filing to deadline are apt to dig only so deep when googling for statistics, which in themselves are sometimes…
My voyage back through the landmarks of my life
I was looking forward to my dinner at Daquise in South Kensington, a Polish restaurant that’s been there for ever…
The cold reality facing Sajid Javid
The most difficult time for a new secretary of state is normally the first three months in the job. An…
Keir Starmer’s days are numbered
I think Keir’s had it. This may not discomfort you terribly, I know. Still less the fact that Labour will…
Why we don’t always say what we see
The official review into the Manchester Arena bombing was published this week. Four years after 22 mainly young people were…
Life is about to get harder for Boris Johnson
Covid restrictions are meant to end on 19 July. But parliament will not return to normal until September. The Commons…
The word ‘mother’ isn’t offensive. The Catholic church should say so
I’m used to waiting for the Catholic church to make sense. I’m a convert to Catholicism, and Catholic ideas sometimes…
The biggest danger to Boris comes from the enemies within
Boris Johnson’s predecessor was destroyed by her inability to meet deadlines. Theresa May extended the Brexit transition period so many…
The difference between looking and seeing
By the side of the road from Sudbury in Derbyshire to Ashbourne, there is a lone eucalyptus tree. This is…
Air travel is in terminal danger
During the political car crash of 2019, I couldn’t imagine ever agreeing with Theresa May. Yet last week she exhibited…
A breath of fresh airwaves
A couple of decades back the Radio Society asked me to moderate a debate for its summer festival. ‘Between who?’…
Why this G7 summit matters more than most
It’s risky planning a trip to the British seaside at any time of year. But if the weather forecast is…
My advice to Gareth Southgate
This is a difficult issue to raise on the eve of a major football tournament, but as a progressive individual…
