Features
Tim Rice: I left Lord’s during that cricket final… to see The Lion King
As I left Lord’s at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon to go to The Lion King European premiere I…
Worried about sky-high rents? Learn to love a bedsit
‘I’m not going to your place, it looks like a crack den.’ It’s not exactly a vote of confidence when…
The joy of flying from London City Airport
The late Frank Johnson — former editor of The Spectator — had a thing about London City Airport. ‘I never…
Cutting out Corbyn: could Tom Watson’s centrist ‘Momentum’ save Labour?
Ever since Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader of the Labour party, many of his MPs have dreamed of deposing…
I’m a doctor, and tried the new GP app. My experience was terrifying
Everyone agrees something dramatic has to be done to help the NHS. It is crumbling and the canary in the…
The hypocrisy of our politicians’ support for press freedom
Cynical old hacks like me have been amused by the chorus of establishment applause for the Mail on Sunday’s great…
Varadkar’s backstop gamble could cost Ireland dearly
‘The government has relished wearing the green jersey on Brexit and standing up to the British with the help of…
Why are there so few Polish people on British TV?
Have you ever seen a Pole on British television? Poles are the biggest immigrant group in Britain, numbering between 900,000…
Dangly earrings, hugs and controversy: here comes the new Bishop of Dover
East Kent is bracing itself. Its Church of England clergy are enjoying their last quiet months before Rose Hudson-Wilkin arrives…
Why nail-biting sports matches are good for mental health
Why do we need tie-breaks and photo finishes? If competitors have been nip-and-tuck all the way, why can’t they just…
The charm – and artifice – of the English cottage garden
The confusion is understandable. You arrive at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon, keen to experience the quintessential cottage garden —…
Can Boris Johnson make Anglo-American relations great again?
It seems a fitting end to an ill-fated premiership. As Theresa May prepares to leave No. 10, a major quarrel erupts…
The European fighters who battled Isis – and were abandoned by their governments
Foreign fighters are returning from the battlefield — not Islamists but the Americans, Europeans and South Americans who fought to…
Anglo-Saxons deserve reparations for the Norman Conquest
Restorative justice for the victims of colonialism is an idea whose time has come. A few years ago, the Indian…
‘Panto pays better than being an MEP’: Ann Widdecombe interviewed
We could all forget about Ann Widdecombe for the past nine years while she was doing Strictly Come Dancing and…
Would no-deal Brexit be a disaster? Probably not – and here’s why
How bad would a no-deal Brexit really be? This is now perhaps the most important question in politics, and the…
Run, Boris, run: why middle-aged MPs have turned into fitness freaks
Forget the cigar, the homburg and the V-for-victory sign. If Winston Churchill were around today, he’d be pounding the streets…
The motorway that contains 2.5 million Mills & Boon novels
The first one was too straight. In the absence of a speed limit, early motorists on the M1 used the…
A new tune: Boris Johnson on his plan to unite Britain
‘I’m going to stick ruthlessly to script,’ says Boris Johnson. ‘This is not the stage of the campaign when you…
Oppidans vs scholars: a guide to the social politics of Eton
Every prime minister is a sociologist. Theresa May drew a distinction between citizens of somewhere and ‘citizens of nowhere’, a…
Single women are happier – here’s why
As I get older I find the idea of wanting to be in a couple more and more bizarre. I’m…
What Sir Ivan Rogers gets wrong about Brexit
When so much of the Brexit debate has consisted of slogans and unexamined assertions (‘cliff edges’, ‘crashing out’ and the…
China’s surveillance technology is terrifying – and on show in London
I was recently treated to a small taste of the real China. It was in the incongruous setting of a…
The Saracenic darkness of Sicily – the place where Europe ends
Northern Italians often speak of Sicily as a Saracenic darkness — the place where Europe ends. The Arabic influence remains…
