Columnists
Where are all my after-dinner speaking gigs?
How excited are you to hear the Prime Minister talking tech with Eric Schmidt, an American billionaire who used to…
The joy of opposition
By rights, the Conservative party conference in Birmingham ought to have been a funereal affair. It was the first time…
The Tories’ Greek tragedy has reached its catharsis
I write this as I leave the Tory conference in Birmingham. I have covered most of these events (and many…
In defence of Rosie Duffield
Rosie Duffield’s magnificently rancorous resignation of the Labour whip has reduced the number of MPs on the government side who…
Israel was right to ignore the West
There are sources in the Jewish tradition that warn against exultation at the downfall of one’s enemies. But I am…
Pornography and the truth about the Pelicot case
There have been protests in 30 cities across France, people marching in outrage over the case of Dominique Pelicot who…
Goodbye to Old King Coal
So farewell, Ratcliffe-on-Soar: the UK’s last coal-fired power station shut down on Monday, having burned five million tonnes of coal…
Who’d be an MP now?
Sir Keir Starmer offered a sausage to fortune when he let Lord Alli bankroll half the cabinet. One’s heart does…
Inside Labour’s love affair with Lord Alli
As a peer who hates publicity, Lord Alli might have been expected to dodge the Labour conference – given the…
My lessons for David Lammy
There is worryingly little time left to make the appropriate preparations for Bridget Phillipson’s official birthday, on 19 December. As…
Will AI make bricklayers better-paid than barristers?
Old tortoise that I am, my head usually yanks back into my shell when people start talking about artificial intelligence.…
Sky News has lost its way
Occasionally I am told that I go too hard on the BBC. It is an understandable gripe which I sometimes…
The Murdochs’ next move: Rightmove
Next month’s Budget tax raids on capital have provoked a festival of creative doom-mongering on the fringes of Labour’s conference…
Whatever happened to Lionel Shriver?
For many readers, my absence from these pages may have gone unnoticed. Those few who’ve detected my disappearance might have…
Are the Tories brave enough to be conservative?
The Conservative party is out of power – and that’s not easy if you’ve been in power for more than…
The adult ADHD trap
I was on the bus recently and bored when I decided not to ignore but to answer one of those…
In defence of McJobs
The burden of higher taxation must fall on those with ‘the broadest shoulders’, says the Prime Minister, and City folks…
Ed Davey’s game plan
Ed Davey owes much of his election success to Boris Johnson – and in more ways than one. The slide-loving,…
Do you have a ‘story’?
As someone who worked full time in the office for 24 years and has now worked full time from home…
The C of E’s raving madness
In February there was a commotion at Canterbury Cathedral. Or, to be more precise, there was a silent commotion. The…
The BBC’s strange silence
In the long and illustrious history of race chancing, there must have been many more egregious examples than that of…
Is Gordon Brown back?
Last week, there was a surprise visitor to the Treasury: Gordon Brown. The former prime minister and chancellor secretly returned…
Rachel Reeves is right to cut the winter fuel payment
Gordon Brown introduced the winter fuel payment shortly after becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1997, following his party’s landslide…
Don’t look back in anger… it’s just how ticket sales work
We expect Ryanair tickets to cost more on holiday Saturdays than term-time Tuesdays and Uber fares to surge in the…
