What Hunt should really do to stop people claiming benefits
It is hard to deny the assertion made by Jeremy Hunt and the Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride that…
A terrible tale of a French village
The new prime minister of France, Gabriel Attal, has promised to “take care” of Oradour-sur-Glane. The village, in west-central France,…
The plot to erase the Anglo-Saxons
Sea-thieves messenger, deliver back in reply, tell your people this spiteful message, that here stands undaunted an Earl with his…
The Galápagos evolution even Darwin didn’t foresee
Lonesome George, a Pinta Island giant tortoise, spent the latter half of his hundred years munching on cacti and roaming…
Dispatch from an unloved borough
Once a year, Nick, a surgeon who lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, visits Staten Island. Almost as…
Why are Scottish nationalists so thin-skinned?
Scottish nationalists are not happy. What’s new, I hear you ask. Did they lose another leader? Has Sainsbury’s been selling…
Summer flavor pairings
Does anything say “June” quite like strawberries and cream? The sweetness of sun-ripened strawberries allowed to remain on the plant…
Loving and tweaking the Long Island Iced Tea
Want to get drunk, fast? To most, that’s the point of the Long Island Iced Tea. It’s not so much…
The thoroughly underrated Pessac-Léognan
When someone says “Bordeaux wine” most of us think first of wines from the Médoc, home of Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe,…
Labour rent controls would be a disaster
‘Rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city — except for bombing,’ declared…
King Charles’s first official portrait is a triumph
The first official portrait of King Charles III since his coronation has been unveiled. Both the artist Jonathan Yeo and…
The illusion (or delusion?) of choice
One of the greatest misconceptions about Australian politics is that voters get a choice. You know what I mean. You…
Rigid principles can lead to manic delusion
For years I’ve played this game with a good mate, that is, to see who can simplify their life the…
The carbon capture con
Carbon-capture-and-underground-storage (CCUS) tops the list of silly schemes ‘to reduce man-made global warming’. The idea is to capture exhaust gases…
The humble faith of Ayaan Hirsi Ali
2024 continues to be a year of spiritual surprises. One by one by one, leading conservative voices from around the world are expressing…
The Tories can’t even organise a crackdown on rainbow lanyards
A suggested government ban on rainbow-coloured lanyards in the civil service has, perhaps unsurprisingly, proved divisive at the highest reaches…
Why are important Covid documents not being released?
The most important stories from the Covid Inquiry are found in the written evidence and submitted statements. However, the Cabinet…
The Normandy prisoner escape shines a light on France’s criminal underworld
‘Sometimes when we turn on the television we get the impression that nothing’s going well in France,’ Emmanuel Macron said…
Labour backbenchers snub immigration questions
Dear oh dear. Has all Labour’s tough talk on tackling immigration been purely for show? That’s how things appear after…
MPs demand a rethink on mental illness
Given so many people are suffering from some kind of mental distress at the moment, many of them out of…
Javier Milei is torn between the West and China
Javier Milei pledged to ‘make Argentina great again’ when he took to the stage in February at the CPAC meeting…
It would be ridiculous to clamp down on foreign students
Oh, the embarrassment. The government commissioned its own Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to investigate whether graduate visas (which grant overseas…
Prince Harry’s memoir loses out on top awards
The renegade royal never manages to stay out of the news for long. Now the spotlight is back on Prince…
A Federal Budget to celebrate
Is this the moment Labor self-destructs?
Rain is the biggest problem for Oxford’s Free Gaza protestors
Oxford students, like others, are protesting about Palestine, but not so much when it rains. There’s an encampment outside the…
