Features
‘No peens in our pond’: the ‘Pond Terfs’ manning Kenwood ladies’ pond
For a century, Kenwood ladies’ pond on Hampstead Heath in north London had been a haven for women – gay,…
Abolishing the care worker visa is a mistake
For years I worked as an NHS manager, seeing first-hand the consequences of Britain’s broken social care system spill over…
Death comes to the Chelsea Flower Show
It’s a matter of life and death at the Chelsea Flower Show this year. No murders are planned as far…
The rich are fleeing – what next?
Keir Starmer is worried about who’s coming into the country. This week, he launched a white paper with the aim…
Leo XIV’s papacy is off to a surprisingly promising start
Rome In the days before the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, traditionalist Catholics were so worried about interference from…
Your state pension is a socialist bribe
Every four weeks the government sends me my state pension. Those words have a socialist, almost Soviet, ring. The amount…
Shabana Mahmood: ‘There’s still a moment of reckoning to come’ on grooming gangs
Shabana Mahmood may be the only Labour politician to have persuaded Rishi Sunak to vote for her. The former prime…
Should gentlemen wear pearls?
There are few phrases more terrifying than ‘men’s fashion’. It reminds me of yuppies in salmon-coloured jorts on their way…
Hunting for the mother of three abandoned babies
Elsa had been alive less than an hour and her umbilical cord was still attached when she was wrapped in…
The Kurds have finally given in to Erdogan
All wars end, one way or another. One of the longest wars in the Middle East, between Turkey and Kurdish…
The conservatism of Thomas the Tank Engine
Ringo Starr is mostly known as the second or third best drummer in the Beatles. But for me – as…
Who stamped out the postal service?
Tried to send a parcel lately? Or a letter? If it involves a trip to a post office, all I…
How to bring down Britain’s power grid
At the end of last month, a fire at an electrical substation in Maida Vale caused chaos in west London.…
Is Poland’s revival a mirage?
In 1988, when I was six months old, my British father and Polish mother took me to meet my family…
How Pakistan’s most powerful man provoked India’s missile attack
From a western perspective, memorising all 114 chapters of the Quran might seem an unusual qualification for a national leader.…
Welcome to Scuzz Nation
Reform’s success in last week’s local elections has been attributed to many causes. Labour’s abolition of the winter fuel payment…
My hunt for the perfect ‘mum van’
I spent my childhood being ferried around in my mom’s minivan, a hunter green Ford Windstar. Compared with most family…
Hell is having house guests
Since we moved into our house in the Cyclades a few years ago, I’ve come to accept that if you…
AI killed the Easter Bunny
On the grounds of advancing age, I had decided to ignore all the chatter about artificial intelligence and devote my…
What does Putin want? Whatever he can get away with
The US general Mark Clark knew a thing or two about dealing with Russians. In the aftermath of the defeat…
The art of a great pub quiz
‘What’s the capital of Albania?’ The correct answer is, of course: ‘Who cares?’ If you’re at a quiz and this…
Chambers of horrors: The radical barristers who really lay down the law in Britain
The facade of Garden Court Chambers in Lincoln’s Inn Fields is reassuringly traditional. The barristers who work there occupy buildings…
The creeping Dubai-ification of London
In December 2023, a TikTok influencer called Maria Vehera opened a packet of ‘Dubai chocolate’ in her car and filmed…
How China bought Britain
Somewhere in the bowels of the Foreign Office, civil servants are still working on the government’s ‘China audit’. The report…
Trump’s big gambles are paying off
‘I run the country and the world,’ said President Donald Trump last week. That’s not really an exaggeration. In our…
