Columnists
Biden is as big a narcissist as Trump
The dullest assertion you can make about Donald Trump is that he’s a narcissist who has no interest in the…
The Tories have only themselves to blame
I was amused the other week to read George Osborne’s Diary in this magazine. In it the man now in…
Let’s start the new era with a glass of champagne
‘I drink champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad,’ Madame Lily Bollinger (1899-1977) remarked. ‘Sometimes I drink it when…
History will judge Rishi Sunak kindly
Memorably sweeping statements tripping easily from the tongue have a habit of worming their way into assumptions we make and…
‘I have to forge my own path’: Rachel Reeves on her plans for the economy
Outside a café on the outskirts of Reading, Rachel Reeves is listening to the concerns of small-business owners. ‘Something that…
I will miss my vote
I feel as if I first took part in a general election even before I was born. My father was…
Calm down, it’s a joke
I have never been a contributor to Twitter, partly because my comments would not be subjected to the intensive hygiene…
David Tennant’s pride and prejudice
As all non-bigoted readers will know, this is the holy and most ancient month of Pride. The time of year…
Can things only get better under Starmer?
‘We are the masters now,’ I chirrup to my Holborn and St Pancras neighbours – misquoting Labour attorney-general Hartley Shawcross…
What’s the worst that can happen for the Tories?
When Rishi Sunak stunned his cabinet colleagues by calling a snap election, they feared the worst. Fast forward a month…
The problem with flexible working
Lots and lots and lots of fuss about betting on the general election. Less attention is paid to the biggest…
Tory men! Terfs need you
Some of my good male friends, Tories, are sick of terfs. I can see it in their shifty eyes, in…
Milkshake me!
Nine days of campaigning to go and I haven’t been milkshaked yet. I’ve hung out near McDonald’s in the hope…
Cowards run our museums
For some while I have marvelled at the way in which artworks seem to have become the focus of hatred…
Tory voters want to punish their party – and themselves
For progressive onlookers abroad, the Labour landslide now projected next month will seem a cheerful counterweight to the EU parliamentary…
How to lose voters
During the 1983 general election, I campaigned every single day with great zeal and avidity. I knocked on quite literally…
A letter from Odessa
Odessa Our conference here is about Black Sea security, where I am the guest of UK Friends of Ukraine. Its…
Meet Surrey’s ‘M&S movers’
On a street in Camberley, Surrey, a pensioner stands in the doorway, rollers in her hair, staring with some bemusement…
Would you want Nigel Farage to marry your daughter?
The opposite of attraction is repulsion. Political commentary gives too little attention to a party’s (or leader’s) capacity to repel.…
Why should Putin be allowed to keep seized Russian assets?
The seizure of enemy treasure, formerly known as plunder and pillage, is an ancient tool of war. Though still practised…
There’s something very wrong with children’s history books
The first editor I worked for was Charles Moore and, like many of his old and ageing former staff, I…
Nigel Farage is right: the City should not kowtow to Shein
Nigel Farage and I agree on one thing: a red-carpet welcome at the London Stock Exchange for Shein, the Chinese…
What tax rises are Labour planning?
The Tory manifesto is ‘a clear plan’ promising ‘bold action’. Rishi Sunak uses the word ‘bold’ three times in two…
The return of Douglas Alexander
It’s a sunny Friday afternoon in Gullane, an affluent seaside town on the Firth of Forth. For political campaigners, golden…
Why Britain isn’t following Europe rightwards
My father was fond of telling anyone who would listen that Britain would never entertain fascism because we all had…
