Status anxiety

Why has PayPal cancelled the Free Speech Union?

24 September 2022 9:00 am

I thought one of the benefits of being cancelled – I lost five positions in quick succession at the beginning…

What Charles shouldn’t do

17 September 2022 9:00 am

One of the most regrettable trends of the past few decades is the creep of politics into every aspect of…

I’ve finally been offended by a joke

10 September 2022 9:00 am

I went to the O2 on Sunday night to see the comedians Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. Chappelle, who survived…

How science became politicised

3 September 2022 9:00 am

Here’s a paradox. Over the past two-and-a-half years, a cadre of senior politicians and their ‘expert’ advisers across the world…

Confessions of a lawn obsessive

27 August 2022 9:00 am

For the past few days I’ve been frantically watering my lawn in anticipation of the London hosepipe ban. True, there…

Why I’m defending a pro-Putin apologist

20 August 2022 9:00 am

As a defender of free speech, I’m used to taking up the cudgels on behalf of unsavoury people. To quote…

The (occasional) joy of being a QPR fan

13 August 2022 9:00 am

I made my way to Loftus Road on Saturday for QPR’s first home fixture of the season. We’ve got a…

Iceland’s scenery takes your breath away – but so do the prices

6 August 2022 9:00 am

I’m writing this on the plane back from Iceland, a fact that fills me with relief. Not because I didn’t…

My Icelandic holiday with Kevin and Perry

30 July 2022 9:00 am

I’m currently on holiday in Iceland. I say ‘holiday’, but I’m with my three teenage sons so it’s more like…

My brief career as a marijuana farmer

23 July 2022 9:00 am

The latest heatwave reminded me of my brief career as a marijuana farmer. This wasn’t in the summer of 1976,…

Has identity politics had its day?

16 July 2022 9:00 am

Have we reached peak woke? In Hollywood, that seems to be the emerging consensus. Thanks to the box office success…

My admiration for the other Toby Young

9 July 2022 9:00 am

It’s started again. Sixteen years ago, another ‘Toby Young’ kept appearing in my email inbox. I’d created a Google Alert…

The day I got heckled at Speakers’ Corner

2 July 2022 9:00 am

Monday was the 150th anniversary of Speakers’ Corner and, in the hope of drumming up some publicity for the Free…

Will my kitchen be designated a ‘safe space’?

25 June 2022 9:00 am

As the father of four children who will be entering higher education in the next few years, I’m worried that…

Why country house opera is just the ticket

18 June 2022 9:00 am

Last Saturday I went to the opera for only the second time in my life. This was at the invitation…

My wine-fuelled mini break

11 June 2022 9:00 am

For Christmas Caroline bought me a ‘Deluxe GiftExperience’ at Chapel Down, the UK’s leading winery. I say ‘me’, but it…

My approach to wine? Wishful drinking

4 June 2022 9:00 am

I fancy myself as a bit of an oenophile and during the lockdowns, when my local branch of Majestic was…

Beware the wrath of middle-class homeowners

28 May 2022 9:00 am

‘Apocalyptic’ food shortages, gas and electricity bills soaring, wages not keeping pace with inflation… it’s beginning to look like we’re…

The courage of Katharine Birbalsingh

21 May 2022 9:00 am

Five years ago, I put my friend Nell Butler in touch with Katharine Birbalsingh, Britain’s most outspoken headmistress. I was…

How not to understand the Brexit referendum

14 May 2022 9:00 am

Simon Kuper’s Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK is a wonderful compendium of anecdotes…

A bonfire of the quangos should start with the College of Policing

7 May 2022 9:00 am

I welcome Jacob Rees-Mogg’s recent announcement that he intends to reignite David Cameron’s ‘bonfire of the quangos’ in his capacity…

There’s no one better than Boris

30 April 2022 9:00 am

Eighteen months ago, I wrote a column for this magazine saying I regretted having been such a Boris enthusiast for…

The tragedy of being a QPR fan

23 April 2022 9:00 am

Normal families spend the Easter holidays by the seaside or in the Mediterranean. But not the Youngs. My three boys…

Is this Premier Inn all I’ll be remembered for?

16 April 2022 9:00 am

It’s fairly commonplace for people to wonder what, if anything, they’ll be remembered for. I’m going to be 59 later…

The most disadvantaged group in Britain? White working-class men

9 April 2022 9:00 am

I’m not sure what to think about the BBC’s announcement that it wants a quarter of its staff to be…