Status anxiety
The conversion therapy bill is a thoroughly bad idea
I was disappointed to learn that Rishi Sunak has reconsidered his opposition to a bill banning conversion therapy. Not because…
Why I don’t trust the BBC’s Trusted News Initiative
You almost certainly haven’t heard of the Trusted News Initiative (TNI), although you probably should have. It’s a BBC-led consortium…
I’ve turned 60 – but all is not lost
By the time you read this I’ll be 60, having passed that milestone on Tuesday. My older friends tell me…
The joy of deer stalking
In spite of my dodgy right hand – caused by an injury to my radial nerve – I decided to…
An injured hand has given me a glimpse of old age
I first realised something was wrong with my hand last Thursday evening. I’d been invited by a friend to go…
I’m a slave to my horse-chestnut tree
Trying to work in my garden shed at this time of year is tricky. I will be crouched over my…
How I lost my Hungarian Vizsla, Leo, to the Dangerous Dogs Act
Not everyone welcomed Rishi Sunak’s announcement last week that he would ban the XL Bully under the Dangerous Dogs Act.…
The myth of male privilege
A few weeks ago I had a crack at coming up with my own sociological ‘law’ and my first effort…
Could I be pregnant?
At the age of 59 I thought it was time to get my body thoroughly examined. So last week I…
I knew I was right about private schools
The Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament has become an annual fixture in the Young household. Known as ‘Wimbledon-on-Sea’, the week-long competition…
The appalling hypocrisy of Peter Wilby
According to the ancient proverb, if you sit by the river for long enough you will see the body of…
Who fact checks the fact-checkers?
Last week, a retired physics professor called Nick Cowern said it was time to get tough with ‘climate denialists’. ‘In…
Am I allowed to make fun of women’s football?
I’m loath to write about the current Fifa World Cup because criticising women’s football is textbook ‘misogyny’ – at least,…
What does a supercomputer say about QPR’s chances?
The football season gets under way again on Saturday – or at least it does if your team isn’t in…
Why Barbie deserves the backlash
Being the CEO of a massive corporation isn’t easy. You’re expected to grow the company, increase profits and boost the…
I’m a holidaymaker… get me out of here!
Reading about all the travel chaos, I began to regret my summer holiday plans. Wouldn’t it have been more sensible…
I expected more from Caitlin Moran
I first met Caitlin Moran at Julie Burchill’s flat in Bloomsbury. This was in the early 1990s and she was…
How do you solve a problem like debanking?
As I sat down to write this column, an old friend let me know he’d just been ‘debanked’. That is,…
Young’s First Law of free speech
I’ve always been envious of journalists who give their names to ‘laws’, as in O’Sullivan’s First Law: ‘All organisations that…
How should schools handle ‘furries’?
Last weekend an audio recording emerged of a 13-year-old girl being called ‘despicable’ by her teacher at a Church of…
Did the BBC silence lockdown sceptics?
Did the BBC breach its own impartiality rules by keeping critics of the government’s pandemic response off the air during…
I’ve been radicalised by Just Stop Oil
Last month I went to Lord Frost’s superb lecture for the Global Warming Policy Foundation about the harm net zero…
The demonisation of Kathleen Stock
It had been billed as the most controversial debate of the year, with even Rishi Sunak intervening to say that…
Men like me are sitting targets
I have a confession to make: I’m a sitzpinkler. That’s the German word for men who sit down when they…
My search for a Matt Hancock impersonator
I’m trying to organise an event in Westminster with the journalist Isabel Oakeshott and it’s proving a bit of a…
