Columns
The march of 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 a dream
Before plunging into a vexed question, it’s sometimes wise to point out that one is aware how vexed it is.…
What price freedom?
The long-awaited easing of restrictions will not be the triumphant moment that many expected back in May. The Delta variant…
Me, myself and I
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…
The confusing case of Oli London
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…
Immigration figures don’t add up
Journalists filing to deadline are apt to dig only so deep when googling for statistics, which in themselves are sometimes…
A boat trip back through time
I was looking forward to my dinner at Daquise in South Kensington, a Polish restaurant that’s been there for ever…
Sajid’s cold reality
The most difficult time for a new secretary of state is normally the first three months in the job. An…
The next horror in store for Keir
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 say it
The official review into the Manchester Arena bombing was published this week. Four years after 22 mainly young people were…
There’s trouble brewing for Boris
Covid restrictions are meant to end on 19 July. But parliament will not return to normal until September. The Commons…
Won’t the Catholic church stand up for mothers?
I’m used to waiting for the Catholic church to make sense. I’m a convert to Catholicism, and Catholic ideas sometimes…
The long Covid revenge
Boris Johnson’s predecessor was destroyed by her inability to meet deadlines. Theresa May extended the Brexit transition period so many…
On looking without 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?’…
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…
Our great blanket of doubt
Now that the government has kindly allowed us to go out again, I wonder if anyone has discovered the same…
I miss my messy, unpredictable life
If you ask people what they’ve missed out on since the pandemic, they’ll probably lament their cancelled plans. Weddings postponed,…
Give the people what they think they want
I have a mean streak. Perhaps my cruellest urge is to give people what they claim to want. When political…
Big Tech is turning into Big Brother
The Big Tech social media giants are having to rethink their policy of censoring anybody who suggests that Covid originated…
The struggle to contain China
The theory that the pandemic began with a leak from a research laboratory in Wuhan is rapidly gaining currency. Since…
