Politics
The curiosity in the cabinet
John Biffen was mentally ill. This is the outstanding revelation of Semi-Detached, a memoir which has been assembled from his…
The President and the muckrakers
Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era are well-worn subjects for both professional and amateur historians, so it’s pertinent to ask…
Ho, ho, oh no
In January 1976 New York’s late-lamented National Lampoon produced a bicentennial calendar as a contribution to the general rejoicing. For…
Letters
Rod rage Sir: Like most cyclists, who also own a car and pay road tax, I enjoy a pedal along…
Why I’d never be a Tory princeling
Since I was a child, pretty much everybody I have ever met has asked me if I want to be…
Fragile China
For all its bombast and success, the Chinese Communist party faces a host of looming problems – and a big decision
Low, dishonest decade
When Gordon Brown eventually became aware that his Downing Street was about to be engulfed in the Smeargate scandal, he…
Court chronicler for the coalition
There are two ways of being a political journalist. One is to stay on the outside and try to avoid…
Election time in Australia: Tony Abbott looks set to oust Labor’s Kevin Rudd
Sometimes only a cliché will do, especially when the subject is the Australian Labor party. Labor is holed beneath the…
World-weary world power
A year or so after the ‘liberation’ of Iraq, an unnamed senior Bush administration official (later revealed to be Karl…
Still a ticking timebomb
No book about Dr David Kelly could start anywhere other than at the end. Kelly is found, dead, in a…
Gillard and the Grange Hermitage
My Australian friend was in mourning over the removal of Julia Gillard, the country’s first female prime minister. She had…
