Patrick West

Was what I said on Facebook really 'hate speech'?

22 November 2020 6:00 pm

Facebook has been accused of failing to combat extremism and hate-speech among its users. But as I found out this week,…

Who's laughing now? Cancel culture is killing comedy

17 November 2020 2:17 am

The BBC and Channel 4 are self-censoring their comedy output because they are so terrified of offending people. So says…

The BBC's bid to axe left-wing comedy will fail

3 September 2020 7:26 pm

People of a conservative or Eurosceptic disposition should be thankful that the BBC’s new director general, Tim Davie, is to…

Vegans, your soya milk is killing the planet

22 August 2020 5:30 pm

In the popular imagination, veganism and environmentalism go hand-in-hand. Both are championed – often in one voice – by ultra-progressive…

Boris's misguided war on obesity

3 July 2020 7:05 pm

Boris Johnson has declared the government’s latest war on obesity. It’s a continuation of the war on ‘junk food’. It’s…

The rise of Britain’s new class system

1 July 2020 7:57 pm

Television chef Prue Leith believes that snobbery is still rife in Britain, and that it’s keeping working-class people in their…

Why are BBC dramas so obsessed with rewriting history?

26 February 2020 10:56 pm

If there was a Bafta award for Most Woke Television Drama, a BBC production would win every year hands down.…

Small but perfectly formed: The Romney and Hythe Railway

5 October 2019 9:00 am

‘The smallest public railway in the world.’ So proclaims a faded poster at New Romney Station, the midpoint of the…

Nigel Farage is not ‘far right’

23 May 2019 1:48 am

It is now fashionable to describe Nigel Farage as an ‘extremist’, ‘far right’ or ‘fascist’ politician. Last month, Dame Margaret…

The deserted platform 1 at Aldwych

The eerie beauty of London’s abandoned Tube stops

16 February 2019 9:00 am

If you’ve ever travelled on London’s Piccadilly Line, you may have noticed that on the stretch between Green Park and…

The defeat of Boudica is believed to have been fought on Watling Street

The Roman road that came to define Britain

17 November 2018 9:00 am

All roads lead to Rome, the saying goes. Well, all roads except for the Roman road of Watling Street, which…

Star attraction: A detail from Banksy’s mural

Dover

16 September 2017 9:00 am

When people come to Dover, it’s usually to pass through. The magnificent castle on the cliffs may be a tourist…

Brugge: best not to call it Bruges

Woe betide you if you try to speak French in Flanders

27 June 2015 9:00 am

Usually, one of the first indications that you’ve entered a bilingual country is that the road signs are in two…