Status anxiety
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…
Carmageddon: the electric vehicle boondoggle
A couple of years ago I thought seriously about buying an electric car. Not a hybrid, but the full monty.…
I’ve ridden my last rollercoaster
I was in Canada last week, travelling across British Columbia on a luxury train called the Rocky Mountaineer. It was…
My blue tick humiliation
I was one of the first people to take up Elon Musk’s offer to purchase a blue tick, the Twitter…
The ‘public humiliation diet’ is very effective
As another summer approaches, I’ve embarked on yet another attempt to lose weight. You’d have thought I’d have learnt my…
How to mobilise the police
I wasn’t surprised to hear that six police officers raided a pub in Essex after a customer complained about the…
Are Queens Park Rangers cursed?
A dark cloud has descended over Queens Park Rangers, my beloved football club. On 22 October last year, when we…
There’s no bargaining with my wife
For me, one of the joys of going abroad is bargaining with the local sellers. They name an extortionate price;…
Who owns your child’s image?
On Monday, a bill was passed by the National Assembly in France that will give courts the power to prevent…
When is a crime not a crime?
On Monday, Suella Braverman published draft guidance designed to rein in the police habit of recording a ‘non-crime hate incident’…
Why I admire Isabel Oakeshott
I’ve been gripped by the Telegraph’s Lockdown Files. The 100,000 WhatsApp messages on Matt Hancock’s phone, handed to the paper…
The brilliance of Lime Bikes
I was disappointed to learn that the authorities are planning to crack down on dockless bikes and electric scooters. Westminster…
It’s hard work being a house husband
I’m currently sitting on top of a brownie point mountain. Caroline has departed for a two-week tennis freebie in Barbados,…
Mark Steyn and the free-speech question
James Delingpole and I had a blazing row on our weekly podcast on Monday. We were discussing the recent departure…
No wonder bosses are running scared
Some readers will recall the furore five years ago about the Presidents Club charity dinner at the Dorchester. The Financial…
Big Brother is watching me
About six months ago I was contacted by Big Brother Watch, the civil liberties campaign group, and asked if I…
Why I’m sleeping in the garden shed
Two and a half years ago, I wrote a column about how I’d started sleeping in my garden office. No,…
When did Steve Baker become a social justice warrior?
About ten years ago I thought seriously about becoming a Conservative MP. I jumped through a series of hoops and…
The trans rights conflict doesn’t add up
Last week, the Office for National Statistics published the data on gender identity in England and Wales, as revealed in…
My comically awful Airbnb break
Caroline likes to rent somewhere on Airbnb between Christmas and new year to break up the winter holiday. No, not…
The number at my Christmas table is growing ever smaller
When I imagine the perfect Christmas lunch, I think of the end of A Christmas Carol in which Scrooge turns…
‘Climate scepticism’ and ‘disinformation’ are not the same thing
According to a quote in a recent article by the environment editor of the Times, I’m ‘the most prominent UK…
Michael Beale has broken my heart
Most football fans have had their attention riveted on Qatar for the past couple of weeks, but for those of…
