Features
Life in a gulag
I was invited to Moscow earlier this year to give a talk about my latest book. But while I was…
Red Theresa
Never has the Conservative party been more confident about winning a general election. Theresa May’s popularity ratings have broken all…
More gas, less wind
The Global Wind Energy Council recently released its latest report, excitedly boasting that ‘the proliferation of wind energy into the…
Found in translation
Buririggu deshita. Suraibi tōbu Wēbu de gairu to gimburu shite, Nante mimuji na borogōbu, Mōmu rassu autoguraibimashita ne. If this…
Mother Theresa
Tory activists last week were heard to refer to Mrs May as ‘Mummy’. No Corbynista calls their hero ‘Dad’. The…
Stand up for Arsène
I had 20 good years supporting Manchester United but now I follow Arsenal, and I find the treatment of the…
Libya’s best hope
We were in a detention centre for migrants in Tripoli and we came to a big locked door. It was…
Kaspar the Savoy cat
How to solve the problem of an unlucky 13 people at dinner? Developing a rational mind is the obvious answer,…
Made in Windsor
It’s a summer of change for the House of Windsor — out with the old, in with the young. The…
Scafell Pike
Within a couple of miles of England’s deepest point is its highest. Towering a kilometre above the hidden depths of…
Is Le Pen really ‘far-right’?
What is ‘far-right’? With the progress of Marine Le Pen to France’s presidential run-off, the term has been liberally used…
At the cutting edge
There’s a graveyard inside Henry Marsh’s head, though you’d never guess it to look at him. There he sits in…
Divided they stand
New York As the malevolence and incoherence of the Trump administration continue to amaze, Democrats are taking heart from the…
Moths vs the middle classes
It’s not the free movement of people I spend my nights fretting about; it’s the free movement of pests. It’s…
Liberté, egalité, supériorité
The French election, of unprecedented interest, hazard and potential for violence, has been largely about who is to blame. Blame…
Ruth, Queen of Scots
Twenty years ago, Conservatism all but died in Scotland. Tony Blair’s landslide victory made Scotland, at least in terms of…
Notebook
I’m an unashamed Archers fan. But for the first time in 50 years I’m exasperated by the storyline. A fortnight…
Ruislip Lido
Most mornings, if I’m not too hung-over, I go for a run around Ruislip Lido — a mile there, through…
Is boarding school cruel?
Yes Alex Renton Last week some 20,000 children under the age of 14 packed their bags to return to boarding…
Trump’s Brit
Sebastian Gorka is a big man. He has a powerful handshake, a deep voice, and a serious goatee. He’s also…
Do do God
This election was won two days before it was announced, on Easter Sunday. Theresa May put out an Easter message…
A little too perfect
Emmanuel Macron is going to be the next president of France. I know people are saying Marine Le Pen isn’t…
What’s the matter with Macron?
Coming out of a celebratory dinner at a Montparnasse brasserie after topping the poll in the first round of the…
The madness of price caps
Better access to education. Tax cuts for anyone in the struggling middle. More affordable homes, and more money for the…
The lords of poverty
Kenya I met Dr Tom Catena in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains — the site of an African war and famine few…
