World
The Colston verdict is the triumph of values, not law
The verdict is in on the case of the Colston statue in Bristol. Not guilty. Every one of the accused…
A New York senator declares war on the First Amendment
A new year, a new assault on free speech in America. New York Senator Brad Hoylman claims that legislation he’s…
J.K. Rowling and the death of nuance
There are few good things to say about the public conversation around transgender issues, which all too often shows us…
Why England lost the Ashes
England’s wretched performance in the Ashes – which saw the side lose three tests and so the series to Australia…
Maureen Lipman's 'Jewface' criticism of Helen Mirren isn't fair
I’m not sure I should be writing this piece, given I am not Jewish. Are Gentiles like me allowed to…
Macron’s potty-mouthed outburst is deliberate – and calculated
President Emmanuel Macron’s declaration that he intends to ‘emmerder’ – which loosely translates, excuse my English, as ‘piss off’ –…
Does Boris believe in Brexit?
For once, yesterday’s Downing Street press conference included a worthwhile question, and not of the ‘why aren’t you locking us…
Are Bored Apes racist?
A plague of apes has spread across social media. Wherever you look, blank simian faces stare back at you. Their…
Macron has crossed a line in his war on the unvaccinated
The new year has not started well for Emmanuel Macron. It began badly when some bright spark in the Elysée…
Why won't Joe Biden stand up to Iran?
This week marks two years since Iranian terror mastermind Major General Qassem Soleimani was torn apart by a Reaper drone missile…
The EU's weak response to Russian aggression plays into Putin's hands
The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell is in Ukraine today. His mission? To show solidarity with Kiev in the…
The China Olympics are a moral failing
The international community has failed regarding China and the 2022 Olympics. It’s a moral failing above all, but it’s also…
Boris Johnson rejects lockdown (again)
Boris Johnson latest Covid press conference was slightly confusing. The Prime Minister spent nearly an hour saying nothing particularly new.…
The hypocrisy of Elon Musk
Tesla’s sleek, if expensive, electric cars are leading the battle against climate change. Its batteries are moving renewable energy into the…
The flaw in Starmer's 'patriotic' pitch for power
If campaign messaging is too subtle then the chances are that the electorate won’t even notice it, so in his…
How well is Brexit going?
Twelve months after a comprehensive trade deal was signed with the EU, where are we now? How has the UK…
Germany's China-friendly approach is continuing under Olaf Scholz
As Angela Merkel prepares to write her autobiography, ‘explaining her key decisions in her own words’, her successor has his…
Will the real Keir Starmer stand up?
Keir Starmer begins 2022 looking like the best-placed Labour leader since the distant days of Tony Blair. That at least…
Biden’s coming year of paralysis
The first workday of 2022 and already Washington, DC has been paralyzed by snow. That isn’t saying much, given that…
The problem with 'vaccine equity'
‘A stain on our soul’. That was how Gordon Brown, in his latest missive on the subject, described the failure…
No slouch on the couch
I work on the weekends, so during the week I’m at home with my kids. I try to use that…
The China reckoning
Fifteen years ago, I remarked to an acquaintance over lunch that it looked like China might eat America’s lunch in…
Prince Andrew is fighting a PR battle – and losing
My late grandfather, the editor and columnist John Junor, nurtured fondly throughout his career the conviction that nobody could be…
The next chapter in American foreign policy
The new year begins a new chapter in American foreign policy. For the first time since 2001, we are not…
Back in the USA
American foreign-policy strategists used to promulgate doctrines. Now they dream up slogans. “America is back” is the jingle under which…
