Status anxiety
Teach First has turned me into a free speech martyr
I had the unusual experience last Sunday of appearing on a panel to defend free speech having been the victim…
The tyranny of the bedtime story
All surveys carried out by retail businesses with a view to generating press coverage should be treated with extreme caution,…
Sadly, true grit can’t be taught
I am currently wrestling with a dilemma. I have agreed to contribute to a panel discussion on character education at…
I met Weinstein and, yes, I’d heard the rumours
According to an ex-employee of Harvey Weinstein’s, the movie producer once whispered something to himself that she found so disturbing…
Boris, the conviction politician
I’m writing this from the Conservative party conference where I can report that Boris Johnson, who has just wowed the…
Don’t let these figures depress you, girls
Are British teenagers suffering from an epidemic of mental illness? Yes, according to a ‘government-funded study’ which found that 24…
The mystery of socialism’s enduring appeal
One of the mysteries of our age is why socialism continues to appeal to so many people. Whether in the…
Do what they do, not what they say
Last month, two law professors named Amy Wax and Larry Alexander published a piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer praising ‘bourgeois’…
All four of my kids will learn to shoot
I spent Monday morning being taught how to use a shotgun at E.J. Churchill, a shooting ground in High Wycombe.…
Spare me the encomiums for John le Carré
In Absolute Friends, one of John le Carré’s lesser works, the central character explains his rebirth as a left-wing firebrand,…
As easy as 1, 2, 3…
The amount of nonsense being talked about the new GCSEs in English and maths, whereby exams have been graded 9-1…
Hunt-the-iPhone was the highlight of my hols
For years, Caroline and I have been squabbling over where to spend our summer holidays. Her ideal is a family-friendly…
Don’t like our diversity agenda? You’re fired
Earlier this week, a technology website published an internal memo written by a Google employee called James Damore criticising the…
Parents, not schools, are key to the knowledge gap
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has just published a report looking at the attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged 16-year-olds…
Now I get it – Corbyn is the new Murdoch
For our 16th wedding anniversary, Caroline and I went to the Almeida Theatre to see Ink, a new play about…
Winter is nearly here – bring on the body count
As a Game of Thrones fan, I feel ambivalent about the fact that the saga is finally wending its way…
My wife’s revenge has me at break point
Fifteen years ago, when I was The Spectator’s drama critic, Caroline used to complain that she had become a ‘theatre…
The trouble with diversity training
Is diversity training snake oil? According to its proponents, women and minorities are not competing with white men on a…
J.K. Rowling’s schizophrenic politics
On the face of it, there is nothing complicated about the politics of Harry Potter, who made his first appearance…
Panic of the playwrights
Earlier this week the Guardian launched ‘Brexit Shorts’, a series of monologues written by Britain’s ‘leading playwrights’ about the aftermath…
Nick’s a visionary – he deserves a second chance
I first met Nick Timothy in July 2015. He had just been appointed director of New Schools Network, the free…
Why I’m backing Corbyn the Great
Comrades. I’m going to tell you why I think Jeremy Corbyn is the right person to lead this country. First…
Race, gender and a terrifying witch hunt
A leading article appeared in Nature last week in defence of intelligence research. It lamented the fact that it is…
Fraternity, solidarity and the spirit of 1945
My father worked as a fire warden during the Blitz, trying to contain the damage done by the Luftwaffe, and…
Stupid is as stupid votes
John Stuart Mill is usually credited as the person who first called the Conservatives ‘the stupid party’, but that isn’t…
