Columnists
The truth about being a politician’s child
It was a Friday morning in 1992, Britain had just had an election, and I was on an ice rink.…
Fight Thomas Piketty or face a mansion tax
The postman at the door is stooped by his burden like an allegorical statue of Labour Oppressed by Capital. His…
The pitfalls and privileges of being a politician’s child
It was a Friday morning in 1992, Britain had just had an election, and I was on an ice rink.…
Mass murder and the Hollywood ending
I’ve found myself strangely drawn to the videos made by the 22-year-old assassin Elliot Rodger just before he went on…
David Cameron's plot to keep us in the EU (it's working)
I write this before the results of the European elections, making the not very original guess that Ukip will do…
I’d rather have a German next door too — and I have the figures to show why
Should we be worried about the vast numbers of German-born people living covertly in the United Kingdom? The Office for…
How the Suzuki method changed my life
Do you ever wonder, as your little darling balks at doing her violin or piano practice again, what all the…
In praise of cyberchondria
There’s something perversely satisfying in discovering that your children have inherited your vices. That’s why I was so quietly pleased…
Forget about saving British big pharma – it's little pharma we should be helping
Readers in all sorts of places — at the club bar, over a birthday lunch, even along the church pew…
In praise of Dr Google
There’s something perversely satisfying in discovering that your children have inherited your vices. That’s why I was so quietly pleased…
How the Suzuki method changed my life
Do you ever wonder, as your little darling balks at doing her violin or piano practice again, what all the…
How to win the World Cup
Summer is a difficult time for serious investments — it’s hard to be rational when hot — so why not…
How to win the World Cup
Summer is a difficult time for serious investments — it’s hard to be rational when hot — so why not…
Are we killing investment banking? And if we are, should we care?
Do we really mean to kill investment banking, or are we trampling it by accident in a fit of righteous…
Why Gary Barlow should hang on to his OBE
‘Strip him of his knighthood!’ Or life peerage, or CBE, OBE — or whatever. The cry goes up with a kind…
Scotland’s fate is more important than David Cameron’s
‘It is never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine.’ So wrote P.G.…
My application to be chairman of the BBC
To: Karen Moran, HR Director, BBC Dear Ms Moran, I have decided to give up on the gardening this year,…
Nick Clegg's weird war with a former Gove adviser
We’ve come to expect strange things from coalition government, but the events of the last few days have been particularly…
My tax avoidance tip – win literary prizes!
David Cameron is said to want a woman to be chairman of the BBC Trust, now that Chris Patten has…
A reminder for my Westminster colleagues: Scotland is bigger than David Cameron
‘It is never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine.’ So wrote P.G.…
Should Gary Barlow give back his gong?
‘Strip him of his knighthood!’ Or life peerage, or CBE, OBE — or whatever. The cry goes up with a kind…
Meeting George Osborne at Waterloo
The defence of Hougoumont is one of the great British feats of arms. If the farmhouse had fallen to Bonaparte’s…
It's time for Muslim agitators to stop suing and start debating
Not long after the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich last summer, I wrote a piece in the Daily…
Without Paxman, the BBC will have just one interrogator: John Humphrys
In a double blow for the beleaguered BBC, the corporation has lost three of its most compelling attractions in little…
Being rich makes you mean: here's proof
It’s all the rage these days to worry about the growing gap between rich and poor. Our fretting was fuelled…
