Features
Will assisted dying become a cover for abuse?
Every year, thousands of stories of abuse pour into Compassion in Care, a charity that supports whistleblowers in the care…
The myth of the outsider
The job of radio critic for the Tablet offers several perquisites. One of them is access to the BBC previews…
Winston, Windsor and ‘private time’: inside Trump’s state visit
The first time Donald Trump was on an official visit to the UK, in July 2018, he was deep in…
Julie Burchill, remembered
When I was told that a newspaper had asked someone to write my obituary, my first instinct was excitement. I’m…
The comeback of George III
We no longer correct ourselves as we sing the first line of the national anthem. ‘Prince of Wales’ no longer…
The wild world of the ‘Ozempic safari’
Safari log: 3.56 p.m. and the Land Rover is parked up on the savannah. Inside, we wear dark glasses and…
Autism isn’t a ‘superpower’
A very warm welcome for Margaret Thatcher inside autism’s ever-growing tent – if she can find space to wield her…
Mandelson’s Epstein problem is not going away
When King Charles hosts Donald Trump for the state banquet at Windsor Castle next week, the dignitaries should know better…
Ukraine’s Foreign Legion was doomed from the start
It seems that people would rather fight for a death cult than a democracy. At most, 15,000 foreigners have fought…
How volunteer groups are taking the place of our absent police
Chris Hargreaves used to be a wellness coach with a promising future in reality television. In 2023, he starred in…
The lunacy of emotional support animals
Naturally, the start of the new school year is often stressful for pupils. Perhaps those anxious children returning to their…
The glorious campness of Reform
It’s a very serious and rancorous time in Britain. Social strife is simmering. The asylum system is at breaking point.…
Is the British Council really a ‘nest of espionage’?
I worked for nearly a decade at the British Council in East Asia. Every day, under the guise of teaching…
Robert Jenrick: ‘Asylum seekers should be detained in camps’
On a table in Robert Jenrick’s parliamentary office lies the first part of Ronald Hutton’s biography of Oliver Cromwell, a…
The discombobulating delight of made-up languages
I wasn’t supposed to understand Potato language. It was my parents’ speech device employed when wishing to discuss certain apparently…
Denmark’s ‘spiritual rearmament’ is a lesson for the West
Something unusual is happening in Denmark – and other countries across Europe, including Britain, ought to pay attention. This spring,…
There’s nothing ironic about civilisation
A recent photograph on a BBC website startled me. It was of hundreds of books thrown out of a former…
Wanted: a flatmate for the Pope
Pope Leo XIV has announced, though not in the form of a bull, that he will be sharing the Apostolic…
The painful truth about foster care
The foster care system in this country is collapsing. There are roughly 80,000 children who’ve been removed from violent or…
Britain is having its own gilets jaunes moment
‘I heard you want your country back. Ha, shut the fuck up!’ So yelped rap-punk duo Bob Vylan on stage…
The human stories of slavery
With a new history of slavery and the slave trade in the Islamic world just published, I am under strict…
America’s obsession with British decline
As Sigmund Freud pointed out way back in 1905, everyone feels a bit schizo about Mum. On the one hand,…
Phone-addicted yummy mummies are neglecting their children
As a foster carer and an adopter, I know what neglect looks like. I’ve looked after children who didn’t know…
The coming crash: the markets have had enough
‘The problems of financing our deficits have seriously hampered progress in achieving our goals,’ wrote Labour’s chancellor Denis Healey in…
The unsettling rise of DeathTok
For teenage girls on TikTok, the makeup routine is an almost sacred ritual. Manicured fingertips dart around at virtuosic speed,…
