Features
A new tune: Boris Johnson on his plan to unite Britain
‘I’m going to stick ruthlessly to script,’ says Boris Johnson. ‘This is not the stage of the campaign when you…
Oppidans vs scholars: a guide to the social politics of Eton
Every prime minister is a sociologist. Theresa May drew a distinction between citizens of somewhere and ‘citizens of nowhere’, a…
Single women are happier – here’s why
As I get older I find the idea of wanting to be in a couple more and more bizarre. I’m…
What Sir Ivan Rogers gets wrong about Brexit
When so much of the Brexit debate has consisted of slogans and unexamined assertions (‘cliff edges’, ‘crashing out’ and the…
China’s surveillance technology is terrifying – and on show in London
I was recently treated to a small taste of the real China. It was in the incongruous setting of a…
The Saracenic darkness of Sicily – the place where Europe ends
Northern Italians often speak of Sicily as a Saracenic darkness — the place where Europe ends. The Arabic influence remains…
The forgotten joy of soap
Is there any invention as ancient and as fundamental as soap? Traced to Babylonian civilisation around 2,800 bc (handy for…
Trump vs Xi: the new Cold War is hotting up
It will be all smiles when Donald Trump meets President Xi Jinping this week in Osaka at the annual meeting…
Max Hastings vs Boris Johnson: I know who I’d trust more
Sir Max Hastings, whom I engaged as editor of the Daily Telegraph in 1986 and who stayed in that role…
I once fell for Boris’s charm – I won’t make the same mistake again
Someone should write a guide to the best literary festivals. Sydney and Auckland would certainly be there, along with Sri…
Revealed: Boko Haram’s child army
In the rush to declare Isis dead now that its caliphate has been routed from Iraq and Syria, it’s easy…
Forget Boris. What about Jeremy Corbyn’s womanising?
He has been married several times, has a way with the ladies and always seems to land on his feet…
The end is nigh: the rise of middle-class apocalypticism
There’s a lot of anger about — and it’s not pleasant. But at least it means people are engaged as…
Is your doctor faking it?
Last October, Phil Coleman, a journalist on the Carlisle-based News & Star, went to cover the trial of Zholia Alemi,…
Why croquet beats cricket
People say cricket is the quintessential English game. Those people are wrong. Cricket may have a longer pedigree, but it’s…
Enter Boris: what his premiership will look like
Quietly and discreetly, the planning for Boris Johnson’s premiership has begun. No one wants to be seen measuring the curtains,…
Are you suffering from Boris Derangement Syndrome?
I switched on the radio last week and caught the tail end of a discussion about the Conservative leadership election.…
The brutality of the Isis Beatles
Beirut Television cameras get everywhere these days. Or maybe that was always true. Gore Vidal, the grand old man of…
What I’ve learned from 20 years without a TV
In the summer of 1999 I did something radical. Spurred on by my husband’s universal loathing of television I took…
The Pope is wrong to change the Lord’s Prayer
Is the pope a Catholic? You have to wonder. In the old days, a pope’s remit was modest: infallible, but…
Living on Pitcairn showed me that island life is no paradise
Islands have a special appeal. We imagine that on an island we’ll somehow ‘get away from it all’. In the…
What I learned from piercing ears at Claire’s Accessories
I was 17, studying for my A-levels in Great Yarmouth. Looking to defy my parents’ instruction to get a part-time…
Greenwashed: The strange triumph of eco-Toryism
Even before the government this week announced a legally binding target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by…
The Hong Kong protests have echoes of Tiananmen
Whatever the authorities in Beijing say, the anger on the streets of Hong Kong isn’t synthetic, nor is it stirred…
