Columnists
The BBC’s biggest problem
As I write this, the director-general of the BBC is being quizzed on the corporation’s future by people who were…
Canada’s lovely, liberal solution
My favourite Martin Amis novel was his 1991 book Time’s Arrow. It is a pyrotechnically brilliant work in which all…
‘There is no plan! You’re on your own!’
The first LNER train I booked on Sunday from Durham to London was cancelled due to ‘action short of a…
Reasons to be cheerful? Yes, I think I see some
‘Always be cheerful’ – a motto to which I’ll return in the final item – speaks to my natural demeanour.…
Labour vs the unions
The Labour party is preparing for power and the unions are deciding what role they might play. Friend or foe?…
The BBC is self-destructing
There are still 27 people left in the British Isles – at the time of writing – who are unaware…
Don’t write off Rishi
Were I sure this was about me alone, I’d hardly bother to mention it: but I may be typical of…
The high price of public service
The news has been coming so thick and fast of late that every week there are dozens of stories we…
Heritable guilt is in vogue
I made a poor excuse for a Presbyterian even as a kid. I resented religious indoctrination every precious school-free Sunday.…
National health disservice
It’s a rare occasion that sees politicians put aside their feuds and rivalries to gather together at Westminster Abbey. These…
French racism is not the problem
Last week we learned that a woman in a park in Skegness was dragged into the bushes and raped by…
A narcissist eyes up the White House
Back in the late 1990s, when I lived in Dallas, Texas, I became fascinated by television evangelists. They were hucksters…
Reshuffle season
Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak have something in common: both men are under pressure to reshuffle their front benches and…
The myth of intersectional politics
A few years ago I mentioned the profusion of moaning women on BBC Radio 4, after a longish car journey…
The unspeakable truth about housing
Earlier this year I was a panellist for Any Questions, and a young man in the audience asked what could…
Our God complex
Pantomime is meant to be silly and perhaps superficial, but fun. One does not (for example) join an audience for…
No country for young men
One of the most reliable standards in international comedy has long been the outstanding ineloquence of American politicians. In this…
Can Labour win back Scotland?
When the political cabinet met on Tuesday, by-elections were on the agenda. The Prime Minister is facing four of them.…
The trouble with teachers
A teacher once told me that he couldn’t stand Pakistanis ‘because of the smell’. I was 13 at the time…
The diversity trap
If anyone reading this ever bought shares in the diversity racket, then I would suggest you start dumping them now.…
