Democracy can rise from dictatorship without bloodshed
A fundamental transformation in the structure of power – especially in a country like Iran with a turbulent political history – requires…
Sunday shows round-up: Reed puts his job on the line over water targets
Environment Secretary Steve Reed puts his job on the line over water targets The government has announced plans to halve…
The sad saga of Lena Dunham
I preface this review by saying that – unless you are the greatest admirer of Lena Dunham or anyone in the (admittedly impressive)…
Albanese has traded a Western partner for a communist master
The Prime Minister and his harem of advisors, bureaucrats, and industry hangers-on have returned after a six-day tour in China.…
Why Reeves should sell her bitcoin hoards
Deep fried prawn balls, chicken chow mein, crispy shredded beef and a Ponzi scheme could be about to win the…
Inside the Lords battle on foreign media ownership
After a two-year impasse, the future of the Daily Telegraph could be resolved shortly. A £500m deal has been struck…
Dive bars will save the West
On the wall of a dive bar in Washington, DC, hung a poster for Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger. The bar had…
Trump puts God back on the ballot
It was the summer of 1954, and Texas Senator Lyndon B. Johnson was locked in a primary fight with fellow…
Why Putin thinks Trump’s Russia tariffs are a bluff
Moscow’s response to the latest ultimatum issued by Donald Trump last week has been to deploy that most Russian of…
The painful truth about Christian anti-Semitism
When I walked past a group of shouting protestors holding placards announcing, ‘Christians for Palestine,’ I couldn’t resist: ‘If Christians…
How to fix MasterChef
In retrospect, as has so often been the case with my attempts at Delia’s thrice-baked goat’s cheese soufflé, the question…
Make the government use KPIs
How do we mend the UK’s broken economy? Fixing UK PLC has outwitted our political leaders, but that’s not surprising.…
Nurses deserve more credit
When I was recently in hospital for almost six months, one of my closest and most impish friends – who…
When did double-barrelled surnames stop being posh?
When the lead singer of Bob Vylan’s name was revealed, it caused a fair amount of amusement. This anti-establishment musician…
The return of Stacey Abrams
Stacey Abrams resurfaced last week – not to deny another election she lost – but to declare that “Diversity, Equity…
Whoops! I ended up on a ‘potential enemies’ list
Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like the idea of AI making lists of ‘potential enemies’ based on prior interactions.…
MAGA is America’s third party
Gearing up to launch his new “America Party,” Elon Musk now speaks of a GOP-Democratic duopoly that has the country…
The people of Epping are fed up with being ignored
‘We are facing a long, hot summer’, warned a report on social cohesion on Tuesday, ‘with a powder keg of…
Is Taiwan ready for an attack by China?
It’s still lunchtime in Taipei but the streets are strangely quiet. A few people are running with their bags, despite…
The slow death of Welsh rugby
Heard the joke about the Englishmen, Irishmen and Scotsmen? They have all been selected for the British and Irish Lions…
Ted Heath deserves to be remembered for more than his blemishes
For anyone born as I was, in the seventies, Edward Heath – who died 20 years ago this week –…
One issue I can’t stop snubbing the left over
Before I’d established my tiny crew of fellow local moms, I aggressively befriended – or tried to befriend – any…
Is China cooking the books on its economy?
A Western financial analyst based in Shanghai once described China’s economic statistics to me as ‘one of greatest works of…
Why shouldn’t 16-year-olds get the vote?
On 18 September 2014, Scotland went to the polls to decide its future in the United Kingdom. While the outcome…
