Could Nigel Farage be the next British Ambassador to the US?
Leaked diplomatic cables are a hoot, aren’t they? The Mail on Sunday’s big scoop shows that Britain’s man in Washington,…
A Halloween no-deal Brexit is no longer a scary prospect
Project Fear is back after a seasonal break. Far from resolving anything, Theresa May’s decision to delay Brexit back in…
How Malcolm Turnbull sunk his beloved republic for a generation
Personality in politics is like salt to a dish – a pinch here or there is not a bad thing.…
Labour’s losing its old heartlands. Backing Remain could make things worse
A moderate, halfway-competent Labour party could crush the Tories. But given that Labour members are Corbynite in inclination, what are…
Boris Johnson must remember: In victory, magnanimity
With the ballot papers out, the next few days will be crucial in the Tory leadership election. As I say…
Why governments should spend big on tech
I was talking to a large Silicon Valley video-conferencing firm the other day. ‘Just for interest,’ I asked, ‘what would…
Why I’m sick of Pride
Anyone else sick of the Pride flag? It’s everywhere. It flutters from virtually every building in central London. Town halls…
What’s really going on in Hong Kong?
If you believe the American and British media, the people of Hong Kong have launched a democratic revolution and are…
The Hong Kong protesters deserve Britain’s full support
When the tanks were rolling into Tiananmen Square and the Cold War hadn’t yet formally come to an end, it…
Portrait of the week: Boris vs Jeremy, Brexit party rallies and Hong Kong protests
Home Boris Johnson, the bookies’ favourite for the leadership of the Conservative party, would, if he became prime minister, ‘show…
Joan Collins: The night I got a TV star to flash Boris Johnson
It has been a spring of party madness in London and New York. I was lucky enough to have several…
How many dogs are there in Britain?
Model hobbies Asked what he did to relax, Boris Johnson claimed that he liked to make model buses. Some others…
Do Greek plays really need a ‘modern twist’?
Rufus Norris, the National Theatre’s artistic director, has revealed that all those tedious ancient plays will from now on be…
Letters: Stop and search is messy, confrontational and absolutely necessary
Support for stop and search Sir: Mary Wakefield is rightly exasperated by fatuous comments over police use of stop and…
Thankfully, the world is waking up to the threat of China
The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, is offering to meet Jeremy Corbyn about the Times story last week which reported…
Revealed: Tom Watson’s secret plan to oust Jeremy Corbyn
The phrase ‘existential crisis’ is thrown around too easily. But it is hard to find a better description of the…
I admit it: I enjoyed the Women’s World Cup
I was asked on to the BBC Today programme — my old manor — last week to talk about the…
Re-wilders forget that humans are nature too
‘Life pours back in.’ A score of us, listening to Charlie Burrell at the Knepp estate ten days ago, will…
The Democratic debates are proving to be the perfect advert for Trump
I have plenty of shamefaced company in having rashly predicted, as pundits are warned never to do, that Donald Trump…
The titanic battle between the former Tesco chiefs
How surprising to read one former Tesco chief, 82-year-old Lord MacLaurin, badmouthing another, Sir Terry Leahy. The surprise is because…
A new tune: Boris Johnson on his plan to unite Britain
‘I’m going to stick ruthlessly to script,’ says Boris Johnson. ‘This is not the stage of the campaign when you…
Oppidans vs scholars: a guide to the social politics of Eton
Every prime minister is a sociologist. Theresa May drew a distinction between citizens of somewhere and ‘citizens of nowhere’, a…
Single women are happier – here’s why
As I get older I find the idea of wanting to be in a couple more and more bizarre. I’m…
What Sir Ivan Rogers gets wrong about Brexit
When so much of the Brexit debate has consisted of slogans and unexamined assertions (‘cliff edges’, ‘crashing out’ and the…
China’s surveillance technology is terrifying – and on show in London
I was recently treated to a small taste of the real China. It was in the incongruous setting of a…
