The bitter fights around the globe
France New Caledonia is an archipelago in the South Pacific not far from Australia. James Cook discovered it in 1774,…
The space race gets serious
We are shifting from the early era of space exploration to a more serious phase extending ever further from Earth’s…
What is war good for in the twenty-first century?
What exactly is war good for in the twenty-first century? The US should have asked itself this before embarking on…
Inside the handover of Hong Kong
During the negotiations between the UK Foreign Office and the Chinese government that led to the 1997 handover of Hong…
Adopting the Great Loop mindset
When I asked Malinda and Keith Martin when a good time for an interview would be, Malinda wrote back, “We…
Who is Pierre Poilievre?
An extreme form of mental gymnastics is required to believe that a pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ, pro-immigration philosemite in an interracial marriage…
Why Japan won’t repeat the West’s mistakes on immigration
Japan has become another piece of fodder for the West’s culture wars. After a recent visit with his family, talk-show…
An interest rate cut for the Bank of England pre-election?
With inflation having fallen fairly fast in Europe and the ECB having been the first to cut interest rates, surely…
Reform candidate defends Hitler remarks
Since the return of Nigel Farage, Reform UK has been going from strength to strength. Last week a YouGov survey…
Taiwan and Australia: She’ll be right, mate?
From Taipei: One of the first things that struck me about Taiwan is that I felt like I was in…
Who needs a country anyway?
Whenever a commentator – especially a politician – begins to wax lyrical about cutting immigration for economic reasons, I become…
Are the Tories about to fall into Farage’s trap – again?
Nigel Farage’s tail is up. The Reform party election campaign has gone better than he dared hope and its poll…
The awesome Alan Pell Crawford
The great nineteenth-century novelist Harold Frederic (The Damnation of Theron Ware) had a character complain “I cannot read or listen to…
The tantric sex retreat that wasn’t
When my girlfriend suggested we go away to a tantric retreat for the weekend in the English countryside, I couldn’t…
Farage’s ‘contract’ is all about hurting the Tories
Nigel Farage has launched his party’s manifesto, which he’s termed ‘Our contract with you’. The Reform leader dropped the word…
Reform’s radical manifesto would do wonders for democracy
In this election, neither Labour nor the Tories are particularly interested in serious constitutional reform. By contrast, there’s one smaller…
Remainers are going to be disappointed in Labour
Labour’s election manifesto has been criticised by many commentators for being too vague; like a ‘choose your own adventure’ book which would allow the…
Can Rishi Sunak reduce the Tories’ losses?
Every morning in Conservative Campaign Headquarters, Tory aides kickstart the day by blasting out Elvis Presley’s ‘a little less conversation’…
‘Goodbye Labor!’ Local fury over Illawarra offshore wind farm
Labor MP Fiona Phillips probably thought she was winning the hearts and minds of voters everywhere when she announced the…
Why the Tories’ tax black hole attack on Labour will backfire
The Conservatives love trying to reduce their estimates for the cost of a Labour government down to a neat per-household…
iPad scandal MSP accepts £12,000 ‘golden goodbye’
Dear oh dear. Back to Scotland and the chaos of the SNP. Former health secretary Michael Matheson was suspended for…
England are displaying all their usual flaws under Gareth Southgate
Afterwards, Gary’s team of expert pundits crawled into their Hey Jude comfort blankets. Isn’t he great! Maybe the greatest! Well,…
France could pay a heavy price for Macron’s Liz Truss-attack on Le Pen
As Emmanuel Macron heads into a fraught election, France’s president is repeatedly warning voters of the calamitous consequences of electing…
The Tory party’s sums don’t add up
There is, to put it mildly, a lack of candour in this election campaign when it comes to tax rises…
Labour should learn from Jacinda Ardern’s calamitous oil and gas ban
In the UK, the Labour party has pledged to halt any new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea,…
