Columnists
I admit it: I enjoyed the Women’s World Cup
I was asked on to the BBC Today programme — my old manor — last week to talk about the…
Re-wilders forget that humans are nature too
‘Life pours back in.’ A score of us, listening to Charlie Burrell at the Knepp estate ten days ago, will…
The Democratic debates are proving to be the perfect advert for Trump
I have plenty of shamefaced company in having rashly predicted, as pundits are warned never to do, that Donald Trump…
The titanic battle between the former Tesco chiefs
How surprising to read one former Tesco chief, 82-year-old Lord MacLaurin, badmouthing another, Sir Terry Leahy. The surprise is because…
The biggest challenge for Boris isn’t this contest – it’s what comes next
Every campaign has a wobble — and Boris Johnson is getting his in early. A mix of complacency (he felt confident…
Why I’m not convinced by Boris
I had never heard of Mark Field until he was suspended for removing, in a commendably vigorous manner, the Greenpeace…
Abandoning stop and search would be abandoning a generation of kids
It was somehow inevitable that shortly after Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick announced a fall in violent crime, there would…
Smart motorways are very stupid
‘An attempted improvement which actually makes things worse.’ The Germans have a name for this — Verschlimmbesserung — and I…
Facebook’s new currency is not to be trusted
Friends of former Barclays chief executive John Varley — I don’t mean ‘people who speak to the media on his…
Boris’s big mistake? Agreeing to the BBC debate
Boris and his team made a mistake by agreeing to take part in Tuesday’s BBC leadership debate. In such decisions,…
When it comes to Trump, don’t count on the polls
New York The great ceremonial game of poll dancing is gearing up for its quadrennial orgy. Headlines across the fruited…
We’ve been Rotherhamed
I think we need a new source of ultimate evil for people taking part in political discussions, because Godwin’s Law…
Why are sensible Tories backing Boris Johnson?
It was when Matt Hancock went over to Boris Johnson that something snapped. ‘Every time a child says “I don’t…
When did calorie counting become offensive?
An author of spoofy, light-hearted mysteries, my friend Ruth Dudley Edwards has had unusual difficulty completing her new novel, Death…
Is Green’s deal with his creditors the beginning of another scandal?
There’s a palpable urge elsewhere in the media to see Sir Philip Green come to grief, whether as a result…
The silliness of ‘serious’ leaders
You would think it would be unarguable that ‘Serious times demand a serious leader’. This, with small verbal variations, is…
An early election is beginning to look inevitable for the next Tory leader
There’s a joke going around the various warring tribes in the Tory leadership contest. They might not win this time,…
Diversity’s valued — unless it’s diversity of opinion
The BBC has advised its journalists not to use the word ‘terror’ or ‘terrorist’ when some bloke blows himself up…
It would be weird if Gove hadn’t taken drugs
Cocaine is an abominable drug, by far the most hateful of all the various uppers and downers and psychoactives because…
Common sense is the real generation gap – just ask John Cleese
As I write these words, I regret to inform you, John Cleese is on his way to being cancelled. Now…
The Woodford saga reminds us that we should never be seduced by star stock-pickers
Hounds are baying for the blood of former star investment manager Neil Woodford, whose shrinking funds have closed for withdrawals.…
My profoundly impractical, unquenchably generous, thoroughly benevolent father
My father Richard, who died last month aged 88, was a profoundly impractical man. He could not drive a car,…
The race for the Tory leadership is as fractured as it is crowded
The remarkable thing about the Tory leadership election is how long it has been coming. When Theresa May blew the…
How to save the Tory party
How do you feel about the standard of political debate in this country? I ask this question at the very…
Internet scammers can fool anyone – including me
Please don’t suppose I’m unaware I’ve been an idiot. I recount what happened to me last week without expecting your…
