Features
Nightmare on Downing Street: what could happen on Friday 13th?
Radicalism does not usually work out well for the Labour party. Michael Foot fought the 1983 general election on a…
What the Tories don’t understand about Corbyn voters
Until recently, the Tories seemed pretty confident about next week’s election. Despite spending three and a half years blundering over…
‘Corbyn is led by ideology, I’m led by economics’: Sajid Javid’s spending plan
If Boris Johnson wins next week, it will be on a manifesto of change. He will not deliver the fourth…
Viral videos, not leaders’ debates, could decide this election
You might well expect the final election debate, Johnson vs Corbyn head-to-head on primetime BBC, to provide the most watched…
‘You either are panto, or you aren’t’: Christopher Biggins on his favourite time of year
Christopher Biggins has managed to bag some of the nation’s favourite TV characters over the years: Lukewarm in Porridge and…
This election will change Britain – and Europe – for good
This election campaign feels unreal. Commentators focus on spending plans and personal foibles, but what will make next week’s vote…
It’s possible to talk to children about politics without leading them in one direction
My six-year-old son announced, from the back of the car, that he was backing Boris Johnson. My wife, who’s voting…
Our tree-planting obsession may do more harm than good
‘Four beef burgers is the same as flying to New York and back! FOUR BURGERS!’ When I arrived at the…
The unwritten rules of sending Christmas cards
No one sends Christmas cards any more. Except that I do, and you might, and a few other people do…
‘Austerity was not the way forward’: An interview with Boris Johnson
Only once in the post-war era has a British political party won a fourth term in office, but that is…
Allegations of anti-Semitism are damaging to Labour, but not toxic
Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi, was right to take the unprecedented action of denouncing Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour for endemic anti-Jewish…
Wisdom of the ages: we must keep listening to the elderly
My beloved grandmother died at 90, and my mother at 89, after having Alzheimer’s for 11 years. So I am…
Trump’s visit couldn’t come at a worse time – for Boris and for Nato
In the next few days, on 3 and 4 December, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host a grand international conference…
The rise – and disastrous fall – of the kibbutz
Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell are part of a breed of socialists who argue that this time will be different.…
‘For the Jenni, not the few’: the anti-Boris attack line Labour missed
If the age of deference were still with us, the mortuary tag has now been tied to its toe following…
‘My wife sends me sleep bubbles’: The extraordinary world of Pete Townshend
When most rock stars have trouble sleeping, they fall back on Valium, temazepam, heroin or Jack Daniel’s. But Pete Townshend,…
The big burly blokes who make infinitely precise pointe shoes by hand
Pauline, Petrova or Posy? Which Fossil sister are you? Or, rather, which Fossil sister did you hope to be when…
Remain’s last stand: the collapse of the anti-Brexit campaign
Ever since the referendum, the two strongest political forces in Britain have been Leave and Remain. Loyalty to political parties…
How a PR guru hijacked the People’s Vote campaign
I have enough self-awareness to know that the public are unlikely to care too much about a spat between a…
Hare coursing gangs are terrorising the countryside
If you’re driving at dawn or at dusk in the countryside at this time of year, you might well see…
Venice needs Venexit
Some of Venice’s problems are well known: the challenge of conserving her famous buildings, the dangers of poorly managed mass…
Iceland’s melting glaciers are nothing to panic about
Is Iceland on the global warming front line? You’d be forgiven for thinking so. We’ve all seen the documentaries where…
‘Instapoetry’ may be popular, but most of it is terrible
Poetry is on a hot streak. Last year, sales in the UK topped £12 million for the first time —…
Starling murmurations are a display more dazzling than fireworks
It’s late afternoon in the car park of Workington Asda. A little crowd is gathering in one corner, most of…
Can Nigel Farage take the Tories to victory?
Despite the consistent poll lead and projections of a majority of about 40 seats, the Tories are still nervous. They…
