I’ve missed you, Diane Abbott
I thought I had forgotten about Diane Abbott, but in fact there has been a Diane-sized hole in my life…
I shed a tear for the SNP
For people who take politics seriously and very earnestly, such as myself, the present debacle within the Scottish National party…
The police are a law unto themselves
The journos weren’t very impressed with Nicola Sturgeon’s house. Never mind the plod staring like morons at her barbecue or…
Sanna Marin and the female leadership myth
It is with great sadness that I must report the departure of the world’s only female head of state who…
The rule of lawyers
Have you had your fourth Covid booster jab yet? They are being very quiet about it these days. I used…
Childcare: an inconvenient truth
Wyndham Lewis once said that ‘the ideas of a time are like the clothes of a season’ – but that,…
Why shouldn’t BBC staff express opinions?
There was a kind of peak BBC Radio 4 moment last week when the network put on a play called…
What I make of Sue Gray
I am at a bit of a loss to understand the hoo-ha about the civil servant Sue Gray. She has…
Unmasking the truth about Covid
You want some tomatoes? Come up here, we’re inundated. We’ve got a tomato mountain. That’s because nobody in the north…
Cancel the Vikings
A little late in the day, perhaps, it has been pointed out to the intellectual colossi of South Tyneside Council…
A sense of entitlement
How are you coping during this cost- of-living crisis? Have you made your way to the food bank yet? I…
‘Truth’ is not subjective
Once upon a time, a fox with a large bushy tail and a disingenuous smile changed his name from Reynard…
The Tories’ poisonous culture wars
Aretha Franklin’s 1967 hit ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ should be removed from the music streaming network…
Everything in Britain is broken
It is rare to find an example of public art which one can applaud, unequivocally, but I think I have…
Help me, I’m Scottish
I did not enjoy the Christmas festivities this year: I sang no carols, ate no turkey and failed to watch…
A world of our own making
Two very brief excerpts from Radio 4 last week. First, my wife turned on her radio in time to hear…
The march of the local council dictators
I was impressed with the passion Sir Keir Starmer managed to whip up within himself when presenting Gordon Brown’s interminable…
In defence of fairy tales
One by one, life’s harmless little pleasures are outlawed by an overweening, repressive government. The Online Safety Bill has been…
The truth about the World Cup
You have to admire their bravery, don’t you? The stoicism with which they put up a fight in the name…
