Politics
Inside an MP’s inbox
There is nothing so ex as an ex-MP, Tam Dalyell used to say. Now that parliament has returned from recess,…
Falsifying history can only increase racial tension
Frank Furedi argues that historic memory is the key to the identity of any coherent community, and that attacking it undermines a population’s solidarity
Farage’s next move in his plan to destroy the Tories
On Tuesday afternoon, a familiar figure pulled up at a Westminster café to plot the Tories’ downfall. Nigel Farage beamed…
A romantic obsession: Precipice, by Robert Harris, reviewed
In the build-up to the Great War another drama unfolds, as the Prime Minister H.H. Asquith is seen to be distracted from politics by his infatuation with the beautiful Venetia Stanley
Keir Starmer’s mission impossible
Labour backbenchers have spent years dreaming of the day they are in power and get ‘the call’ from the Prime…
Starmer’s first big test
During the election campaign, Keir Starmer confessed to taking Friday nights off. ‘I’ve been doing this for years – I…
Evita meets Thatcher: the woman fighting Venezuela’s autocracy
Maria Corina Machado is showing the world how opposition politicians can fight an autocrat. When President Nicolas Maduro tried to…
Can Starmer control his party?
Labour MPs ought to have been jubilant when they gathered for their weekly all-party parliamentary meeting on Monday. Most were…
Will the Olympics ever be politics-free?
Despite Baron Coubertin’s ideals, nationalistic friction at the Paris Games in 1924 had already prompted a Times headline: ‘Olympics doomed’
Portrait of the Week: Farage returns, Abbott reselected and Trump guilty
Home Nigel Farage took over leadership of the Reform party from Richard Tice and is standing for parliament in Clacton.…
Why South Africans lost faith in the ANC
A red dawn had just broken when Stephanie Sathege joined the queue to vote at her local polling station in…
Inside Labour’s fight with the unions
By the end of the year, Britain may be one of the few countries in the democratic world where the…
Headed for the canon: Withnail and I, at the Birmingham Rep, reviewed
After nearly 40 years, Withnail has arrived on stage. Sean Foley directs Bruce Robinson’s adaptation, which starts with a live…
Exploring the glorious literary heritage of Bengal
Bengalis are renowned for their love of discussion and argument, and a new collection of short stories reflects this passion for cultured conversation
A timely morality tale: The Spoiled Heart, by Sunjeev Sahota, reviewed
Conflicting ideals of old-school socialism and modern identity politics are fought out against a background of urban desolation worthy of Dickens
Scrawled outpourings of love and defiance
Examples of 18th-century graffiti range from romantic rhymes scratched on windowpanes to the haunting marks of political prisoners incised on dungeon walls
Could Sadiq Khan lose London?
With Labour 20 points ahead in the national polls, a lot of Tories have already written off next month’s mayoral…
Portrait of the Week: hate crimes, surprise knighthoods and flaming rickshaws
Home The Hate Crime and Public Order Act came into effect in Scotland, making it a crime to communicate or…
In defence of forgiveness
It is often the small constants in the culture that give the game away. Much of the news today is…
Joe Biden’s dog is out of control
I was shocked to read about the behaviour of Joe Biden’s dog, Commander. According to a CNN report based on…
Permanent stalemate in Gaza suits Netanyahu
Jerusalem After midnight on Thursday is dead-time for the Israeli media. The weekend editions have gone to print (newspapers don’t…
