Status anxiety
Louis Theroux needs to make a positive case for masculinity
I’ve always had a soft spot for Louis Theroux. I wouldn’t call him a friend, exactly, but I’ve known him…
Am I an extremist?
On Monday, the Communities Secretary Steve Reed rose in the House of Commons to unveil ‘Protecting What Matters’, the government’s…
Why I’m a proud Zionist
The bomb shelter reserved for ‘volunteers’ at Kibbutz Dafna near the town of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel was definitely…
Keir Starmer’s selective ageism
If the newspaper reports are correct and Margaret Hodge is about to be named as the next chair of Ofcom,…
Why is Hope Not Hate out to get me?
Hope Not Hate is up to its usual tricks in the Denton and Gorton by-election, keeping Britain safe from fascists.…
When did gyms become so unfriendly?
One of the drawbacks of being on the jabs is that you can lose muscle mass as well as body…
Should I be cancelled for being in the Epstein files?
I was planning to begin this column by saying how relieved I was to be mentioned in the latest Epstein…
Can superintelligent AI be regulated?
In the House of Lords on Monday there was a short discussion, prompted by a question from an ex-Labour minister,…
The rise of toxic femininity
At the end of last year, the government announced a programme designed to tackle the radicalisation of young men in…
Grok is the Botticelli of our time
Liz Kendall, the Technology Secretary, stood up in the Commons on Monday and thundered against Elon Musk, saying the government…
All hail the chickenpox vaccine!
On 1 January, the NHS announced it would be including a chickenpox vaccine in the bundle of inoculations given to…
I’ve been duped by the Toby hoaxers
Going to see QPR on Boxing Day has become a tradition in the Young household – and not because we…
I spend more on wine than I do on my mortgage
The first time I got drunk was at a wedding. I was 12 or thereabouts and sick in the taxi…
Juries are defenders of free speech
On Tuesday, David Lammy announced in parliament that a bill would be included in the next King’s Speech restricting the…
Is bet365 punishing me for being a peer?
On my way to the QPR game against Hull last Saturday, I was astonished to discover that Ladbrokes had made…
Judges need fewer powers, not more
In my brief career as a parliamentarian I have developed a rule of thumb when it comes to evaluating legislation:…
The persecution of our local politicians
Have a thought for Darren Grimes, the 32-year-old Reform councillor. Since becoming deputy leader of Durham County Council in May,…
Lord Young goes to Washington
I’m writing this from Washington, D.C., where I’ve spent the best part of a week talking to politicos and thinktankers…
Bernard Cornwell: ‘I don’t believe in writer’s block’
They say never meet your heroes, but Bernard Cornwell didn’t disappoint. Knowing I’m a superfan, the events team at The…
Goodbye and good riddance to ‘non-crime’
The congratulatory messages started pouring in shortly after 5.30 p.m. on Monday. The Metropolitan Police had just issued a press…
Why I pity the poor eco-zealots
An email popped into my House of Lords inbox last week from Lt Gen. Richard Nugee with the subject line…
Greta Thunberg and the ship of hate
I was amused to read about the spat that broke out on Greta Thunberg’s flotilla between conservative Muslims and members…
What we can learn from Singapore
I was in Australia last week, having been invited to give the annual oration by the Robert Menzies Institute, and…
The hypocrisy of the limousine liberals
You’d have to have a heart of stone not to laugh at all the Hollywood celebrities rending their garments about…
You can’t cancel the cancelled
When Theresa May appointed me as a non-executive director of the Office for Students, the Downing Street press office decided…
