UK politics
Here comes Boris! The next Tory leadership fight has just begun
The next Tory leadership battle has just begun
For Boris, choosing the right seat will only be half the battle
Choosing the right seat is only half the battle for Boris
Parliament's next crisis: a dangerous shortage of middle-aged men
The House of Commons is off for the summer. But few MPs and ministers expect to make it through to…
Our spies have stopped chasing subversives. That's why we're in so much trouble
Peter Clarke’s powerful report on the Trojan Horse affair in Birmingham schools is confirmation of the weakness of David Cameron…
Right-wing women are sexier
A lust that dare not speak its name
Could Michael Howard be the next EU Commissioner?
In recent weeks British government visitors to Berlin have been confronted with a persistent question: when will David Cameron make…
How Wales was betrayed by its (Labour) government.
Devolution has left my country with catastrophic misgovernment
Ed Miliband’s problem isn’t his image. It’s us
That bacon bap earlier this month was not the cause of Ed Miliband’s unpopularity. Ed Miliband’s unpopularity was the cause…
George Osborne’s cynical grab for northern votes (and why I’m for it)
When John Prescott used to wax garrulous about a ‘superhighway’ from Hull to Liverpool, everyone assumed it was a wheeze…
Does Ukip believe in anything any more?
I’m worried about Ukip. It’s possible that my concerns are entirely misplaced but let me give you some examples of…
What is David Cameron’s big idea?
In almost a decade as Conservative leader, David Cameron has tended to avoid talking about his political philosophy. He has…
Ukip isn’t a national party. It’s a Tory sickness
It can happen that something ought to feel wrong yet somehow doesn’t; and you wonder whether this means that in…
Was I abused by Jimmy Savile?
‘Twenty-six million people in Europe are looking for work. And whose jobs are they after?’ asks the Ukip poster for…
Yes, Britain is a Christian country
I can’t say it was a great surprise to read a letter from a group of well-known authors, academics, comedians…
We have to tell the truth about Tony Benn now. Who will hear it later?
I could start by remarking that we should not speak ill of the dead, quoting the pertinent Latin phrase: de…
Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and the return of Tory wars
From the moment he took his job, Michael Gove knew that he would make energetic and determined enemies. The teachers’…
Any other business: Britain’s chaotic energy policy puts us in Putin’s hands
To have written last month that the headline ‘Kiev in flames’ looked like a black swan on the economic horizon…
Welcome to the age of four-party politics
Two things will make the next general election campaign quite unlike any previous election in this country. The first is…
Britain needs small government, not weak government. That means strong flood defences
There is nothing inevitable about the by now familiar sight of residents being towed away from flooded homes, of shops…
If David Cameron can't get the floods right, all his hopes will wash away
It is all hands to the pump in Downing Street. The entire No. 10 operation from the Prime Minister down…
Revealed: how green ideology turned a deluge into a flood
The ideology that created an unnatural disaster
Alex Salmond is within striking distance of victory. Why hasn’t England noticed?
Alex Salmond is on course to win. Why hasn’t England noticed?
What the NHS owes the Tories
Pinned to the wall of Jeremy Hunt’s office in the Department of Health is an A1 piece of paper detailing…
Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East's 30 year war
Sunni vs Shia, Saudi Arabia vs Iran. A new great war has begun
Cameron’s mission for 2014: stay out of third place
European elections are normally an afterthought in British politics. As even David Cameron admits, most of us struggle to remember…
