A surprising number of scientists believe in little green men
Eminent astronomers have explained cosmic anomalies as alien megastructures and spaceships, while the source of the celebrated Wow! signal remains anyone’s guess
The Berkeley scandal of 1681 transfixed London society – and Aphra Behn soon capitalised on it
In The Love Letters Between a Nobleman and his Sister, often called the ‘first English novel’, Behn successfully milked the affair for all it was worth
Has Labour done enough?
Is Labour on course to be the largest party at the next election but miss out on a majority? Despite…
Labour had a lucky escape in the North East
The election for the first North East of England mayor should have been a gift to the Labour party. Its…
Labour will swing left as it heads for power
Labour people are used to defeat. Before every election they wonder if the Tories will defy expectations. Real votes are…
Could George Galloway topple Angela Rayner?
It’s not been a good night for the Tories – but Labour has not emerged unscathed either. Sir Keir Starmer’s…
No, the war in Gaza is not like Vietnam
America’s National Public Radio (NPR) this week likened the 2024 student protests in campuses across the USA to those of…
Reform is a busted flush without Nigel Farage
Any insurgent political party needs a breakthrough moment. For the SNP, it was Winnie Ewing’s victory in the 1967 Hamilton…
Tories aren’t panicking – they expected a drubbing
Unsurprisingly, the overnight results from the local elections have been very bruising for the Conservatives. Local election results day is…
Tory MP calls for Boris to return amid election losses
Election results are coming in thick and fast – and the bad news is piling up for Rishi Sunak. Labour…
How big is Labour’s Gaza backlash?
From Hartlepool in the red wall to true blue Rushmoor, Labour has made gains across the country. But as Keir…
Why the Establishment hates Donald Trump
Like many commentators who have struggled to understand the reasons for the inveterate hatred of Donald Trump among the swank…
Did Stephen Fry join the Garrick by mistake?
The battle over sexism and equality at the Garrick Club continues to rumble on. It was revealed yesterday that several of its members, including Stephen Fry, Sting,…
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s strategery
Dumb is dumb. Among the dumbest is a political strategy that harms your own side and infuriates your normal allies,…
Labour keeps the spirit of Karl Marx alive
Purging the left has been one of Keir Starmer’s main goals since his election as leader four years ago. His…
The local elections have not left the Tories in crisis – yet
The Conservatives have, as predicted, had a pretty awful night, but is there any comfort they can draw from the…
Is John Cleese right that the ‘literal minded’ have killed comedy?
John Cleese appeared in the West End this week. ‘I’ve got vertigo,’ he said as he walked on stage at…
The local election results hold few crumbs of comfort for Sunak
Given the universal forecasts of the Tories taking a proper pasting in yesterday’s elections, it is quite something for Rishi…
Boris Johnson forgets his ID to vote
With millions of voters heading to the polls today, how many will forget to bring along suitable photo ID? One…
Holyrood needs Kate Forbes
There are a number of very good reasons that Kate Forbes is not standing for SNP leader. Chief amongst them…
Put coal back in the Coalition energy policy
Most protagonists of nuclear power like to say it is clean, meaning no CO2 is released, as though this is…
Are they criminalising hate speech, or valid criticism of gender politics?
On the first of May, Queensland began living under the Criminal Code (Serious Vilification and Hate Crimes) and Other Legislation Amendment…
Von der Leyen can’t buy her way out of the migrant crisis
Elections have a wonderful way of focusing a politician’s mind. So it is with Rishi Sunak and the Tories, who…
Japan won’t forgive Joe Biden for his xenophobia gaffe
Joe Biden just threw a particularly nasty insult the way of Japan, a close ally of the United States, at…
Mugged by bad law
In the course of human affairs and communications, words have specific meanings, and nowhere is this more important than in…
