Features
In China’s new surveillance state, everyone will be watched, reviewed and rated
The bullet train from Beijing to Shanghai is the fastest in the world. It takes just over four hours to…
Social credit is just one part of China’s new state control
Chairman Mao talked of ‘three magic weapons’ for seizing power: the united front, the armed struggle and construction of the…
My one-night stand-up hell
At 8.45 p.m. I was back in the toilets again feeling pure terror. In front of me was a narrow…
How BlackRock became a sanctuary for clean-cut bankers and dormant politicians
A few months ago, an aggressive US pressure group called the Campaign for Accountability declared that it had a new…
The Ivy League’s dirty secret
New York There comes a point in a New York expat’s life when you suddenly realise that the liberal elites…
When does a murderer become a madman?
There was no reason for Edward Drummond to believe this January day was going to be different to any other…
The Roman road that came to define Britain
All roads lead to Rome, the saying goes. Well, all roads except for the Roman road of Watling Street, which…
Brexit is served – and neither option is palatable
When the Lisbon Treaty was signed in 2007, the inclusion of Article 50 was hailed as a concession to British…
Decline and fall: why America always thinks it’s going the way of Rome
For a millennium and a half now, one of the great pleasures of being a commentator on current affairs has…
Standing in front of my great-uncle’s grave, we thought: I’m so sorry it took us so long
The story is part of family lore. How, during the Battle of Mons, on 23 August 1914, two long columns…
Everything is now an Instagram photo op
On Sunday morning, in Puy-en-Velay, I climbed the 275 volcanic steps to the tiny chapel of Rocher Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe. There,…
Is Emmanuel Macron having a meltdown?
Emmanuel Macron was elated when France won the World Cup in July. The photograph of him leaping out of his…
The National Student Survey is having a terrible effect on academia
Should university students really feel ‘satisfied’? Or would we rather they felt challenged? For the honchos of higher education, the…
The guilty pleasure of the McDonald’s drive-thru
My wife and I have a set routine after landing back at Gatwick. We collect our bags, clear customs and…
Angela Merkel is on her way out – and so is her vision for the EU
Whatever anyone’s views on the enterprise, there was one question always begging to be asked of the European Union: ‘What…
How WhatsApp stops the Tory plotters plotting
How to explain Theresa May’s resilience? As Prime Minister, she has survived mishaps and calamities that would have finished off…
Trump’s anti-Iran vendetta is starting to backfire
It says something about the level of political discourse in America that Donald Trump decided to trumpet sanctions on Iran…
The loan charge scandal: the Treasury U-turn destroying the lives of hardworking families
You probably haven’t heard of the loan charge. I hadn’t until a couple of months ago, when I told listeners…
Fight for your right to forage!
Autumn’s wild bounty is a cause for celebration across the Continent. In France and Germany, people rush into the woods,…
The Dengie Hundred
J. A. Baker, an arthritic and short-sighted birdwatcher from Chelmsford, compared the British wilderness to ‘the goaded bull at bay,…
When Donald Trump goes low, the Democrats go lower
Washington, DC As if American politics were not scary enough, the prospect of President Hillary Rodham Clinton has once again…
The death of American civility
My father, an avowed liberal, taught me old-school manners: hold the door and give up your seat for ladies; stand…
Homage to Ambazonia: The battle over language has begun in Cameroon
Calabar, Nigeria Simon Ngwa is a gentle and polite man, and he apologised to me first for what he was…
Turkey vs Saudi: the real story behind Khashoggi’s murder
Istanbul In another time, in another place, we might never have known about the death of Jamal Khashoggi. In a…
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Cartoons
Why journalists should boycott the Comment Awards
Nick Cohen 3 November 2018 9:00 am
Shortly before his death, the Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm wrote that capitalism crushed the integrity of artists and intellectuals. Assessed…