World

Starmer’s last stand reeks of desperation

10 February 2026 5:54 am

Ever wondered what Custer’s last stand would have been like if the dashing but judgement-phobic cavalry general had in fact…

It is Anas Sarwar who must now resign

10 February 2026 5:54 am

There is a 1953 Warner Bros short, Zipping Along, in which Wile E. Coyote, frustrated with the failure of his…

Britain’s economic upturn won’t save Starmer

10 February 2026 5:32 am

By the end of last week, it was clear the Prime Minister is a goner – the debate moved to…

Scottish Labour leader calls for Starmer to quit

10 February 2026 12:36 am

Oh dear. It really does seem like the end of days for Keir Starmer now. The Prime Minister has lost…

Britain cannot leave Jimmy Lai to die in jail

10 February 2026 12:30 am

The decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years in jail in Hong Kong is no surprise, but it is…

Epstein has brought down France’s Peter Mandelson

9 February 2026 11:41 pm

The news in France over the weekend was dominated by the resignation of Jack Lang as head of the prestigious…

The extraordinary daftness of Olivia Colman

9 February 2026 11:23 pm

‘Daft’ is such a wonderful word. Not for the first time, I’ve wished I was from Yorkshire, so that I…

Why Big Tech keeps hiring Britain’s former politicians

9 February 2026 11:10 pm

In recent years, a trend for a particular kind of career move has begun to crop up in British public…

Starmer’s director of communications resigns

9 February 2026 11:04 pm

Keir Starmer has this morning lost a second key aide in less than 24 hours. Tim Allan, No. 10’s communications…

Lord of the Flies is no Adolescence

9 February 2026 10:19 pm

There are certain works that have attained, through their inclusion in GCSE and A-level syllabuses, an enduring place in the…

William and Kate are bracing themselves for more Andrew scandal

9 February 2026 10:03 pm

There has been much hand-wringing and drama about what the royal family should be doing – and criticism of what…

christian nihilism

Christian nihilism is taking over American life

9 February 2026 9:58 pm

There’s something very religious about nihilism. For proof, look to the new capital of American nihilism, Minneapolis. A callousness toward…

What could a Starmer government possibly achieve now?

9 February 2026 8:27 pm

What is the point of Keir Starmer’s government now? Morgan McSweeney’s departure may have been an attempt by the Prime…

Cancelling council elections means taxation without representation

9 February 2026 8:06 pm

For 350 years it has been established in the British constitution that taxes can only be levied for the crown…

The truth about Peter Mandelson’s strategic genius

9 February 2026 6:18 pm

So Peter Mandelson, arch manipulator and shadowy Svengali has finally run out of road. This time his political career really has ended…

Are podcasts killing off nonfiction books?

9 February 2026 5:19 pm

There is (isn’t there always?) a crisis in nonfiction publishing. But this time it really is a crisis, or at least,…

Why are so many female prison guards having sex with inmates?

9 February 2026 4:44 pm

There’s so much bad news about our prisons that it’s easy to become fatigued by it. Another failing jail, another…

Do we need another Gruffalo book?

9 February 2026 4:33 pm

Oh Lordy. Here we go. The Gruffalo is back – or rather, the Gruffalo Granny – a new take on…

The trouble with post-liberalism

9 February 2026 4:15 pm

For quite a while now, intellectual movements have been nebulous things. This started with postmodernism, which everyone was talking about…

The Epstein files have triggered a crisis in Britain

9 February 2026 8:34 am

It is not just in Washington that the Epstein files continue to dominate. In Westminster, the political reverberations of the…

Will the Mandelson affair make loyalty a crime?

9 February 2026 6:15 am

Nothing excuses the manner of Peter Mandelson’s communications with Jeffrey Epstein both before and after the latter’s conviction for sex…

Morgan McSweeney’s resignation won’t save Starmer 

9 February 2026 2:32 am

Morgan McSweeney has resigned, which felt inevitable but is still a shock to the government and to SW1 in general.…

The lanyard class is not ready for Reform in Scotland

9 February 2026 1:27 am

The most reliable sign that Reform is doing well in Scotland is the refusal of the lanyard class to engage…

Sunday shows round-up: Pat McFadden defends Keir Starmer

9 February 2026 12:06 am

Pat McFadden: ‘I don’t think it’s good for the country to change prime minister every 18 months’ Keir Starmer’s government…

How the Washington Post became a liability for Bezos

8 February 2026 11:28 pm

What does Jeff Bezos’s gutting of the Washington Post say about America’s sense of itself and of its place in…