The Week
How the Romans dealt with mutineers
The RMT union is threatening strikes to bring the country to a halt. Such activities have a long history in…
My advice for the Bank of England
To Windsor for Garter Day, the first since 2019. With a strong voice and smiles for us all, the Queen…
Politicians caused the Rwanda deportation debacle
The problem with the bishops in the upper chamber is not that they speak too much, but too little. The…
Barometer | 18 June 2022
He really is appalled Prince Charles was reported to have described the government’s plan to send asylum-seekers for processing in…
The true birth of communism
Nostalgia wars are all the rage at the moment, but an extraordinary example appears to have been missed: a hammer…
Portrait of the week: A no-confidence vote, a marginal win and the Queen’s Jubilee
Home Boris Johnson won a vote of confidence in him as prime minister among Conservative MPs by 211 votes to…
Letters: Becoming a GP is not an ‘easier’ option
Saving general practice Sir: Regarding J. Meirion Thomas’s article (‘Medical emergency’, 4 June), traditional general practice continues to thrive in…
Airlines must accept the blame for the travel chaos
If you have a flight booked in the next few months, it’s time to worry. A new era of air…
Don’t write off Piers Morgan yet
I wish I could persuade certain cabinet ministers to put their money where their mouths are. Several times last month…
How much do the royals like curry?
Curry in favour The BBC apologised after one of its guests for the Jubilee coverage, Len Goodman, revealed that his…
Which monarchs have had the longest reigns?
Long to reign over us The Queen is the world’s current longest-serving monarch, but two in history have had longer…
God save the Queen: the monarchy has become more valuable than ever
Rarely has a public figure taken a promise so seriously as the vow that Her Majesty the Queen made on…
I hope my son will inherit the Queen’s kindness
When I was asked by an old friend to write this diary, I did my usual thing of: ‘Yeah I’d…
30,000 gallons of wine, 2,000 golden bulls and a three-month party: how the ancients celebrated
The ancients certainly knew how to put on a celebration. Let us hope the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee comes up to…
Portrait of the week: Jubilee celebrations, energy bill discounts and a trade deal with Indiana
Home The Jubilee for the Queen’s 70 years on the throne was marked by two days of public holiday, 16,000…
Letters: Who’s responsible for Putin’s rise if not Russians?
Russian misrule Sir: Your editorial (‘Sanction Schroder’, 21 May) laments that western sanctions may be harming ordinary Russians, given that…
How profitable are Britain’s biggest oil companies?
A slip of the tongue George W. Bush condemned a political system where one man could wage a ‘brutal and…
Boris Johnson’s guilt
An ability to survive narrow scrapes has been one of Boris Johnson’s defining qualities. The pictures of Downing Street’s lockdown…
Putin is repeating Emperor Vitellius’s mistakes
Given Putin’s less than triumphant operation in Chechnya, where the Russian army suffered catastrophic losses, it is hardly surprising that…
I’ve written the perfect book
I met a Canadian couple for lunch in Edinburgh. They were from Vancouver – he a judge, she an opera…
Letters: The true state of Oxbridge admissions
Applying myself Sir: It was interesting to read David Abulafia’s rather damning critique of the Oxbridge admissions process (‘Who’s out’,…
Portrait of the week: Sue Gray reports, ScotRail slashes trains and monkeypox spreads
Home Sue Gray starched and ironed her report for publication after the Metropolitan Police wound up its own enquiries into…
Letters: Banning Russia’s culture only benefits Putin
Don’t ban Russia’s culture Sir: It is uncouth, illiterate and actually beneficial to Putin when theatres, opera houses and other…
Portrait of the week: Inflation’s 40-year high, Tory MP’s rape arrest and monkeypox in Britain
Home The annual rate of inflation, impelled by energy costs, rose to 9 per cent, its highest since 1982. Unemployment…
When did footballers’ wives become ‘WAGs’?
Wagtime Footballers’ wives Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney are locked in a libel trial dubbed ‘Wagatha Christie’. The term WAGs,…
