Right young things: meet the Trumpian twentysomethings taking over Washington
Washington, D.C. ‘What made you open a restaurant?’ I ask Bart Hutchins, the owner of Butterworth’s, a French-style bistro turned…
Stylish facsimile of Carol Reed’s film: Oliver!, at the Gielgud Theatre, reviewed
Oliver! directed by Matthew Bourne is billed as a ‘fully reconceived’ version of Lionel Bart’s musical. Very little seems to…
Murder, incest and paedophilia in imperial Rome
Suetonius’s Lives of the Caesars appears in a vibrant new translation by Tom Holland, the current princeps of popular Roman history
The nerdy obsessive who became the world’s richest man
Seen by fellow pupils as an obnoxious loner, Bill Gates was a rebellious teenager, challenging his teachers and ‘at war’ with his parents
Bridge | 8 February 2025
I wish I’d been at the teams event held last week by the World Bridge Tour in Reykjavik. The sights,…
The trouble with criminalising ‘Islamophobia’
When I first heard that Angela Rayner had been tasked with creating an advisory council that will draw up an…
Opera North’s Flying Dutchman scores a full house in cliché bingo
The overture to The Flying Dutchman opens at gale force. There’s nothing like it; Mendelssohn and Berlioz both painted orchestral…
How art collective Remilia captured the MAGA movement
The MAGA social scene was defined on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration by the Coronation Ball – perhaps the…
Morgan McSweeney is urging Keir Starmer to go for the kill
Morgan McSweeney, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, does not immediately display the demeanour of a disruptor. He speaks softly, picks…
The exquisite vanity of the male sports writer
A good place to catch the highbrow sports journalist in action is the ‘Pseuds Corner’ column of PrivateEye, where he…
Could a Tory/Reform pact be looming?
In 1603, James VI managed to do what few thought possible. The self-styled first King of Great Britain succeeded in…
Trump is like Shakespeare’s Fool
President Trump’s role in relation to other countries resembles that of the Fool in Shakespeare. He provides a sort of…
I feel sorry for ‘Rachel from accounts’
There’s no statute of limitations on reporting a government minister’s embarrassing oops-a-daisy. It’s no good them doing a duck-dive, hoping…
Portrait of the week: Shoplifting surges, Trump eyes Gaza Strip and Norway’s government collapses
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, flew to Brussels for an EU summit, sought a ‘reset’ of relations and…
Britain could learn from Trump’s approach to foreign policy
The Foreign Secretary describes his approach to diplomacy as ‘progressive realism’. One can legitimately ask what is progressive about a…
A cheaper, shinier, more processed Chris Stapleton: Brothers Osborne reviewed
If you were a frequent viewer of Top Gear in its Clarkson/Hammond/May era, there is a particular laugh you will…
Well done to the Channel 4 halfwits
The number of people arriving here in small boats has increased since Sir Keir Starmer was elected Prime Minister on…
Extraordinary: The Seed of the Sacred Fig reviewed
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is by the Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and all you need to know is…
What economists don’t get about Trump’s tariffs
We already knew that most economists are quite bad at economic policy. Unfortunately, foreign policy appears not to be much…
My memorable ride in a Black Hawk
The pilot of the Black Hawk told me I could recline the seat if I wasn’t comfortable. ‘Oh, great!’ I…
Where is the scrutiny over the assisted suicide bill?
Kim Leadbeater has described her assisted suicide bill as ‘potentially one of the most important changes in legislation that we…
Letters: The army that Britain needs
Common ground Sir: Katy Balls asks ‘Lawyer or leader?’ (Politics, 25 January), but it became fairly clear which Keir Starmer…
Do Gen Z really want to be ruled by a dictator?
Generation Z(oomer), aged roughly between 13 and 28, have expressed a desire to be ruled by a dictator. That term…
