The Sofronoff Express at platform ‘speed’
The Magna Carta meets the ACT’s legal system on the Sofronoff Express in what promises to be a historic and…
Starmer’s ‘why Labour’ message needs to get slicker
Keir Starmer has been considerably less discombobulated by the election announcement than the party that made it, but he still…
The grandstanding against the Hay Festival is short-sighted
When the country’s largest literary festival parts ways with its main sponsor, it is not usually a cause for rejoicing among writers,…
France has become Europe’s Wild West
New Caledonia must not become the ‘Wild West’ declared Emmanuel Macron last week during his flying visit to the Pacific…
There’s trouble ahead for Taiwan’s new president
Not many inaugural ceremonies bring together dragons, dancers, rappers, and a 10-metre-high blue horse breathing steam out of its nostrils.…
Tories race to find 160 candidates
The decision to call a snap election last Wednesday caught many in Tory and Labour high command by surprise. Both…
Kim Jong Un’s catchy propaganda revamp
Think of North Korean propaganda and you might think of old-fashioned revolutionary marches praising the Supreme Leader, denouncing the United…
The logic of national service
It would be hard to argue that the Conservatives have had a flawless start to the 2024 general election campaign.…
‘No mow May’ isn’t long enough
There’s one way of getting the look of the Chelsea Flower show winner, Ula Maria’s forest bathing garden, and that’s…
Could Scotland decide the election result?
The starting gun for the general election has been fired. This 2019 parliament is over and we will have a…
Glaciers, graziers, glaziers, and the strangler fig
A perfunctory search on Wikipedia informs that the Strangler Fig, Ficus watkinsiana, ‘grows on another tree, using it as physical support, while…
Covid vaccines: saviour or … ?
It’s interesting that the esteemed editor of this site [ Brownstone ] has concluded, after more than four years of cogitation, that…
My father’s trunk reminds me of one of my earliest Memorial Days
Perhaps we all have our first memories of celebrating Memorial Day. Mine comes from 1945 when my father returned from…
Tories and Labour go to battle on TikTok
The digital election battle is heating up. Just a few days ago the Labour party joined TikTok, the social media…
Should presidential candidates pledge to free Assange?
Washington, DC WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a hero to libertarians. As is Ross Ulbricht, the founder of now-defunct Silk…
Pushover conservatives will lose the culture wars
Balance does not exist in nature. As a vacuum is filled, so too must a spinning top topple, a speeding…
Young people are right to resent national service
Young Britons like me have already done our fair share of national service. For two gruelling years, we sacrificed the…
Will Labour raise taxes?
What is Labour’s tax-and-spend agenda? This is an outstanding question the party needs to answer before polling day – and…
Sunday shows round-up: Farage brands national service plan ‘a joke’
Today saw the first set of Sunday shows since the election was called on Wednesday. Rachel Reeves was interviewed by…
This national service plan is a patronising gimmick
The idea of bringing back national service to knock into shape teenage tearaways and long-haired layabouts was a staple of…
Sunak’s national service may end up backfiring
The idea of bringing back national service has been kicking around British politics for about five times longer than the…
Are Sinn Fein heading for an election triumph?
Bankrupt councils, the imminent collapse of Thames Water, prison overcrowding and a row with unions over public sector pay are…
Could Jeremy Corbyn become a left-wing Nigel Farage?
Why can’t Jeremy Corbyn be a left-wing Farage? Why can’t he threaten Labour as Ukip and its successor parties threatened…
Sunak won’t be much help to the Scottish Tories
The first few days of this general election campaign have been characterised by Rishi Sunak’s dismal campaign management. From wet…
Sam Altman is not evil
It’s a classic trajectory. You start as a likeable and geeky tech tyro, you morph into a squillionaire with disagreeable…
