World
Ministers need to start bracing Britain for the third wave
The third wave of Covid-19 is well underway, driven by the now-dominant Indian variant. It may now be no more deadly than a typical…
A culture of fear has taken over at Edinburgh university
It is undeniable that the University of Edinburgh is the jewel in the crown of Scotland’s higher education system. Among…
Revealed: How the UK-Australia deal was struck
The UK’s first bespoke trade deal agreed since leaving the EU was finalised with Australia over two dinners. One took…
What Meghan Markle can learn from Enid Blyton
The year is 2070 and English Heritage are unveiling their latest Blue Plaque: ‘The Duchess of Sussex, children’s author, lived…
Are PCR tests the best way to track Covid?
Throughout the pandemic doubts have been expressed about the reliability of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests which have been…
Television, not social media, is fracturing our society
All it took for the Twitter mob to descend on me was a retweet from Michael Gove. Message after message…
Euros 2021: England are easily the most boring side in the tournament
England 0 Scotland 0 Hungary 1 (Fiola) France 1 (Griezmann) The wonderful Hungarians almost took my mind off England’s lamentable…
Naz Shah’s new community cohesion effort
Oh dear. It was just two weeks ago that Labour’s Naz Shah found herself in trouble for attending a pro-Palestinian…
Will Boris Johnson be one of the great prime ministers?
Boris Johnson may have been unable to work his magic on the burghers of Chesham as he did on fellow…
Biden and Putin have left Britain out in the cold
It would probably be wrong to say that Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin got on like a house on fire.…
Churchill, Cambridge and the battle for history
Is the tide in the so-called culture wars beginning to turn? Recent evidence suggests that at least a mainstream effort…
King of Fortress Wales: an interview with Mark Drakeford
Mark Drakeford sits opposite me in a small conference room on the third floor of Cathays Park, the nucleus of…
America isn’t back. Global grandstanding is
‘America is back at the table,’ Joe Biden wants us to know. ‘Diplomacy is back.’ After four years of Donald…
Why Warwick’s Covid modelling doesn’t add up
This week began with more frightening graphs from SPI-M, the government’s scientific modelling committee. A team at Warwick University calculated…
The dark past of Iran’s new presidential favourite
‘Each vote counts…come and vote and choose your president. This is important for the future of your country.’ These were…
Are England fans allowed to be proud of the St George’s Cross?
It’s starting to feel like the only flag you can’t fly in England is the England flag. Wave the Pride…
The Tories should ignore the Amersham by-election
Chesham and Amersham has fallen. The once uber-Tory Chilterns citadel has been snatched by the Lib Dems, with local campaigners…
Does ‘Johnson’s law’ explain why people won’t work from home?
Even after the one metre rule and the limits on numbers are removed on July 19th, we will not be…
Rishi Sunak and the coming Tory battle over climate change
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, isn’t normally given to waffle, which makes his maiden appearance on GB News all the more…
Do you truly believe Joe Biden is in his right mind?
Liberal journalists and politicos are obsessed with the truth. The truth, besides Donald J. Trump and Fox News, is their…
Victoria’s Secret clips its angels’ wings
Millions of unshaved lesbians are celebrating this week after Victoria’s Secret decided to go all-in on marketing with a butch…
Cambridge deserves better than Stephen Toope
Regular readers may be aware that in recent months I have been having a running-spat with a Canadian lawyer called…
The DUP is tearing itself apart
Late last night, the UK government and Sinn Fein went over the heads of the DUP and agreed on a…
Delay, data and the need for transparency
Boris Johnson delayed 21 June, he said, because the data did not merit a full reopening. The specific data government…
Is the EU breaching its UK treaty by failing to protect LGBT rights?
Has the EU Commission lost any sense of moral value? This week, Hungary, an EU member state, voted to impose…
