Features
Good Lords: the House is losing some of the best
Keir Starmer has not been the luckiest general. But, in one respect, he has bested Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington…
Norman Tebbit transformed the country for the better
My first job in government was working for Norman Tebbit as his special adviser in the Department of Trade and…
I’ve got Donald Trump to thank for my unusual middle name
Never make a drunken bet. At about 3 a.m. one fateful morning, pre-pandemic and several bottles down, a friend and…
Admit it: most wedding speeches are awful
Perhaps the most traumatic part of attending an American wedding – much worse than the bridesmaids coming in the wrong…
Is Britain ready for France’s most controversial novel?
This Saturday is the centenary of the birth of one of France’s most controversial writers. Jean Raspail, who died in…
The Alawite women taken as sex slaves in Syria
Syria’s Alawite communities are in the grip of a fear that their women and girls could be kidnapped and held…
How postcards made Britain
Worse for drink, and lonely in his Hollywood apartment, F. Scott Fitzgerald sat down to write a postcard. He began,…
Can Keir Starmer fend off Labour’s big beasts?
It was the chronicle of a death foretold. Last year Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, drafted a memo…
Labour should look to Andy Burnham for inspiration
For Keir Starmer, it seems everything is going south. His MPs are openly rebelling, his advisers are mutinous and it…
My memories of the royal train
It is the most civilised way to travel anywhere in the kingdom. Which is why I am so distraught that…
Public libraries deserve to shut – they’ve forgotten why they exist
The usual piece about public libraries runs like this. Public libraries are for ‘more than just books’. They are in…
Meet Zohran Mamdani, the man who will ruin New York
Manhattan The Friday before New York’s Democratic mayoral primary election, the 33-year-old candidate Zohran Mamdani walked the entire length of…
Why do my outfits make people so angry?
I have always cycled everywhere in London, not because I want to save the planet but because I want to…
The hidden value of notes
‘You asshole,’ was my friend’s cheery greeting when we met in Ludlow. I’d mucked up the time. Reconciled, we walked…
Is your restaurant halal?
Dos Mas Tacos opened recently next to Spitalfields Market, one of London’s trendiest and busiest areas. Two beef birria tacos…
Millennials don’t want brown furniture
For me, it was the sideboard that did it. Originally the centrepiece of my grandmother’s dining room, upon her death…
‘It’s Liz Truss territory’: how bad are things for Kemi Badenoch?
Around 5 p.m. on Monday one of Kemi Badenoch’s aides was having a drink with a friend in the Two…
We should welcome regime change in Iran
On the first night of what Donald Trump has called the ‘12-day war’ between Israel and Iran, someone spray-painted a…
In defence of exorcism
British politics and ghosts are subjects that rarely meet. Sometimes an MP or parliamentary aide might report a sighting of…
Israel’s attack on Iran has been planned for years
It was clear at the time that what happened on 7 October 2023 would change the Middle East. What was…
Pope Idol: Leo’s singing should be celebrated
‘But will anyone be interested?’ the vicar asked cautiously. It was a fair response to my latest madcap scheme. One…
Starmer’s war zone: the Prime Minister is in a perilous position
Sir Keir Starmer was alerted in the early hours of Friday by his national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, that Israel’s…
Venice deserves Jeff Bezos
Venetians are once again revolting. Not, this time, against cruise ships, wheeled luggage, over-tourism or rule from mainland Mestre. No…
Toppling Iran’s Supreme Leader could be a mistake
Are we already seeing an ominous mission creep in Israel’s blistering attack on Iran? First, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s air…
Who’s pushing Trump to be an Iran hawk?
‘This never would have happened if I had been president,’ says Donald Trump, whenever the international news goes from bad…
