Columns
The war against intelligence
Two weeks have passed and somehow James Conway is still in a job. He is the director of the English…
The wife’s story
‘One day,’ she writes, ‘we had the Minister for Northern Ireland for the night. He arrived wearing a kilt, which…
The Covid pantomime at my father’s memorial
This last weekend I attended the memorial service for my father, who died in July. This isn’t a bid for…
The truth about lies
There were two remarkable things about Emma Raducanu’s wonderful win at the US open last week. The first was the…
What’s the Tory majority for?
One of the things that distinguishes Boris Johnson from the last three Tory prime ministers is that he has a…
Little people, big nightmare
I think it’s for the best if we ban all children’s books containing the word ‘dream’. Dream big, little dreamer,…
Let’s have more diversity at the BBC
I noticed with interest that Gigalum island — off the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll — was up for sale for…
Could you live without sex or the Tories?
In idle chatter the other evening, somebody pooh-poohed champagne. He was a brave soul because in certain circles — and…
Boris is in dangerous territory
The announcement of a tax increase for both workers and employers to fund more spending on health and social care…
The political power of Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown
There is a rather sweet moment in the middle of each Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown show where, after some magnificently obscene…
Defund the world’s policeman?
It gets lost in the many creative purposes successive American administrations invented to justify remaining in Afghanistan, but the primary…
The doors of St Aidan’s were locked
The end of summer 2021, the end of the great British staycation. I sat on the grass outside the post…
The Tories aren’t in party mood
Nearly two years on from the general election and 11 years since the Tories took office, they remain comfortably and…
A farewell to arms
It was quite the handover at Kabul airport this week. The last American troops to exit Afghanistan reportedly left facing…
The Nobel truth
I suspect that there are no people in the world quite so right-on as the Nobel prize committee members. A…
It’s natural to be territorial
The Afghans the Home Office is scrambling to resettle in Britain present one of immigration’s most sympathetic cases: translators and…
Johnson’s problems are piling up
This time last year, Boris Johnson and his team were making plans to ‘move on’ from the pandemic. He had…
I blame Tony Blair
The Americans may have pulled out, but luckily the Afghans have the world’s vibrant community of witches intervening to save…
The cruel seafood
It was a hot late evening on the Greek island of Tinos, and we were sitting at a quayside restaurant…
Berks and burkas
I have the feeling that Joe Biden will have to wait a while before he receives his Nobel Peace Prize,…
What Biden learnt from Trump
When was the only time America’s left-liberal media gave President Trump any real credit? The answer is 7 April 2017,…
It’s not just Biden who’s kidding himself
One of the most interesting aspects of President Biden’s speech on the American withdrawal from Afghanistan is that it shows…
Does the vaccine affect periods?
It’s fashionable to talk about periods. Books on the subject, with glossy red and pink covers, are bestsellers. They have…
Why vaccine passports are pointless
Despite having mocked app-happy Albion in my last column, I finally downloaded the NHS app. (Lest I seem a raging…
Down the rabbit hole
The literary sensation of the season is apparently a book called The Constant Rabbit, by Jasper Fforde. In brief, a…
