coronavirus

It’s time to repair the damage done to the Covid generation’s education

3 July 2021 9:00 am

Aswitch of personnel at the Department of Health this week has brought a welcome change in the government’s tone. No…

How many people are self-isolating when they’re told to?

3 July 2021 9:00 am

Isolated cases Large numbers of people are still being ordered to self-isolate in spite of having been vaccinated — 137,560…

Lockdown killed my mother – and thousands like her

3 July 2021 9:00 am

Lockdown killed my mother – and thousands like her

Staged: a handful of VIP events is no substitute for normality

3 July 2021 9:00 am

Uncertainty is crippling our cultural life

‘Fear and bullying’ at the National Trust

3 July 2021 9:00 am

Is Winston Marshall — guitarist, banjo player, composer of Mumford & Sons, and father of the west London ‘Nu-Folk’ music…

The true cost of theatre closures

3 July 2021 9:00 am

It turns out that if there’s one thing more expensive than making theatre, it’s not making it. Empty buildings haemorrhage…

The cold reality facing Sajid Javid

3 July 2021 9:00 am

The most difficult time for a new secretary of state is normally the first three months in the job. An…

Should we be mixing AstraZeneca and Pfizer shots?

30 June 2021 8:41 am

To date, the Covid vaccination programme in Britain has involved two doses of one of three vaccines – AstraZeneca, Pfizer…

Portrait of the week: A bombshell by-election, Scotland bans Mancunians and China staffs its space station

26 June 2021 9:00 am

Home The government contemplated its promised Planning Bill, blamed for contributing to the astonishing victory for the Liberal Democrat Sarah…

How many countries have royal yachts?

26 June 2021 9:00 am

Royal waves Does any other country have a royal yacht? — The Queen of Denmark uses HDMY Dannebrog, a 260ft…

The virus threat has changed. Now Test and Trace must too

26 June 2021 9:00 am

Under what circumstances can a government restrict the liberty of the people? An example was given last year: in a…

The new Covid divide: one rule for the elite, another for the rest of us

26 June 2021 9:00 am

Politicians made the rules – so they know how to bend them

Ministers need to start bracing Britain for the third wave

21 June 2021 1:00 am

The third wave of Covid-19 is well underway, driven by the now-dominant Indian variant. It may now be no more deadly than a typical…

Why Warwick’s Covid modelling doesn’t add up

19 June 2021 10:46 am

This week began with more frightening graphs from SPI-M, the government’s scientific modelling committee. A team at Warwick University calculated…

The new leviathan: the big state is back

19 June 2021 9:00 am

Boris and Biden have placed their faith in the power of big government

Portrait of the week: Freedom off, GB News on and the Queen’s tea with Biden

19 June 2021 9:00 am

Home The lifting of coronavirus restrictions was delayed from 21 June until 19 July, probably. The motive was to avoid…

The luxury of being pro-lockdown

19 June 2021 9:00 am

I’ve just written an essay for the People’s Lockdown Inquiry, a new collaboration between Buckingham University, the Institute of Ideas…

Covid has warped our collective attitude to death

19 June 2021 9:00 am

Covid or no Covid, we’re all going to snuff it

The biggest danger to Boris comes from the enemies within

19 June 2021 9:00 am

Boris Johnson’s predecessor was destroyed by her inability to meet deadlines. Theresa May extended the Brexit transition period so many…

Air travel is in terminal danger

19 June 2021 9:00 am

During the political car crash of 2019, I couldn’t imagine ever agreeing with Theresa May. Yet last week she exhibited…

Does ‘Johnson’s law’ explain why people won’t work from home?

18 June 2021 9:22 pm

Even after the one metre rule and the limits on numbers are removed on July 19th, we will not be…

Delay, data and the need for transparency

18 June 2021 1:20 am

Boris Johnson delayed 21 June, he said, because the data did not merit a full reopening. The specific data government…

Lockdown delay is a price worth paying

16 June 2021 10:01 pm

For the first time during this pandemic, I think we should delay lifting restrictions. Looking at the latest data, it…

The cost of delaying 'freedom day'

15 June 2021 3:30 pm

When Boris Johnson announced that unlocking would be guided by ‘data not dates’ he handed detractors ample scope for derision…

The polarising power of plague

12 June 2021 9:00 am

Now that the government has kindly allowed us to go out again, I wonder if anyone has discovered the same…