Columnists
Sweet sorrow: the only grief we mention is that with comfort buried inside it
It was the phrase ‘sad sweet feeling in your heart’ that arrested my attention. But who would have thought it…
When diversity means uniformity
I’d been suffering under the misguided illusion that the purpose of mainstream publishers like Penguin Random House was to sell…
Let’s hope for a better, demerged, RBS when it’s back in private hands
At last the government has restarted the process of selling its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland. A first £2…
The EU should go the way of the British Empire
To understand how the European Union works, and how it doesn’t, it helps to think of it as an empire.…
Could a eurozone crisis benefit Brexit?
Is it better to negotiate with a confident, optimistic European Union or a nervous, fretful one? Even Brexiteers are split…
When will the Tories learn: murdering animals isn’t a vote-winner
Buoyed by its huge popularity in the opinion polls and the fact that it is managing Brexit so well, the…
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s transgender superman
Comics aren’t what they used to be. In 1976 I was 11 — the perfect target audience for probably the…
WH Smith, Britain’s worst high-street retailer, is ripe for disruption
I’m not in the least surprised to learn that WH Smith has been voted Britain’s worst high-street retailer in a…
Michael Gove’s stove ban is a direct attack on country life
Michael Gove wants to punish those who use wood-burning stoves and possibly even open fires. It would be hard to…
Donald Trump’s murky past is catching up with him
Washington, DC It was a petulant Donald Trump who appeared at a White House press briefing on Tuesday with the…
Is Meghan’s wedding our ‘Obama moment’? Let’s hope not
Here’s something to bear in mind over the next few years. Be wary of taking advice on social justice from…
Is ‘woman’ now an offensive word?
I do not know whether the Speaker of the House of Commons called the present Leader of the House a…
I like a fight too much. That’s why I’ll never go on social media
During a dozen years in Belfast I collected a number of political coffee mugs, hailing from both sides of the…
Why Mark Carney’s successor is likely to be woman
If Ben Broadbent’s Daily Telegraph interview last week was the launch of a bid for the governorship of the Bank…
The royals who do best are those who restrain their personalities
The last time we had a royal wedding of comparable dynastic importance (i.e. only a bit important), Prince Andrew married…
We need to stop buying into this ‘divided Britain’ narrative
Amid all the argument in Westminster, everyone can agree on one thing: the country is bitterly divided. The 52:48 divisions…
Turns out life’s not so easy – just look at Ulysses S. Grant
When Winston Churchill was at the nadir of his career, he wrote a biography of his ancestor, the Duke of…
Why this deluded affection for the Palestinians?
The worst entry for this year’s Euro-vision song contest was that vast cater-wauling aboriginal. I can’t remember her name, only…
We might be plunging towards Brexit chaos – but at least everyone has jobs
It’s heartening to see an authentic British entrepreneur heading this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, the industrial-ist Jim Ratcliffe, who…
The Iran deal is a western concession not matched by change on the other side
The point behind the argument about the Iran nuclear deal goes beyond precise nuclear facts. It is like the row…
Brexit is fast becoming a Tory no-win
Theresa May’s Brexit dilemma is becoming more acute. Last week, she failed to garner the support of the Brexit inner…
I suspect that Brexit is driving me mad – but I will not shut up
Rosé wine is, I know, considered naff. Were you unaware of this you’d fast conclude as much from the incidence…
It’s time to get real about gang violence in London
Hey, Londoners — been stabbed or shot yet this week? Just thought I’d check as the place seems to resemble,…
The Irish border is the EU’s problem, not ours
In deference to public exhaustion, I’ve largely avoided Brexit in this slot. But a columnist’s output ought rightly to echo…
It was a hot weekend for takeover deals – and cycling
The bank holiday turned out to be a hot one, not least in the takeover arena. First, Shire Pharmaceutical accepted…
