Features
An ode to lamplighting
I was growing impatient with a recent blog by Sam Altman, who runs OpenAI, promising progress, universal prosperity, ‘a space…
Bring back the stiffy!
The other day, clearing out boxes, I stumbled on a sheaf of invitations from childhood. Decorated with trains and fairies,…
Israel’s Iron Prime Minister
At home, the left sees him as cynical, conniving and corrupt; while the right sees him as tired, weak and…
How Ed Miliband plans to conjure electricity out of nothing
Electricity is magical stuff. From a couple of tiny holes in a wall comes an apparently endless supply of invisible,…
Israel is reshaping the Middle East in its favour
Iran has fallen into the trap set by Israel. It has taken the bait after months of failing to respond…
Are you Beatles or Stones?
You find me in the south of France, holed up in that inn of near perfection called La Colombe d’Or…
Reflections on 15 years in the editor’s chair
In the late summer of 2009, Andrew Neil invited me to his villa in the Côte d’Azur but didn’t say…
China’s fear and loathing of the Japanese
Ten-year-old Shen Hangping was walking to school when he was stabbed. Japanese on his father’s side, Chinese on his mother’s,…
Inside the Welsh village where English speakers aren’t welcome
On a Saturday morning, no life stirs. The village café is closed and the ancient church of St Beuno’s is…
It may be too late to save trail hunting
There’s a grumble, often repeated among country folk, that ‘hunting people got hunting banned’. What they mean (I think) is…
What does ‘victory’ for Ukraine look like?
This week in New York Volodymyr Zelensky will present Joe Biden with a ‘Victory Plan’ for Ukraine. But how to…
Why the Tories lost – by the Tory leadership candidates
As the four candidates prepare to make their pitch at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, we quizzed them about…
The death of widowhood
There were many tributes paid to the Jersey aid worker Simon Boas when he died of throat cancer in July,…
Who’s on top in the Tory leadership contest?
In recent years, the Conservative party conference has become something of an irrelevance. Often it is little more than a…
Is Israel trying to drag America into a war with Iran?
The American general David Petraeus famously asked of the invasion of Iraq: ‘Tell me how this ends.’ That’s the question…
Why French students want English uniforms
Béziers, France The École Mairan in Béziers in southern France is a happy neighbourhood elementary school housed in a superb…
Trams make a comeback
Earlier this month, the fortunate folk of Frankfurt were entertained by the 11th annual tram-drivers competition, with entries from 26…
The joy of hiring an old banger
There is always much to look forward to on a holiday with friends in France (the day one supermarket sweep,…
Cheers to corkscrews!
For the first 50 years of the corked bottle, there was no easy way to get into it. The combination…
Nigel’s next target: Reform has Labour in its sights
At this weekend’s Reform conference in Birmingham, the opening speech will be given by a man who wasn’t even a…
How the EU turned on Ireland’s low-tax project
First, the good news. The Irish government is about to receive a €13 billion windfall in the form of back…
Hezbollah’s exploding pagers are just the start
Israel’s security cabinet met in a bunker in the ministry of defence in Tel Aviv on Monday night. The main…
Why can’t China play football?
It would be tough for any country to lose 7-0 in a World Cup qualifier, but when the losing team…
A chillingly seductive glimpse of assisted dying
A few weeks ago, I was present when my aunt, a Canadian citizen born in the UK, chose to die…
It’s time to let Ukraine join Nato
Kyiv The young amputee had a question. We were sitting once again in the rehab centre in Kyiv, and I…
