Thomas More’s courage is an inspiration for all time
His willingness to stand firm and speak truth to power is an important lesson for us all, says Joanne Paul – who draws many parallels between Henry VIII and today’s autocrats
How football found God
Without wanting to sound like a refugee from the 1950s, it was a shame that last week’s Cup Final was…
Food that’s both serious and serene: Babbo reviewed
After a week in which Israel triumphed at the Eurovision Song Contest with second place – western Europe is for…
We’ve underestimated Francis Rossi
I have a friend who insists that had Status Quo hailed from Düsseldorf rather than Catford, they would nowadays be…
Inside the Conservative clubs that are turning Reform
My first job was working behind the bar of the Richmond Conservative Club in North Yorkshire. The place was as…
How popular is Airbnb?
Tall order Two naval cadets were killed and 19 injured when a Mexican sail training vessel, the Cuauhtemoc, crashed into…
The Roman approach to tax
The Sunday Times rich list would have excited the male citizens over the age of 18 who determined state policy…
The short history of short histories
My friend Ruby recently started a TikTok channel called ‘Too Long Didn’t Read’. With boundless enthusiasm and a colourful wardrobe,…
Can anything solve Britain’s prisons crisis?
While we were inspecting HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey, a commotion broke out on one of the wings.…
Architecture has hit a nadir at the Venice Biennale
Much of Venice’s Giardini this year was as boarded up as a British high street. The Israeli pavilion was empty,…
Starmer vs the workers: the real Brexit betrayal
Keir Starmer looked blank. The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, seemed confused. Only the old Stalinist Seumas Milne seemed really to…
Labour must learn to love Brexit
The problem with Keir Starmer’s approach to Brexit is that it fundamentally misunderstands the country. It isn’t that the Leave-voting…
Keir Starmer’s intellectual barrenness
Keir Starmer’s appearance before Labour MPs on Monday was a crowded affair. Such was the level of excitement that organisers…
My VE Day in Kyrgyzstan
In travelling to Bishkek, I was heading for the hills. I had not expected to be marking the 80th anniversary…
The truth about my relationship with Phil Spencer
I never thought I would read a headline like ‘Kirstie Allsopp’s husband enables upskirting’. Regrettably, this type of nonsense has…
Portrait of the week: Starmer’s EU deal, Lineker’s BBC departure and an outbreak of camel flu
Home Sir Keir Starmer was joined by EU representatives in London to celebrate new agreements with the bloc. EU access…
The BBC’s problems go far beyond Gary Lineker
As one might expect from a 103-year-old organisation, the BBC has a very high opinion of itself. Outside Broadcasting House…
The brutality of being a bridesmaid
There stands the bride. Perfect hair, perfect nails, perfect fake tan. She may not have slept the previous night or…
Are the ‘lanyard class’ the new enemy?
Globalisation, liberalism, neoliberalism, managerialism, internationalism, multiculturalism, human resources, wokeness, identity politics, progressivism, EDI, DEI, corporatism, proceduralism, elitism, environmentalism, transnationalism: there…
The death of public discourse
It is said that since Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, it is once again possible to use the…
Reform and the problem with the Overton window
In the space of about one month a further 9 per cent of the electorate has decided that the views…
Two years without Jeremy Clarke
Two years ago, at five to eight in the evening of Monday 22 May 2023, I ran into the department…
The battle over fishing is a sideshow
So far, so routine. Labour wants to update and if possible upgrade the United Kingdom’s arrangements with our immediate neighbour…
