Features
It’s not just hooligans – hipsters also love a football shirt
When I was young, from about the age of nine to 13, I went through what my parents recall with…
There’s no deal – so what next?
There will be no last-minute deal. The talks between the UK and the EU have effectively broken down. It isn’t…
The commercialisation of shooting may kill the whole sport
A few years ago I was sitting on the sofa at Sandringham enjoying a ham sandwich with the Queen’s then-head…
Germany’s ailing economy can’t afford a no-deal Brexit
The UK was the ‘sick man’ when we ‘joined Europe’ in 1973. Now, with Britain on the cusp of leaving,…
Could this self-made billionaire become France’s first Muslim president?
The French writer Michel Houellebecq has a disconcerting habit of correctly predicting unsettling events. In 2001 in Plateforme he predicted…
Why do we keep pretending that children are wiser than adults?
We’ve begun to behave as if young people are special; more virtuous and wiser than adults. It’s wrong and it’s…
To solve Britain’s social care crisis, follow the Dutch example
More than a decade ago, four Dutch nurses decided something needed to be done about their country’s care in the…
The lessons I learned at my Oxford gaudy
I went to a gaudy last weekend. Several British universities now host these splendid events; mine was at Worcester College,…
The death of civilised debate
Today nearly all real public discussion has become impossible. Which is why nearly all public thinking has become impossible. Which…
For political discourse to survive, we must be more honest about language
When I was an English literature undergraduate, we were all very careful to avoid what used to be called the…
Paul Dacre: Do I regret the ‘Enemies of the people’ front page? Hell no!
So what to make of the extreme language, veering from the histrionic to the hysterical, dominating political discourse? The words…
Young recycling zealots are talking rubbish
Church attendances may be falling, but there’s a new religion in town: recycling. Its followers are devout and full of…
‘It wasn’t the Russian people who poisoned Skripal, it was just a few guys’: Alexander Lebedev interviewed
Who wants to be a billionaire? Not, apparently, Alexander Lebedev, the self-described ‘Russian ex-oligarch’ who has tried billionaredom and found…
The men I’ve groped (including Boris)
Charlotte Edwardes reports that Boris put his hand on her leg during lunch 20 years ago. Full disclosure, I put…
Brexit grifters are making a killing selling useless advice
Over the past three years, as we have torturously debated our departure from the European Union, we have heard a…
Small but perfectly formed: The Romney and Hythe Railway
‘The smallest public railway in the world.’ So proclaims a faded poster at New Romney Station, the midpoint of the…
There is only one law: there must be no Brexit
You’re surprised? Really? What are you surprised by? The specifics — that 11 non-elected, mostly public-school-educated judges, and doubtlessly Remainers…
The torture chamber: how opposition MPs plan to humiliate Boris
When Jeremy Corbyn declared at Labour conference that his party would only allow an election once no deal had been…
Paul Embery: Labour is too much Hampstead, not enough Hartlepool
Arrived in Remain-on-sea (also known as Brighton) for Labour party conference. As an old-fashioned trade unionist hailing from a working-class…
Why try to impeach Donald Trump?
Democrats have long criticized Donald Trump for his addiction to Twitter, his rolling-news attention span, the backlit narcissism of his…
‘Cameron was a bloody good prime minister’: Michael Gove interviewed
Michael Gove stands in front of an empty throne in the magnificent Cabinet Office room. George III was the last…
Cast off: how knitters turned nasty
At first glance, Nathan Taylor might seem the very definition of a ‘right on’ hipster. He goes by the name…
Why do we write dedications in books?
When my siblings and I were clearing out my dad’s bookshelves (he died earlier this year), I made sure to…
Justin Trudeau is not a racist – but he is a fool
The election campaign was off to an unexciting start even by Canada’s standards. A well-known but fluffy incumbent, Liberal Justin…
The alliance between America and Saudi Arabia is over
The oil-for-security alliance between the US and Saudi Arabia, forged in 1945 when Franklin D. Roosevelt met King Abdul Aziz…
