Diary
My bid to be chancellor of Oxford
I have spent the past couple of weeks in Oxford rediscovering the art of conversation while campaigning for election as…
The OnlyFans model, the milkshake and me
What better start to a Monday than to attend Westminster Magistrates’ Court? I was there for the trial of the…
My problem with the American election
In an ideal world, I wouldn’t have chosen an election year for my American book tour. It’s not that I…
My plans for The Spectator
Shortly after Boris Johnson was selected as the Conservative candidate for Henley, he invited me to lunch at The Spectator.…
The magic of The Spectator
Not since South Park Elementary’s election campaign between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich has an election bedevilled me…
The best podcasts to fall asleep to
‘Yous!’ a train cleaner in rubber gloves says as we arrive at Liverpool Lime Street. ‘What are yous doing here?’…
I’m engaged!
I slept only between the hours of 5 and 6 a.m, thanks to self-induced terror tactics. My son Adam stayed…
A new chapter for The Spectator
For the past year or so, I’ve been involved in selling The Spectator as well as editing it. A long…
What’s gone wrong at the National Theatre?
Now we have a Labour government, it would be nice to feel repertory will return to the National Theatre. It…
Do I have too many friends?
Can one have too many friends? I asked myself this question as we prepared yet another dinner party for ten…
Trump misses Biden
Chicago Everyone in the Democrats’ Convention centre – a bleakly corporate sports stadium on the edge of Chicago – is…
Does it matter if Trump is weird?
Would-be veep Tim Walz has opened Pandora’s box with his use of the W-word to characterise Donald Trump and his…
The rise of the competitive book list
I’m a hopeless technophobe. I dislike the stylish laptop I’m using and its subdued pad pad pad. I still long…
Things can always get worse for the Tories
Before migrating to Wiltshire where I will be for August, I had a friendly dinner with a clutch of Conservative…
The mystery of Melania Trump
While everybody at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee was preoccupied with Donald Trump’s triumphal story after the assassination attempt…
The curious life of a foreign minister’s wife
The Polish constitution delineates no role for the foreign minister’s wife. In fact, the foreign minister’s wife is not mentioned…
The worst thing about losing my seat
Magpies have long been thought to be birds of omen. I am not superstitious. Yet during the election campaign I…
Brexit has helped the EU
There was hardly an election poster to be seen on the roadside during a two-hour drive from London to the…
I lost to Harry Kane at darts
Gareth Southgate has always been a man interested in life outside the football circus. When he played for England, I…
Voters still don’t know what Keir Starmer stands for
Keir Starmer is frustrated. He wants to talk about the future but interviewers like me will insist on asking him…
How the Tories lost their way
Do you pack up the flat or not? That’s the question that everyone who lives in Downing Street faces as…
Who is allowed to play Richard III?
On Tuesday night I was body double/understudy for the brave, brainy, beautiful Rachel Riley, at a packed ‘support Israel’ evening.…
Why won’t Rishi honour our £1,000 bet?
When I interviewed Rishi Sunak in February, I told him I thought his Rwanda plan for ‘stopping the boats’ was…
Who has the worst voice in parliament?
For the first time in more than two decades we are dog-less, and the house feels horribly empty. Our Patterdale…
The day Keir Starmer cried on me about his childhood
I have had a good idea. It may even be an important idea. See what you think. The other day…
