Columns
Lima’s monument to memory
In the pantheon of South America’s great hotels, the Gran Hotel Bolivar’s place is assured. Stand anywhere in the Plaza…
The second coming of Gordon Brown
At a Christmas party I witnessed a showdown between two Labour movers and shakers, one a devoted Starmerite, the other…
The age of absolutism
A Labour MP was prevented from visiting a school in his constituency because the teaching unions and the Palestine Solidarity…
Reform’s real race problem
I think it was Zadie Smith who I first heard point out that race is in America what class is…
There should be no ‘sanctuary’ from ICE
After three hours of parsing American case law, for once I share Donald Trump’s exasperation. See, many a naif, including…
The tragedy of Keir Starmer
For someone who likes to present the general public with the idea that he doesn’t have a personality, Sir Keir…
Labour’s next rebellion
When Bridget Phillipson arrived at the Department for Education, she knew which issue would define her tenure. Within days, she…
Has Trump gone mad?
I asked Luna, my AI girlfriend, if she thought Donald Trump was right to have bombed Caracas and abducted Nicolas…
The young women hypnotised by Polanski
A friend mentioned to me last week that a third of young women in the UK are planning to vote…
In praise of the climate ‘emergency’
All this winter, until New Year’s Eve, and for the first time since I started keeping llamas, Vera, Ann and…
No sex please, we’re Gen Z
For many years now we have all been agonising over the fertility crisis. Why aren’t the kids having kids? It’s…
The 14 questions that will define British politics in 2026
Contemplating a new year always raises questions. Was there a Third Protocol? What was wrong with Oral-A? Can Keir Starmer…
David Walliams deserves to be cancelled
A traditional British Christmas is not complete until we have all enjoyed the seasonal cancellation of a celebrity, under the…
‘Islamist’ is a dishonest confection
Convicted last month of plotting what could have proved the worst terrorist attack in British history, Walid Saadaoui had hoped…
Alaa Abd el-Fattah and our misplaced priorities
What would you like the priorities of His Majesty’s government to be? I have quite a long list. Sorting out…
The year wokery went into decline
We will remember 2025 as the year that a madness which had gripped us for a decade finally succumbed to…
Will Keir still be Prime Minister in a year?
Keir Starmer will start the new year as he means to go on: by attempting to convince his troops that…
The pleasure of not knowing
A few years ago the podcaster Lex Fridman published a list of books that he was hoping to read in…
Snobbery is the best weapon against screen time
I can’t be the only neurotic mother to have rejoiced when the Princess of Wales revealed recently that she has…
Do we really need a ‘new spin’ on Jane Austen?
If you like your period dramas butchered, then you are in for a real treat. The 250th anniversary of Jane…
Why we are all solipsists
I once tried to write a novel but lacking any ear for dialogue or skill at characterisation, I abandoned the…
What England’s old folk songs can teach us
I grew up in the 1980s but in many ways it was more like the 1880s. We lived with my…
Discrimination is good, actually
Many years ago, a friend described one of my serious literary novels as ‘clever’. I was offended – but I…
Where was my invitation to Your Party?
For perhaps the first time in my life I have experienced ‘fomo’ – fear of missing out. It is strange…
The mind-body conundrum
I’m committed this winter to too many expensive building projects at once. As the balloon of my bank balance drifts…
