Is another pandemic really inevitable?
Future pandemics as bad as Covid are ‘a certainty’, says Sir Chris Whitty. He is right in one sense. So…
Kemi Badenoch: ‘Of course not all cultures are equally valid’
At the Conservative party conference in Birmingham this morning, the Tory leadership candidates set out their stalls. Speaking to Laura…
Could there be a Tory leadership upset?
Conservative party conference is underway. The conference centre in Birmingham is covered in photos of the four remaining leadership hopefuls…
The devastating impact of slander
If you don’t think slander is serious, you may not have known anyone personally who has been publicly slandered. Slander…
Which Tory contender has the best conference stall?
Welcome to Tory conference 2024. For the next four days, the final quartet of contenders will battle it out, Hunger…
Banning Germany’s AfD won’t make it disappear
The opening of a regional parliament doesn’t usually make for edge-of-the-seat politics. But in the German state of Thuringia, the…
NSW legitimises parental alienation
Family law flaws will remain after the New South Wales Labor government slithered its way around a key Libertarian amendment.…
How the Tories can bounce back
What will be Rishi Sunak’s political legacy, other than the terribly embarrassing thing that happened on July 4? Not free speech…
The secret behind Putin’s booming war economy
Russia’s spending on its war in Ukraine continues to grow. Somehow, despite tightening sanctions and increased global isolation, two-and-a-half-years in…
The rise of the expertocrats
‘You are in danger!’ This is how the rhetoric starts. ‘But there is no need to not worry, we will…
MADness – Labor’s intellectual dark ages
M.A.D. MAD. This is the nickname cleverly given to the Misinformation and Disinformation Bill. My only regret is that I…
Rosie Duffield quits Labour over Starmer sleaze
Keir Starmer is yet to hit the hundred day mark but he is already one MP down. This evening Rosie…
This is Israel’s greatest victory since the Six-Day War
There is a satirical Israeli song from the Second Lebanon War, ‘Yalla Ya Nasrallah’, with the chorus: ‘Come on, oh…
How will Iran response to Nasrallah’s assassination?
The assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah transcends the immediate confrontation between Israel and its Islamist enemies. Nasrallah was both…
Is a Russian threat floating off the English coast?
It is a little unsettling that the merchant ship MV Ruby is anchored off Margate, carrying 20,000 tonnes of Russian ammonium nitrate.…
Boris Johnson has just proven he was unfit to be prime minister
For the past five years, I have been in something of a conflict: was Boris Johnson an unconventional but essentially…
Nasrallah is dead and Hezbollah is broken
Israel has said that it killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut yesterday. Information that Nasrallah was at Hezbollah’s main…
Watch: BBC is forced to fact check itself
Amid a wave of BBC cutbacks, the Corporation has made much of its new ‘Verify’ service. Bosses have trumpeted its…
How does the SPD solve a problem like Olaf Scholz?
Olaf Scholz can’t catch a break. The German chancellor started the week on a high after his SPD party won…
The bravery of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement must not be forgotten
Ten years ago this week, a sea of yellow umbrellas filled the streets of Hong Kong in what at the…
Why don’t more people care about Christian persecution?
While Judaism is proportionately the most persecuted global faith, Christianity is by far the most oppressed numerically. One in seven Christians worldwide…
Why is Scotland still tying itself in knots over gender?
Of all the self-inflicted harm to have felled politicians and undermined governments, was there ever a more curious case than…
Putin’s frightening fascination with the occult
Wearing a long white scarf, military khaki pants and holding a drum and stick, Vladimir Putin smiles as he watches…
James Bond is past his best
Is James Bond looking knackered, or is it just me? At 54, I’m at an age where I’ve given up…
Unwelcome
Issues controversially raised in this magazine often pop up, usually several weeks or months later, in mainstream political debate. And…
