The Week
The government is sending the high street to an early grave
Does it matter that Debenhams and the Arcadia group have gone under this week, taking 25,000 jobs with them and…
What are the best pandemic board games?
Dangerous games Sage scientists advised against playing board games at Christmas. Some games to consider if you are feeling subversive:Pandemic…
We don't want pandemic novels – we want gentle escapism
I’m often asked when I’ll write a pandemic novel. I’m not sure I’d ever be tempted, though the backdrop of…
The Conservatives are losing the fiscal high ground
Every country was blindsided by the pandemic; few governments responded to it by borrowing as much as Britain. The figures…
Which countries are most sceptical about vaccines?
Gloss over Should we be worried that the head of research into respiratory drugs at AstraZeneca is called Dr Pangalos,…
Modern historians take a Roman approach to history – whether they admit it or not
To what use does one put history? Romans thought it provided ‘lessons’. Modern historians rather sniff at the idea, but…
Portrait of the week: Christmas is on, Trump is off and Piglet stars on a 50p piece
Home The AstraZeneca vaccine developed by the University of Oxford was found to be 70 per cent effective — 90…
Letters: Solidarity is the best thing for Scotland
SNP sophistry Sir: Andrew Wilson (‘Scot free’, 21 November) poses the question: ‘What if the case for independence was a…
The truth about me and Dominic Cummings
It is such a relief that Dominic Cummings has gone. Not for the sake of the country or the government…
Denial is not a strategy, Prime Minister
The psychodrama in No. 10 is badly timed. The government has used emergency powers to ban meetings, church services and…
Letters: The limitations of a Covid vaccine
Still distant Sir: In James Forsyth’s analysis (‘Boris’s booster shot’, 14 November) he infers that a vaccine, if provided to…
What does it mean to be ‘fit as a butcher’s dog’?
Boris and the butcher’s dog Who first coined the phrase ‘as fit as a butcher’s dog’? It has been traced…
Aristotle would have seen Trump’s behaviour as entirely normal
Donald Trump may be a narcissist, but since he is not mentally ill in the technical sense, he is not…
Portrait of the week: Cummings goes, Corbyn returns and pigeon sells for £1.4m
Home Dominic Cummings, the chief adviser to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, left Downing Street after a week in which…
Letters: Why lockdown II was necessary
Cancelled procedures Sir: Your leader (‘A lockdown too far’, 7 November) suggests that the Prime Minister should have shown ‘leadership’…
Rome’s collegiate system was more logical than America's
So Humpty Trumpty has had his great fall. But how democratic or logical was his election in the first place…
Open and shut case: how did lockdown affect shops?
Shot in the arm Global stock markets reached a new high after pharmaceutical firm Pfizer announced a vaccine it is…
Boris won't be forgiven if he caves on Brexit now
It now looks increasingly likely that lockdown will end on 2 December, after all. The decision to impose further restrictions…
My post-election drink with Nigel Farage
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is a useful stop for journalists looking for some rust-belt Americana not too far from New York. The…
Portrait of the week: Vaccine hopes up, Zoom shares down and Biden calls Boris
Home Pfizer and BioNTech announced a vaccine against Covid-19 of 90 per cent efficacy from two injections three weeks apart.…
Letters: Wales has been betrayed by Westminster
Woeful Wales Sir: Allison Pearson succinctly points out the absurdity of the so-called Welsh government and its assembly, now trying…
The ancients knew the value of the natural world
The ancients knew nothing about global warming, but they still reflected on the relationship between man and nature. In the…
The Trump riddle is still unsolved
American expats have a conundrum on election night: do you stay up to watch the results come in or do…
Portrait of the week: England’s lockdown, America’s meltdown and houses fall down
Home The government imposed a lockdown on England to last until 2 December. On television, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister,…
No one has made a clear and logical case for this lockdown
The benefit of having a lockdown announced some days in advance is the ability to savour what is about to…
