Features
Theresa May has been given a second chance to save Brexit. She’d better not blow it
Theresa May will soon arrive in Brussels with a series of unlikely demands. She must tell the European Union that…
Europe still thinks Britain will come out worse from Brexit. Bless
In Paris in December, I sat with a journalist friend in a café on the Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui and listened to…
Fear and foie gras: a Caracas notebook
A man stopped me in the street in Caracas and grabbed my hand. I was alarmed, but tried not to…
The massive NHS plan to record every single person’s DNA
‘Gene test for sale on NHS,’ blared the headlines last weekend, sparking some anxiety and confusion. The story is that…
I’ve had enough of induction hobs — and I know I’m not the only one
It was a close-run thing for my friend who’s having a new kitchen installed in her house in Chiswick. After…
Addicts love talking about their addiction – but haven’t we suffered enough?
I have always found the parable of the Prodigal Son sickeningly unfair, and I felt this again while driving a…
True crime has never been more popular, but it often forgets the families left behind
I’ve talked to Denise Horvath-Allan more than my own mother this year. Denise’s son Charles went missing while backpacking in…
The big difference between a pile of stones and Piles of Stones
There are piles of stones and then there are piles of stones. Anyone can place one rock upon another, but…
The war on meat has begun – and vegans are winning comfortably
As January — the month of penitence and tax returns — grinds towards its close, it would be foolish to…
Looking for a guilt-free vegetable? Good luck with that
Last week’s Lancet report and its ‘planetary health diet’ of next to no red meat will have bolstered the egos…
Britain has fallen out of love with Italy – as have the Italians
On reading recently that Italian is the fastest disappearing language in America, my thoughts were mixed. I felt fleeting sorrow…
Mugabe mark II: Why Mnangagwa’s rule in Zimbabwe may not last very long
Ten days ago, Zimbabwe’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, hiked the price of petrol by 250 per cent, making it the most…
Justin Welby: Catholic or Protestant – who cares?
Justin Welby is working in Thomas Cranmer’s old study in Lambeth Palace, a room that looks as if it hasn’t…
Davos diary: A party conference for the guilty rich
Somehow I had managed more than a quarter of a century in journalism without ever going to Davos. It had…
Britain might run out of top-class judges
When I was called to the Bar in 1967, the aim was to be appointed as a judge to the…
In Constable’s ascension, Jesus just looks quite awkward
Constable painted only three religious paintings, and when you see the one in St Mary’s Church in Dedham you realise…
Taking back control: parliament’s plan for Brexit
Straight after the government’s epic defeat in the House of Commons on Tuesday night, the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, the Business…
Nick Boles’s plan is certainly crazy. But it just might work
At first, it seems fanciful. A backbench MP, Nick Boles, proposes to take power away from the government and place…
The truth about Trump’s shutdown? It’s not as bad as people make out
Washington, DC Washington is supposed to be recession-proof: when times are bad, the government just hires more. But the city…
The dangers of ‘neurodiversity’: why do people want to stop a cure for autism being found?
I’m an American man affected by the disability autism. As a child, I went to special education schools for eight…
If you’ve got taste, you don’t look at Instagram to decorate your home
You can tell something about national character from the way a country clears its cupboards. In the States they have…
Pirates of the Caribbean: How Venezuela’s near collapse is causing a crisis on the seas
Brian Austin, a fisherman from the small village of Cedros in Trinidad, is struggling to describe the men who robbed…
People who don’t live in council houses can’t see the appeal. Let me explain
On turning 50, I realised I’d never own my own home. What bank would agree to give a mortgage to…
In praise of Booths, the north’s answer to Waitrose
If you mention the word ‘Booths’ anywhere south of Knutsford, you will usually be met with a blank expression, followed…
Project Fact: how scared should we really be of a no deal?
Food shortages, diabetics going without insulin, outbreaks of salmonella and swine flu: a no-deal Brexit has become a dystopia of…
