Features
Discovering Thomas Mann by motorbike
In Thomas Mann’s astonishing novel The Magic Mountain the indolent young Hans Castorp visits his brave, terminally ill soldier cousin…
All by herself: Theresa May and the politics of isolation
Few people would choose to celebrate their birthday by listening to Philip Hammond speak, but that is the pleasure that…
The minister for spinning plates: David Lidington interview
David Lidington is the most powerful minister you’ve never heard of. He is Theresa May’s de facto deputy, tasked with…
How do you solve a problem like Anjem Choudary?
Next month the Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary will be released from prison, having served just half of his five-and-a-half-year sentence.…
Tesco’s new Brexit supermarket doesn’t stack up
Supermarkets have always moved with the times. After the recession we wanted affordable luxury, so we got M&S’s ‘Dine in…
Adam Smith would have approved of Trump’s trade tariffs
‘What the hell is going on?’ That anxious wail of economic incomprehension has been heard ever since President Trump decided…
Of course Russians have a sense of humour – just look at the Salisbury ‘tourists’
The comedy of Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, the two glum Russian ‘tourists’ who denied on television that they were…
The Yorkshire town that’s gone from dirty old buildings to New Age nirvana
Bernard Ingham once told a story about a reporter from the Financial Times who went to cover an election in…
Tech gurus don’t let their kids have smartphones. Here’s why
Pupils are back in classrooms and parents can finally have a brief respite from worrying about their children’s excessive screen…
When did advertising become so banal?
Walking down the street on my lunch break, I sometimes pass a delivery man wheeling a large handcart of Japanese…
How Orbán duped the Brexiteers
To the inhabitants of the British Isles, the nations of central Europe have always existed in a semi–mythical space, near…
Corbyn dares to be different – why don’t other MPs?
One of the better plays at the National Theatre in recent weeks has been about a 21st-century banker, Judy, who…
Welcome to the hard centre – and the future of British politics
The Conservative party has to move beyond Brexit and leaders: what is it going to be about? I suggest it…
James Cleverly: the Tories are to blame for Corbyn
As Labour gathers for its conference in Liverpool this weekend, the Conservatives will be watching with trepidation, rather than the…
Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell was just fiction. Here are the facts
One of the many pleasures of writing the life of Thomas Cromwell was to reach out behind the various versions…
Second best: Why runners up are more interesting than those who come first
Who was the second prime minister? Everyone knows Robert Walpole was the first. Firsts get all the fame and glory.…
The Tory battle has only just begun
It looks as if the Conservative party is already at war. Fifty or so Brexiteer Tory MPs openly meet to…
Save us from Tiger, the posh Poundland of tat
There is a Tiger on the loose. It is stalking our high streets. It is prowling our train stations. It…
Elizabeth, the Eurosceptic queen
There has been much inconclusive speculation on the Queen’s views on Brexit. In 2016, the Sun asserted that she was…
Tom Tugendhat: the next Tory leader should be from my generation
When Boris Johnson compared Theresa May’s Brexit plan to wrapping a suicide vest around Britain’s constitution, the harshest response came…
The backlash to Trump has begun – and Republicans should not be surprised
Washington, DC Republicans observing a rising wave of liberal and progressive candidates, policies and election results in the United States…
In Idlib, the final chapter in Syria’s civil war has begun
Beirut The customs man wore a white linen suit. He had a large moustache. His ample belly touched the edge…
There’s a reason Unst is called the island above all others
‘I’d like a copy of the Times,’ said the visitor from the south. ‘Yesterday’s or today’s?’ the shopkeeper asked. ‘Today’s,…
Macron vs Salvini: the ideological battle for Europe’s future
The first sign that Matteo Salvini was destined to do battle with Emmanuel Macron came in June, a few days…
What has Pope Francis covered up?
The Catholic Church is confronting a series of interconnected scandals so shameful that its very survival is threatened. Pope Francis…
