World
Did Covid vaccines really save 12 million lives?
The BBC reported that AstraZeneca and Pfizer are credited with together saving more than 12 million lives in the first…
The fall of English Literature
On the edges of the City of London, a couple of miles from where I grew up, there’s a very…
The insufferable rise of the sportswriter bore
Can someone check on Guardian sportswriter Jonathan Liew? It would appear he is not taking events in the Middle East terribly well,…
Is swimming racist?
I think we can all be delighted that, at last, the University of Leicester has taken action to end one…
Why the general election petition matters
Does it matter that a petition calling for another general election has gone viral online and garnered more than two…
Why farmers – not the Treasury – are right about inheritance tax
There is a reason 10,000 farmers and their supporters descended on Westminster last week to protest against the government’s planned…
What the ICC gets wrong about Israel
Legal reasoning is only as good as the ethical concepts it uses. That’s why the International Criminal Court’s decision to…
Why won’t Irish politicians talk about immigration?
Ireland is gearing up for its general election this Friday – and what started out as a relatively moribund campaign…
Labour might regret its desire for vote reform
Turkeys don’t usually vote for Christmas, so just why have 43 new Labour MPs signed up to the All Party…
Rachel Reeves deserves a rough ride at the CBI
Rachel Reeves was probably expecting to be cheered for restoring ‘stability’, for rebooting ‘growth’ and crafting a British version of…
In praise of Shabana Mahmood
Should Shabana Mahmood be allowed to ‘impose’ her religious beliefs on everyone else? Lord Falconer doesn’t think so, arguing yesterday that…
Rachel Reeves faces a frosty reception at the CBI summit
At the beginning of the year, Rachel Reeves was being praised all round for her efforts repairing relations between the…
The trouble with Labour’s ‘respect orders’
As the Allison Pearson debacle begins to settle down, the lesson being drawn by many is that the police have…
Those signing the general election petition should know better
Every now and again, a newspaper will run – and portentously headline – a survey on the future of the…
Why young Brits think the social contract is crumbling
Something is stirring. In WhatsApp groups and Westminster pubs, wherever wonks, spads, and other SW1 types gather, there’s a name…
The academic paper mills helping China commit scientific fraud
Few people embody the ideal of scientific excellence as much as Albert Einstein. Each year a Berlin-based foundation bearing his…
Who are Labour’s new working-class voters? An interview with Claire Ainsley
What is a working person? This question dominated the lead-up to Labour’s first Budget in over 14 years. After Rachel…
Is Labour really going to crack down on benefit cheats?
I can’t fault Keir Starmer for his piece in the Mail on Sunday today promising that Labour will crack down on…
Liz Kendall: those who won’t take up work may lose benefits
The number of people not in work has increased significantly since the pandemic, and the government is preparing to cut…
Swing seats back another election
For more than a decade, viral petitions demanding an immediate election were the preserve of Remainiacs and much of the…
How debauchery turns to tragedy in places like Vang Vieng
I still remember the first time I saw Vang Vieng, in Laos. It was many years ago, before the Chinese…
Starmer’s disdain for conservatives could be his undoing
Tony Blair spent much of his time as prime minister projecting a persona that most people of a conservative mindset…
How identity politics corrupted France’s elite schools
Earlier this year, Sciences Po’s feminist association, Décollectif Féministe, organised a ‘non-mixed’ meeting, which explicitly excluded men and white attendees. Intended as a…
What Germany can teach the UK about assisted dying
Critics of Labour’s Assisted Dying bill fear that its vagueness means we are heading for trouble. Germany, where assisted suicide…
The flawed genius of Rafael Nadal
When Rafael Nadal triumphed in the 2005 French Open, he was still just a teenager. The Spaniard won 21 more…
