Features
Confessions of a defecting Starmtrooper
Next month, Keir Starmer is expected to lead his party to victory in the local elections. The Tories are forecast…
The Lebanese always return home
Beirut You might have thought that the threat of the Gaza war spiralling into an all-out regional conflagration, along with…
The dangers of political prosecution
At the start of January, Donald Trump offered up a cheery new year message for Americans. ‘If I don’t get…
Kippers could save your life
I miss kippers. My wife won’t let me eat them at home, and they have become a rarity in restaurants.…
The truth about ‘boardroom diversity’
We all know that increasing the diversity of your boardroom increases the success of your company because politicians, business leaders…
The abortion debate returns
I don’t like talking about abortion and so rarely do. I have never written about it before. I am uncomfortable…
I want to see a doctor – not do another NHS survey
Nye Bevan did not make old bones, and perhaps that’s just as well. According to a recent British Social Attitudes…
Will Biden support Ukraine’s attacks on Russia?
This time last year, Volodymyr Zelensky was touring western capitals, calling for weapons and money to launch a decisive summer…
Macron vs Putin: this summer’s Olympic battle
Dixmont, Yonne Last summer, Emmanuel Macron lashed out at France’s constitution because it prevents him from running for a third…
Women don’t want women-only clubs
In my experience, men offer this infuriating comeback when challenged about the continuing exclusion of women from clubs such as…
Farewell, Voyager 1
Some time soon we will have to say farewell to our most distant emissary – the Voyager 1 spacecraft. After…
City folk go wild for wild garlic
For a certain type of Barbour-clad middle-aged man, the best time of year is late summer, and the arrival of…
Why I’ll never own a pair of jeans
North Korea has a problem with Alan Titchmarsh’s crotch. Last week a 2010 episode of Garden Secrets was aired on…
What a super-majority means for Labour
When the last Tory government fell, the famous question after election night was: ‘Were you up for Portillo?’ Were you…
Can Starmer control 450 unruly MPs?
It doesn’t matter how loyal a candidate is. Once elected, all MPs (to a greater or lesser extent) conclude they…
Joe Biden is running out of time in the Middle East
Jerusalem The idea of a Saudi-Israel rapprochement would have been unthinkable not so long ago, and yet, shortly before the…
The ‘luxury beliefs’ that harm vulnerable children
Now that everyone insists that the oppressed must be lifted up – or platformed, if you’re that way inclined: why…
Babies with Down’s syndrome have a right to be born
Many of us remember at least one morning in our childhoods when fate threw us some unexpected twist and we…
Teenagers are fuelling Sweden’s gun crisis
Stockholm There were 149 bomb attacks in Sweden last year. Though warring gangs are for the most part responsible, ordinary…
Even pilgrims are staying away from Jerusalem
Israel has a new train line: 25 minutes from Ben Gurion airport to Jerusalem. The Christian pilgrims would love it…
Stop worrying if your child is a picky eater
One parent in our class WhatsApp chat raised a pressing concern: her daughter was coming home every day with a…
A.A. Milne and the torturous task of writing
For those of us lucky enough to have been regular contributors to Punch magazine, April is a slightly crueller month…
How Ukraine plans to revive its birth rate
In my village in Ukraine, there aren’t many families left intact. The funerals of those who have been killed in…
Why I’m fighting to ban smartphones for children
I am not often lost for words, but the five middle-aged homeless men who spoke at the Big Issue celebration…
