Features
Israel says it’s ready for another war
According to my phone, I’m in Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport. Except I’m not. The Israel Defence Forces have scrambled the…
Gins in tins – the Yummy Mummy’s ruin
I’m writing this in my car, laptop on knees and a delicious can of Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla gin and…
Does Keir Starmer’s atheism matter?
Good Friday, 2021, at Jesus House For All Nations church in Brent, north-west London. Face masked, head bowed, hands clasped,…
It’s payback time for voters
It won’t be much comfort to Rishi Sunak, but he’s not the only world leader being put to the electoral…
What the National Rally means for France’s foreign policy
The electoral turmoil in France threatens its status as a world power. Friendly nations are despairing; rivals and enemies are…
Jill Biden’s relentless pursuit of power
At rallies, Joe Biden often speaks after his wife. ‘My name is Joe Biden and I’m Jill’s husband,’ he begins.…
Childcare is mothercare
When I was a small child, my mother left me in the charge of an elderly neighbour so that she…
The Orban acolyte who became his fiercest critic
All sorts of people are grateful to Peter Magyar for bounding into the arena of Hungarian public life. Journalists, chiefly.…
The youth vote is turning right
Young people are supposed to drink a ton, have a lot of sex, hang out with their friends at every…
My garden decor advice for Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson has three lifesize, carved wooden elephants in his garden, given to him by his wife for his 60th…
The day I met a sun priest
Palomino, Colombia I’m in a truly wonderful place: the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It’s got more bird species than most…
Putin is trying to annexe people, not just land
On 1 September 2021, six months before his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin was speaking at the All-Russian Children’s…
How Nigel Farage became the left’s greatest weapon
Nigel Farage is about to turn British politics upside-down for a third time. His Ukip insurgency forced the Tories to…
Can independent candidates pose a threat to Labour?
Nigel Farage says that Britain is ready for a ‘revolt’, and he’s not the only candidate in this election committed…
France’s ‘Somewheres’ want revenge
The builder who has been working on my house in Burgundy will be voting for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally…
My return to Ukraine
I arrive at Lviv station just before 9 a.m. As the clock strikes, the conductor announces a minute’s silence: a daily…
How body cams create a culture of fear
Thanks to an underage relative who’d stolen my driving licence, I recently found myself ID-less at the local Co-op. I…
England’s hooligan days are over
In downtown Düsseldorf, a district known as ‘the longest bar in the world’, hordes of happy England fans belted out…
The grubby world of political betting
If you’re going to fleece a bookies, it would be wise to ask a friend to place the bet on…
Don’t outlaw ‘Islamophobia’
‘One of the things that’s coming up over and over again is Islamophobia,’ says Keir Starmer in a campaign video,…
How Keir Starmer plans to rule through the courts
Never mind Labour’s promise not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT – the party will soon be jacking…
Whoever you vote for, the Blob wins
At the age of 66 I feel like a first-time voter. As a member of the House of Lords, I…
Why we love to be baffled
So much of life is a search for answers. How to get ahead, how to earn more money, how to…
Zelensky’s peace summit flop
Ukraine’s allies are running out of patience
Who dictates how we see the past?
Three weeks ago, I received an SOS from a distressed citizen of Glasgow, urging me to protest against a recently…
