Features
Labour must go further and faster in the North Sea
John Healey stood in front of two giant robotic arms this week and promised to ‘make Great Britain Growth Britain…
The Israeli settlements lie
There are few phrases in international affairs repeated with greater confidence or subjected to less scrutiny than ‘illegal Israeli settlements’.…
The death of biblical literacy
We are often told these days, most recently in James Marriott’s much talked about book The New Dark Ages, that…
The fraught world of dinner party presents
‘Oh, why do the middle classes feel they must bring a present?’ Those words were spoken by Lady Charteris when…
Are you ready for Labour’s war on Middle England?
The socioeconomic duty (SED) might not sound sexy but bear with me: this is the tool the Labour party plans…
Can Britain learn from Sweden’s immigration crackdown?
There is a decisive shift occurring in European politics. It’s happening across nations – and parties. It lies behind the…
Is reading really dead?
I get up early and head to Liverpool Street. Meet Isabelle Ralphs and Amy Batley from Hutchinson Heinemann publishers and…
Forget sturgeon caviar – go for lumpfish
Pity the poor lumpfish. It’s lumbered with an unflattering name, or its equally unattractive moniker: ‘Sucker fish.’ It also looks…
How social media ‘clippers’ are shaping politics
When Mel Stride put out a YouTube Short last month, it got zero views. That, surely, is worth repeating: zero…
How much more can British farmers endure?
Lately, for reasons that are far too baroque to go into, my wife and I have been looking at farm…
‘The plan is for the country to fall in love with Nigel again’: Richard Tice on what’s next for Reform
Emulating Donald Trump may be a strategy with diminishing returns in British politics, but Nigel Farage plans to channel the…
The unsaid truth about suicide
Did you know that in the UK September is a month devoted to suicide prevention? And that on the 10th…
Help! My shoes hurt
Last week, aged 26, I bought myself my first pair of shoes. Before now, I have relied on the Magic…
Don’t blame climate change for the Himalayan flash flood
The tragic and terrifying Himalayan flash flood was caused by a chunk of mountain collapsing into a narrow gorge, sending…
‘He’s in prison because he’s not corrupt’: Will Britain stand up for Imran Khan?
Imran Khan is dead. At least he may as well be. Last week, the former England cricket captain Michael Atherton…
King Harald’s death could revolutionise Norway
Affable, unflappable and imposing (he was a 6ft 2in ex-Olympian), the late King Harald of Norway was also blessed with…
Want to get on in society? Read an etiquette guide
A few weeks ago, an Irish Times columnist, Fintan O’Toole, wrote about receiving a copy of a 1930s book of…
Piers Morgan, I’m coming for you
I’m keen on a Plan B. My father, Norman the Knicker King, reared us in trembling terror of ending up…
Revenge of the Blob: good teachers are under siege
Jolyon Maugham has a point. There is a need for an inquiry in the aftermath of Jason Arday’s tragic death.…
The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill only serves the IRA
More British military personnel were killed during the Troubles than in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. As well as soldiers, innocent…
How Ireland succumbed to ‘radical chic’
When a law student from Co. Kildare was stopped this summer on suspicion of transporting a bomb across the Irish…
Jenny Gilruth was my teacher – the bullying claims don’t surprise me
When I heard that a civil service insider had made bullying allegations against Scotland’s deputy first minister, Jenny Gilruth, I…
I’m a grockle and proud
‘How long have they been here?’ ‘Three generations.’ ‘Ah, just grockles, then.’ Exchanges such as this must have taken place…
Tolkien knew the truth about power
One route into the thorny question of J.R.R. Tolkien’s politics comes courtesy of Giorgia Meloni. Scarcely a profile of the…
‘We pretend to teach, they pretend to learn’: the reality of lecturing Chinese students
Shanghaiing, the practice of drugging and kidnapping men on the US West Coast for service on ships bound for China,…
