World
The thrilling misogyny of Love Island
The thought of Love Island starting tonight gives me that same fuzzy feeling I had as a child when I…
The Tories are becoming ungovernable
Today’s no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson is best seen as the next stage of a determined long-term plot to bring…
The attempt to depose Boris may be premature
As Tory MPs vote this evening, Jesse Norman’s letter stands as the most recent case for the deposing of the…
Boris to face confidence vote tonight
After months of anonymous threats and speculation, Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote by Tory MPs this evening. Announcing…
Why I can no longer support Boris Johnson
Dear Prime Minister, As you know, I have supported you throughout your career in politics: for Mayor of London in…
The Queen’s long goodbye
Asked at the start of the Golden Jubilee as to which one of the many events he was most looking…
Prevent and the problem of ‘political correctness’
Britain is reviewing its cornerstone anti-terror programme. As the name implies, Prevent is a strategy designed to stop radicalisation before…
The punk paradox of monarchism
It seems incredible that, 45 years ago, a pop group – the Sex Pistols – could release a record on…
Is the fall of Boris inevitable?
A funny thing happened on the way to the cathedral for the service of thanksgiving to the Queen on Friday.…
Does Macron have a police problem?
Things are spicing up over in France. Not content with tear-gassing British children, the Parisian gendarmerie seem to be turning…
Germany’s stinginess is betraying Ukraine
Bafflement is not quite the right word. Instead, Ukrainian officials and their allies now see Germany through a confused form…
The timeless mystery of Charlie Chaplin
Eleven years ago, I was summoned to the Manoir de Ban, a huge white house overlooking Lake Geneva, to meet…
Why did the new Australian PM insult the Queen?
Timing is everything in politics. This week in Canberra a new junior minister, an obscure Australian Labor Party MP named…
Russia, Ukraine and the forgotten exiles of the 1920s
At the end of 1920, a mass exodus of Russians from their homeland after the Russian civil war created a…
What if the Ukraine war is never won?
In late March, roughly a month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an unnamed Nato official told NBC News that the…
Are we heading for a Platinum Jubilee recession?
Occasionally I despair of my own profession. Even economists should be able to enjoy a long weekend. Yet some of…
When will companies end their embarrassing Pride hypocrisy?
June is Pride Month, the annual exercise in rainbow-washing, and if you listen very carefully you may even hear gay…
The witch trial of Amber Heard
For the first few weeks of watching Johnny Depp and Amber Heard attempt to turn each other into twelve cans of…
How are five million Brits without work?
Last week, I came across a figure so staggering that I was convinced it was wrong: 5.3 million Brits (almost…
The Queen is one Brit Macron can warm to
He may not have much respect forthe ‘Clown’, but when it comes to the Queen Emmanuel Macron is as smitten…
Boris looks doomed, but can he escape the inevitable?
Is Boris Johnson’s government about to fall apart? Twice since World War Two, Tory governments have broken up after a…
Is Emma Raducanu a one-hit wonder?
If there is one thing that could salvage this year’s Wimbledon it would be a decent showing by the tournament’s…
Macron vs the deep state
French diplomats are on strike today. But will anyone notice? Not to be immodest, I am especially well qualified to…
Where's our world cup?
There was that frenetic drama of the last day of the Premier League just a fortnight ago – City down,…
What’s going on with the Russian economy?
The Russian economy is headed for its deepest recession since 1991. That’s the British government’s latest assessment of whether sanctions…
