No sacred cows
There’s no bargaining with my wife
For me, one of the joys of going abroad is bargaining with the local sellers. They name an extortionate price;…
Whose image is it anyway?
On Monday, a bill was passed by the National Assembly in France that will give courts the power to prevent…
When is a crime not a crime?
On Monday, Suella Braverman published draft guidance designed to rein in the police habit of recording a ‘non-crime hate incident’…
Me too, Isabel
I’ve been gripped by the Telegraph’s Lockdown Files. The 100,000 WhatsApp messages on Matt Hancock’s phone, handed to the paper…
The ride of my life
I was disappointed to learn that the authorities are planning to crack down on dockless bikes and electric scooters. Westminster…
I’m holding the fort
I’m currently sitting on top of a brownie point mountain. Caroline has departed for a two-week tennis freebie in Barbados,…
Mark Steyn and the free-speech question
James Delingpole and I had a blazing row on our weekly podcast on Monday. We were discussing the recent departure…
No wonder bosses are running scared
Some readers will recall the furore five years ago about the Presidents Club charity dinner at the Dorchester. The Financial…
Big Brother is watching me
About six months ago I was contacted by Big Brother Watch, the civil liberties campaign group, and asked if I…
A shed of one’s own
Two and a half years ago, I wrote a column about how I’d started sleeping in my garden office. No,…
The cynicism of Steve Baker
About ten years ago I thought seriously about becoming a Conservative MP. I jumped through a series of hoops and…
The trans rights conflict doesn’t add up
Last week, the Office for National Statistics published the data on gender identity in England and Wales, as revealed in…
Our lovely miserable minibreak
Caroline likes to rent somewhere on Airbnb between Christmas and new year to break up the winter holiday. No, not…
Don’t they know it’s Christmas?
When I imagine the perfect Christmas lunch, I think of the end of A Christmas Carol in which Scrooge turns…
When did disagreement become ‘disinformation’?
According to a quote in a recent article by the environment editor of the Times, I’m ‘the most prominent UK…
Taking the Mick
Most football fans have had their attention riveted on Qatar for the past couple of weeks, but for those of…
My prescription for surviving the winter
Winter is finally upon us and I’m relying on my usual array of tablets and powders to ward off seasonal…
Giving hypocrisy 110 per cent
Should England be participating in the Qatar World Cup? On the face of it, the case for a boycott is…
What Boris should have said at Cop27
I was a little disappointed by Boris Johnson’s argument against Britain paying reparations for the damage done to developing countries…
What to do about the Equality Act
Among people of a conservative disposition, it’s long been accepted that the Equality Act needs to be repealed. This legislation,…
At last, a PM I can look down to
Rishi Sunak’s victory is a testament to how much progress we have made on the equalities front. As recently as…
My fall from grace
I had a bicycle accident last week. Not terrible, but not great either. Of the five I’ve had since I…
PayPal and my sweet revenge
Dan Schulman, the president and CEO of PayPal, gave an interview earlier this year entitled: ‘The thing that separates good…
Is Russell Brand really so dangerous?
Once the dust has settled over the government’s mini-Budget, another big political battle looms: the Online Safety Bill. This is…
A call to arms
I’ve agreed to interview the author and journalist Andrew Doyle about his new book at the Conservative party conference –…
