James Kirkup

Britain is too sick

7 March 2024 5:38 am

Britain is running out of workers. The UK population may be growing, but the share of that population that is…

Does Labour want an anti-CV revolution?

2 March 2024 2:39 am

Alison McGovern, Labour’s shadow employment minister is one of those politicians  who are always worth watching. She combines the ability…

The pension bomb facing Generation X

15 February 2024 7:08 pm

Happy birthday to me. Today I turn 48. I’m celebrating in an age-appropriate way: a trip to the physio for…

The surprising truth about ‘Nanny State’ Britain

31 January 2024 3:03 am

This week, a Conservative Prime Minister announced he was banning something – disposable vapes. The reaction to that ban –…

I voted Remain, but there should be more pro-Brexit lords

30 December 2023 11:00 am

Liz Truss has sent Matthew Elliott to the House of Lords in her resignation honours list. There are some obvious…

Alistair Darling was a great man

1 December 2023 1:04 am

The death of Alistair Darling is a grievous loss. British politics has lost a man of decency, character, integrity and…

In defence of David Cameron’s comeback

14 November 2023 12:15 am

David Cameron is back. This will make some people unhappy, because they dislike the man. Common reasons for disliking Dave include…

Are we diluting the meaning of ‘mental health’?

6 November 2023 5:25 pm

What does ‘mental health’ mean? Is the answer to that question undergoing a generational change, as younger people become more…

How Brits turned soft on crime

7 October 2023 5:00 pm

It is almost exactly 30 years since a young Labour politician told his party’s annual conference in Brighton that as…

I dislike David Cameron, but he was right on gay marriage

18 July 2023 1:49 am

The other day, I found myself at a large event in a posh garden where David Cameron was present. Being…

Rowing back on his climate plan, Starmer is in it to win it

10 June 2023 12:38 am

Over almost 30 years in and around Westminster, I’ve noted some persistent and essential differences in the culture and mindset…

What the campaign to abolish inheritance tax tells us about British politics

3 June 2023 4:00 pm

The Daily Telegraph, where I worked for a decade, has launched a campaign for the abolition of inheritance tax (IHT).…

The trouble with Britain’s net migration figure

25 May 2023 8:29 pm

Where to start with the net migration figures? As someone who has generally defended liberal immigration policies, I could just shout,…

The Tories would be lost in opposition

21 May 2023 12:15 am

It is widely observed that many Conservatives are preparing to lose power at the next general election.  The Conservative Democratic…

We need to talk about the Liberal Democrats

6 May 2023 1:11 am

Since 2015, it has been common and rational for people in Westminster to ignore the Liberal Democrats. After the end…

Will the Tories become radicalised over the ECHR?

27 April 2023 5:18 am

I’m writing this shortly after hosting Professor Tim Bale and David Gauke at the Social Market Foundation for a talk…

Women are being ignored again in the surrogacy debate

11 April 2023 9:02 pm

Just over five years ago, I wrote an article here about sex and gender and the issues raised by policies…

There’s still a hint of life in the Tory party

1 March 2023 6:00 pm

Westminster is a place of consensus, orthodoxy and prevailing wisdom. At any given moment, there is the Narrative, the story…

How self-ID helped bring down Nicola Sturgeon

15 February 2023 9:54 pm

In the years when I wrote a lot about sex and gender and politics and law, I made the same…

Why yesterday’s men will loom large in 2023

1 January 2023 10:09 pm

New year, old politicians.  Yesterday’s men will loom large in the politics of 2023. British politics has a nostalgia problem,…

Rishi Sunak will regret his Channel crossings crackdown

14 December 2022 1:30 am

Rishi Sunak’s latest promises on asylum and immigration suggest the PM has learned very little from his Tory forebears. Ken…

The choice between higher immigration and even higher taxes

18 November 2022 9:55 pm

‘Only the higher-than-expected numbers of migrants coming to the UK under the post-Brexit migration regime adds materially to prospects for…

What the Gavin Williamson saga says about British politics

10 November 2022 1:59 am

I wonder if the fall of Gavin Williamson is the latest evidence that British political parties are becoming harder to…

Raising inheritance tax is fair and right

8 November 2022 10:38 pm

Here’s a thought experiment about tax and fairness. Imagine two people, Janet and John. They’re both 30 years old. Janet…

Liz Truss's fate rests with the Bank of England

7 October 2022 7:17 pm

James Carville, an ostentatiously aggressive adviser to Bill Clinton, once said that when he died, he wanted to be reincarnated…