The troublesome idealism of Simone Weil
Hailed as ‘an uncompromising witness to the modern travails of the spirit’ , Weil also exasperated those closest to her with her ambitions for heroic self-denial
Life among the world’s biggest risk-takers
The billionaires currently driving technology and the global economy are willing to take bets on very long odds, and treat everything as a market to be played
Unrecorded lives: Tell Me Everything, by Elizabeth Strout, reviewed
The pandemic’s aftershocks are still felt in Crosby, as Strout’s best-loved characters, Olive, Lucy, Jim and Bob, reminisce about people they have known, imbuing their lives with meaning
Heartbreaking scenes: Annihilation, by Michel Houellebecq, reviewed
Set in 2027, with France in a state of economic and moral decay, Houellebecq’s deeply affecting novel is really a meditation on love and death and the way we treat the dying
Bones, bridles and bits – but where’s the horse?
Ancient equine remains provide fascinating clues to migration and warfare – but the animals themselves seem largely absent in William T. Taylor’s history of the horse
The SAS explode from the shadows in six days that shook Britain
The siege of the Iranian embassy in London in the spring of 1980 achieved nothing for the terrorists. But the previously reclusive elite army unit soon became the stuff of legend
No. 10 change tack on ‘wardrobe-gate’
A week is a long time in politics. Keir Starmer began the week sending out his senior ministers to defend…
Farage plots his next US trip
It’s his sworn ambition to become Prime Minister of the UK by 2029. But is Nigel Farage perhaps spending a…
Nigel Farage’s unlikely inspiration
Nigel Farage has just finished his keynote speech at the Reform party’s annual conference. In a performance enhanced by Eminem,…
PM must keep Tory switchers on side, warns report
Reform’s party conference is in full swing in Birmingham, as the leadership continue to hammer home their pivotal role in…
Lee Anderson takes a pop at Sadiq Khan – again
Ding ding ding! The gloves are coming off today in Birmingham, where Reform UK is hosting its day-long party conference.…
MPs slam Starmer over freebie fiasco
Sir Keir’s frockgate scandal is only gathering pace, it appears, after a rather calamitous week for the Prime Minister. Donations…
Vladimir Kara-Murza: Putin must not be allowed to win in Ukraine
‘Whatever happens, Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to win the war in Ukraine’. For the first time since being…
Britain is losing the spy game to Russia
Russia’s decision to kick out six alleged British spies in August prompted a strange sense of deja vu. After the…
A serious tax agenda for Queensland
Queensland voters go to the polls in just over a month, and despite a lot of political announcements there has…
Should Huw Edwards be stripped of his BBC pension?
With the Huw Edwards court case complete – and the disgraced BBC News presenter given a six-month prison sentence, suspended…
2026 Census: confusion about gender requires biological clarity
The slowly simmering cultural and legal conflicts between the rights of natal females and males who identify as female has…
Nuclear fear-mongering is not science
Nuclear energy opponents frequently cite cost and safety as reasons for Australia not to include nuclear plants in our future…
Britain is spending beyond its means
This morning marks a milestone – but it’s nothing to celebrate. Public sector net debt as a percentage of the…
Watch: Starmer’s top team ‘over-controlling’, says Jess Phillips
Sir Keir Starmer will be hoping his first Labour conference as Prime Minister this weekend goes better than the last…
The wickedness of Mohamed Al Fayed
The allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed are dreadful: the former Harrods owner has been accused of raping five women and…
Does the evidence support working from home?
I am sure that the business secretary Jonathan Reynolds picked up many useful skills in his previous job in local…
Is Rachel Reeves damaging the High Street’s recovery?
The former boss of Sainsbury’s, Justin King, warned on the Today programme this morning that Rachel Reeves has damaged the…
France – and even Michel Barnier – is tiring of Emmanuel Macron
France can’t go on like this. The country, and its overseas territories, are in chaos. On Wednesday night two men in…
Owen Paterson must regret his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights has thrown out a challenge by former cabinet minister Owen Paterson. The ex-Tory MP,…
