The Week
Letters: Every generation is scared of new technology. We shouldn’t be
Neutral technology Sir: Jenny McCartney’s ‘wake-up call’ (22 September) reminded me of a 19th-century Scientific American piece I discovered describing a dangerous…
Trade wars: The method behind Donald Trump’s madness
Donald Trump campaigned as an unrepentant protectionist and, on the face of it, he has lived up to his word.…
Portrait of the Week: Brexitry, Jaguar and the Lib-Dems’ non-leader
Home Britain was overwhelmed by Brexitry. Before flying off to an EU summit in Salzburg, Theresa May, the Prime Minister,…
Max Hastings’s diary
The Hastingses have idyllic lives but, like most seventysomethings, we find ourselves in ever-closer proximity to mortality. We hold season…
How much does it cost to cryogenically freeze a person (or a pet)?
Trans mission Equalities Minister Penny Mordaunt ordered research into a huge rise in referrals of under-18 girls to transgender services.…
The EU’s divide and rule
‘Divide and rule’ (or ‘conquer’) diplomacy aims to disunite the opposition, the better to control it. The ancients were masters…
Australian letters
Flying circus Sir: Congratulations on 10 years of The Speccie Oz. As you note in your editorial, your contributors have…
Why can’t the warring Tories see that a Brexit deal is within grasp?
Loyalty, it used to be said, was the Tories’ secret weapon. No longer. Self-discipline has been discarded — along with…
Portrait of the week: Tories against Brexit, the Salisbury poisoning and Sweden’s election
Home Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, was said to want to throw a lifeline to Theresa May, the…
Rachel Johnson: Getting sacked is a badge of honour. And I should know
People are still asking ‘So, how was your summer’ and mine was nice as far as it went: I didn’t…
Boris Johnson and the art of rhetoric
Boris the rhetorician is in full voice at the moment, delighting his followers and infuriating his enemies. But is this…
Who was the first suicide bomber?
The first suicide bomber Boris Johnson was criticised for likening Theresa May’s Chequers deal to a ‘suicide vest’ around the…
Australian Letters
Perhaps Sir: The editorial marking the 10th anniversary of the Australian edition (September 8) salutes the leading contributors. Less than…
The rise of Sajid Javid
Since being appointed Home Secretary, Sajid Javid has taken a series of bold and overdue decisions. On immigration, he understood…
Portrait of the week: Mark Carney’s kind offer, the return of Parliament and Steve Bannon vs the New Yorker
Home Mark Carney kindly said he would stay on as governor of the Bank of England if it helped the…
No whisky for breakfast? But this is Scotland!
I begin my 87-day reading tour of the US, UK and Canada on a BA flight that will take me…
Alex Salmond’s fishing
The ex-leader of the SNP, Alex ‘Five Pensions’ Salmond, has scrounged nearly £100,000 from the people to help him in…
How did ‘wonga’ come to be used as slang for money?
Origins of Wonga The payday lender Wonga has gone into administration. How did ‘wonga’ come to be used as slang…
Letters: Chinese investment in Africa is insidious and destructive
Chinese burn Sir: Your leading article last week ended up saying ‘It is unrealistic to expect that we can achieve…
China is winning the new scramble for Africa. Brexit could change that
On her tour of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, Theresa May finally made a positive case for Brexit. For too…
Portrait of the week: Theresa May goes to Africa, Labour accused of anti-Semitism (again) and John McCain dies
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, flew off to South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria accompanied by a trade delegation. In…
Joan Collins: Why are people so baffled by the title ‘Dame’?
Attending my goddaughter Cara Delevingne’s 26th birthday party at the trendy Chateau Marmont hotel in LA, I was interested to…
Ancient and modern: Antigone and algorithms
Hardly a day goes by without someone making excitable predictions about human progress and how, thanks to AI, we are…
Letters: The US sanctions against Venezuela have always been about regime change
Venezuelan sanctions Sir: Contrary to the impression given by Jason Mitchell, Venezuela does not have a socialist economy (‘Maduro’s madness’,…
If the UK economy is a wreck, why are jobs and exports booming?
Economies run on confidence — as Franklin D. Roosevelt observed when he told Americans, in his first inaugural address during…
