Trump makes America laugh again
‘Tradition holds that I’m supposed to tell a few self-deprecating jokes this evening,’ said Donald Trump in his speech at…
The 38 candidates to be Oxford’s chancellor
Being Cambridge, I thank God that we have no nonsense about electing our chancellor. We have had a blameless, unchallenged…
The OnlyFans model, the milkshake and me
What better start to a Monday than to attend Westminster Magistrates’ Court? I was there for the trial of the…
The resurgence of Angela Rayner
On Monday evening, the Strangers’ Bar at Westminster was treated to a rare sight: Angela Rayner looking happy, smiling and…
Which were the closest US elections?
Back to the White House If Donald Trump wins on 6 November, he will be the first US President to…
America’s last undecided voter
This is the last column I’ll file before the American presidential election, and I’ve dreaded writing it for months. (The…
The ICC’s rogue prosecutor
Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of 7 October, went to meet his maker last week. Having spent a year being pursued…
A British First Amendment wouldn’t save free speech
Does the United Kingdom need a First Amendment? That’s a question I’ve been thinking about a lot recently, given the…
Dear Mary: How do I stop my friend’s banal WhatsApp messages?
Q. I have a very dear friend who lives in Scotland, so we rarely see each other. Before the internet…
Why the young are fleeing to Portugal
The legendary music producer Rick Rubin once asked me why I had never moved to the United States. The answer,…
Do you ‘cock a snook’ – or snoot?
‘This is interesting, darling,’ my husband called out from beside his whisky while I was doing the washing-up. The interesting…
The lessons of the Chris Kaba case
I wonder if we should join with the radical campaigning organisation Buy Larger Mansions (BLM) in order to protest about…
Is Wes Streeting the Hamlet of the health service?
Is Wes Streeting the Hamlet of the Health Service? Is this undoubtedly talented and thoughtful young Labour prince fatally irresolute…
Albania has long lived in Italy’s shadow
Albanians are descended from the most ancient of European peoples, the Illyrians. The country came into existence only after 1912…
Portrait of the week: Budget leaks, prisoners released and Israel kills Hamas leader
Home Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was expected to freeze tax thresholds in the Budget on 30 October,…
Is it really too much to ask students to read children’s books?
The Shakespeare scholar Sir Jonathan Bate recently claimed that students are struggling to read long books. Depressingly, he’s right. I…
