Features
Brexit grifters are making a killing selling useless advice
Over the past three years, as we have torturously debated our departure from the European Union, we have heard a…
Small but perfectly formed: The Romney and Hythe Railway
‘The smallest public railway in the world.’ So proclaims a faded poster at New Romney Station, the midpoint of the…
There is only one law: there must be no Brexit
You’re surprised? Really? What are you surprised by? The specifics — that 11 non-elected, mostly public-school-educated judges, and doubtlessly Remainers…
The torture chamber: how opposition MPs plan to humiliate Boris
When Jeremy Corbyn declared at Labour conference that his party would only allow an election once no deal had been…
Paul Embery: Labour is too much Hampstead, not enough Hartlepool
Arrived in Remain-on-sea (also known as Brighton) for Labour party conference. As an old-fashioned trade unionist hailing from a working-class…
Why try to impeach Donald Trump?
Democrats have long criticized Donald Trump for his addiction to Twitter, his rolling-news attention span, the backlit narcissism of his…
‘Cameron was a bloody good prime minister’: Michael Gove interviewed
Michael Gove stands in front of an empty throne in the magnificent Cabinet Office room. George III was the last…
Cast off: how knitters turned nasty
At first glance, Nathan Taylor might seem the very definition of a ‘right on’ hipster. He goes by the name…
Why do we write dedications in books?
When my siblings and I were clearing out my dad’s bookshelves (he died earlier this year), I made sure to…
Justin Trudeau is not a racist – but he is a fool
The election campaign was off to an unexciting start even by Canada’s standards. A well-known but fluffy incumbent, Liberal Justin…
The alliance between America and Saudi Arabia is over
The oil-for-security alliance between the US and Saudi Arabia, forged in 1945 when Franklin D. Roosevelt met King Abdul Aziz…
We have the French Revolution to thank for Ordnance Survey maps
You could say it started because of the French. The turmoil caused by their revolution got the British military worried…
Judgment day: the danger of courts taking over politics
Who runs Britain? When Boris Johnson’s lawyers made their case in front of the Supreme Court this week, defending his…
How to stop drones
Drones have come of age in the war on terror. When the United States and Britain invaded Afghanistan in 2001,…
I’m sorry because I failed: An interview with David Cameron
‘How have you been?’ David Cameron asks, bounding up to meet me. Fine, I say, then make the mistake of…
I was a Remainer – but I now want no deal
When I told two neighbours that I had become a no-deal Brexiter they physically recoiled from me. ‘You can’t.’ ‘But…
How to live life like a drunk
Since I’m not an alcoholic, recovering or otherwise, I don’t belong to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) but I am close to…
As Greta and Malala show, the children know best
The first book I ever produced, some 50 years ago, was a collection of poetry written by children. I called…
My puppy-training advice for Boris Johnson
President Harry Truman once observed: ‘If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.’ Boris Johnson, as Prime Minister…
The rebel alliance has taken control of parliament – and Brexit. What happens next?
Every Monday, a group of unlikely bedfellows meet in Jeremy Corbyn’s parliamentary office. Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrat leader; Ian Blackford,…
Boris has more in common with Corbyn than he thinks
Boris Johnson’s opponents love to accuse him of using the ‘Trump playbook’. Some on the left have become so obsessed…
Why is everyone on Facebook so paranoid about their privacy?
There’s a line in Desperately Seeking Susan where Madonna (Susan) reads aloud the diary of Roberta, the bored housewife she…
Pericles for PM: Boris should forget Augustus and stay focused on his hero
Boris Johnson is a gung-ho classicist. He has supported the subject throughout his journalistic and political career, is a generous…
Katharine Gun: the spy who tried to stop the Iraq war
In his memoir of office, Decision Points, George W. Bush writes about going to see Tony Blair in the Azores…
For the first time since 1171, Ireland has more power than England
Watching Boris Johnson in Dublin, where he came to ask Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to get him out of a hole,…
