Columns
Is there any end to this tunnel?
We should talk about horizons, and the setting of desirable ones. A newspaper gave it a go the other day…
It is time to make friends with the EU
On Monday morning, Clément Beaune, Emmanuel Macron’s Europe Minister, clipped out the section of his media interview criticising Britain’s vaccination…
A prison of our own making
Anyone who’s been through customs Down Under isn’t surprised by the region’s OTT response to Covid. Having been X-rayed before…
Facts are history
Your quiz for the week is to make the connection between the following people: fun-loving Greek hack Homer, veteran US…
The Northern Ireland protocol problem
Ursula von der Leyen now admits that she overreacted in the EU’s vaccine row with the UK. She has spoken…
The sticky truth about Navalny
His courage is exhilarating. Even if you think his cause hopeless, Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and Putin-baiter, deserves…
Daydream believer
I miss daydreaming. It’s a small problem to have in a pandemic, but it nags at me. Laptop, cooker, home-school,…
The disconnect of Davos Man
You may have missed Ursula von der Leyen’s big speech at Davos last week. Most people did. Perhaps because Davos…
The year of living contagiously
We have reached Covid-19’s first anniversary in the UK — and I really think we should do something fitting to…
A boost for the Tories
Imagine for a minute what British politics would be like without a Covid vaccine. The cabinet would be deeply, and…
The Capitol assault was a gift to Democrats
As events recede, they change. When Donald Trump’s unhinged endgame culminated in a popular assault on the Capitol, most Americans…
A salute to the ‘inessential’
A common sight across Britain these past ten months has been those rainbow flags fluttering in urban and village streets:…
The big tech bullies
I was in the kitchen preparing the family’s dinner when the inauguration of Joe Biden was on TV, so I…
What’s next for the Special Relationship?
This is a crucial year for the UK’s two most important relationships. The Anglo-American alliance, our strongest diplomatic and security…
My vaccine approval process
Has the coup happened yet? You have the advantage over me. It was supposed to have taken place on Sunday.…
The long road to normality
The government’s most important economic policy is its vaccination programme. The speed at which people are immunised will determine when…
Where will the American right turn now?
Here’s a trick question: who said the following, and when? ‘Serious questions have arisen about the accuracy and reliability of…
How to spot a cultist
There’s something creepy about the way we call Donald Trump fans a cult, then watch them hungrily, hoping they’ll do…
Brexit Britain’s new place in the world
What will Brexit Britain do differently? This is going to be the most important question in our politics for the…
Who volunteers to be lectured by children?
The screenwriter Russell T. Davies has said that only gay actors should be cast in gay parts, believing this leads…
A new perspective on the Prince of Darkness
Matt Forde, the stand-up comedian and presenter of his regular Political Party Podcast, has hit on an overlooked technique for…
We believe what we want to believe
Following his disgruntled supporters’ rampage through the Capitol, Donald Trump’s fate hangs in the balance. But one artefact of this…
The age of de-enlightenment
Depictions of Thomas Carlyle and David Hume in the Scottish Portrait Gallery will be altered to make it clear they…
I know why Welby is so worn out
Justin Welby is having a holiday and people are unhappy about it. He plans, in May, to take a three-month…
The real Tory opposition leader
A few months ago, Tory aides spotted a suspicious pattern. If they agreed on a new Covid policy to be…
