Features
The in-tray of horrors that Theresa May has left for her successor
‘Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards — and good luck!’ Liam Byrne will forever be…
Could a global recession be around the corner?
How can a new incumbent of No. 10 survive without a majority and with Brexit to solve? It defies the imagination.…
Children of the revolution: Protest has become so puerile
As the left sinks into psychosis, what remains? The answer is sugar, profanity, snacks and toys. Protest now resembles Clown…
‘I have spent my life with people underestimating me’: Jeremy Hunt interviewed
When a head of state flies in for a state visit, it’s traditional for the Foreign Secretary to lead the…
Hands free: I’ve joined a new kind of abstinence movement
Eight years ago, I had an erotic epiphany. It was around midnight: I had sex on the brain and porn…
Proton therapy: Cancer revolution or costly white elephant?
It’s Asco week in Chicago: the biggest meeting of clinical oncologists in the world. McCormick Place convention centre, the largest…
Hang on to your hat – they’re making a comeback
‘Thank goodness for racing,’ says Rachel Trevor-Morgan. She is a milliner — a hat maker — so it’s no surprise…
Full-blooded Brexiteers vs cabinet compromisers
Parties don’t get rid of their leaders unless things are going very badly. But this Tory crisis is different in…
Fighting fit: Dominic Raab on karate kicks, cabinet unity and his Brexit strategy
At a dinner in the Irish embassy in London last November, Dominic Raab believed he was on the brink of…
The upsides of dementia: Forgetfulness can be a blessing
My 91-year-old father-in-law has always had a terror of hospitals. This dates from his time as a Royal Marine when,…
Why Ceausescu’s 1978 state visit was far more humiliating than Trump’s ever could be
The Queen has seldom had more holes in a state banquet seating plan. The leader of the opposition, the shadow…
Rod Liddle: Tunnelling my way into Gaza
I’m meant to be peering into a tunnel hacked out by Hamas a few hundred metres from Gaza City into…
Selfie-surveillance: Who needs Big Brother when we constantly film ourselves?
Did you see the Welsh Tory MP David Davies and a pro-Brexit protester arguing outside parliament, pointing cameras at one…
How Rwanda became an oasis of liberal Islam
Kigali, Rwanda To most outsiders, Rwanda is still synonymous with genocide. Nearly a million killed in 100 days; almost three…
From Amazon to Waitrose: how do companies get their names?
Poor Mr Bergstresser. He put up the money to start the financial reporting company but his name wasn’t as snappy…
Corbyn isn’t working – and Labour is being picked apart by its new enemies
Protestors on the anti-Brexit marches have sensed an eerie absence. ‘What is it?’ I thought back in March as I…
Keeping up with Farage: What’s next for the Brexit party?
‘Labour are in so much trouble here you can’t even believe it,’ says Nigel Farage as we sit in a…
Shelf conscious: I had no idea I was such a show-off
I’ve just had new bookshelves put up in the hall, a whole wall-full of them, and for the first time…
Iran alone: Tehran’s perspective on escalating hostilities
On 20 May, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, predicted that Donald Trump would fail to subdue Iran just as…
The day Turkish democracy died
‘It’s official. Turkey is a banana republic!’ My friend Mustapha, a serial entrepreneur, sends me a flurry of doom-laden WhatsApp…
Parent trap: WhatsApp groups are feeding our fears
The mother of a little girl in my son’s year at school recently committed suicide. On the surface she was…
The magic of the Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea, the most famous flower show in the world, pulled in its devotees once more this week, with its accustomed…
Cometh the hour: Boris Johnson may be the Tories’ best hope
The worse things are for the Tories, the better for Boris Johnson. If the Tories were ahead in the polls,…
Meet the real Alexander Nix. An interview with the notorious former head of Cambridge Analytica
If you have heard of Alexander Nix, you probably think he’s a villain. He is the former head of Cambridge…
Writers blocked: Even fantasy fiction is now offensive
It was Lionel Shriver who saw the writing on the wall. Giving a keynote speech at the Brisbane Writers Festival…
