India radiates kindly light across the East
William Dalrymple describes how, from the 3rd century BC to 1200 AD, India illuminated the rest of Asia with its philosophies and artistic forms through unforced cultural conquest
The trivial details about royalty are what really fascinate us
Craig Brown’s focus on specifics that other biographers would consider beneath them brings rich rewards
Why are people so shocked that Starmer isn’t perfect?
The 1997 Christmas special of The Mrs Merton Show probably doesn’t feature in many people’s formative political memories, but it…
Jess Phillips must explain her two-tier NHS Gaza claim
Forget two-tier policing – we need to talk about two-tier healthcare. Jess Phillips, Labour MP and Home Office minister, has…
Police probe senior civil servant over Salmond inquiry
As the SNP conference weekend kicks off, another Scottish story is starting to take shape. It has emerged that detectives…
Will Priti Patel’s ‘unity’ pitch succeed?
Priti Patel’s Tory leadership launch in Westminster this afternoon was an upbeat affair, featuring mango lassi and a tonne of…
John Swinney is leading the SNP to oblivion
As the SNP gathers for its conference in Edinburgh this weekend, its membership nearly halved from a peak of 125,691,…
Windsor doesn’t deserve to be subjected to Extinction Rebellion
Pray for Windsor. From today, Extinction Rebellion is descending on Windsor Home Park for ‘three days of creative, peaceful action to propose…
Jess Phillips: I got better NHS treatment because of my Gaza stance
To the new Labour government, where the spotlight is on Jess Phillips and her rather extraordinary revelation. It transpires that…
Why Labour’s four-day week plan could backfire
Employees will have the right to ask their employers to compress their hours into four days a week rather than…
The Harris-Walz CNN interview offered voters no clarity
I hate to use the Democratic Party’s favorite word against them, but the Harris-Walz tag-team interview on CNN was… well,…
‘France killed my husband’ – the rising anger of the gendarmes
A gendarme was killed in France on Monday evening when a driver ran him over at a routine roadside checkpoint in…
Sue Gray at centre of yet another civil service job row
Another day, another Sue Gray-related drama. Now Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has come under fire over yet another…
Shanshan may be the strongest typhoon in Japanese history
The Japanese are battening down the hatches – again – as typhoon Shanshan wreaks devastation to the south-west of the country, with…
Skiing, sushi and hot springs in the Japanese Alps
Nozawa Onsen and Hakuba, my favorite ski resorts near Tokyo, are booking up fast. A trip to Japan guarantees novelty,…
Olaf Scholz’s immigration quagmire
Shock quickly turned to anger in Germany when a Syrian asylum seeker was arrested for the brutal knife attack in…
The Kamala interview was a missed opportunity
CNN was the lucky winner of the first sit-down media interview with Vice President Kamala Harris since she was pushed…
Erasing David Unaipon, one design change at a time
I invite you to have a look at the Australian $50 note – a really close look. There are two…
Albo’s secrets are supposed to protect us, not erode our security
The conservative position on national security is typically to trust our military and national security agencies to do their job…
Starmer may regret an outdoor smoking ban
It’s a curious political world. Few who voted Labour last month actually wanted Labour policies, or for that matter had…
Is it a surprise that Labour want to ban outdoor smoking?
Anyone surprised by leaked documents showing smoking may soon be banned in beer gardens, small parks, outdoor restaurants, open-air spaces…
Scotland has failed Andy Murray
So much for building upon the legacy of the nation’s greatest ever sportsman. There will be no tennis balls hit…
How far will Starmer’s smoking ban go?
When Rishi Sunak announced his plan to create a ‘smoke-free generation’ at conference, some of his own MPs were bemused.…
Starmer’s ratings hit record low as cronyism row continues
To Downing Street, where it appears the new Prime Minister isn’t having the most pleasant of premierships. Sir Keir Starmer…
Is Starmer now a friend of the oil and gas industry?
Keir Starmer’s government appears to have softened its stance on oil and gas. Back in June 2023, the Labour leader…
