Diary
Ian McEwan: The strange vocabulary of coronavirus
The vocabulary of Brexit has passed into oblivion. Now there’s fresh work to be done. We all know about ‘flattening…
How did the virus get past my Obsessive Compulsive Corona Disorder?
When two members of my family went down with what appears to be Covid-19, I felt concerned. What I hadn’t…
This is the life I’ve always wanted — social distancing without social disapproval
Week five… which is to say I’ve been self-isolating in the country since 6 March. Meanwhile, engagements which threatened a…
Life, of a sort, still goes on in New York City
‘How are you bearing up?’ ‘Is everyone terrified?’ ‘What’s the mood?’ These are the questions concerned family and friends are…
Michael Morpurgo: Kale smoothies, writing, Pilates – my strict isolation schedule
Writers like me are used to long hours alone. I’ve never enjoyed that side of it. I don’t like the…
Sajid Javid: Why can’t my mum buy groceries?
As every Chancellor knows, behind every figure in the Treasury lie thousands of human stories. At times like these, saving…
Suzanne Moore: I was hurt that so many of my ‘colleagues’ denounced me
I have been trying to write about a great unpleasantness for some time: the trans debate that we don’t really…
Nick Robinson: Am I a superspreader?
‘Aren’t you meant to be in quarantine?’ the man in the cloakroom queue asks. I sense that his enquiry is…
Prue Leith: My carbon footprint should put me in jail
I made the mistake of saying I thought insects might help feed the world. They are high-protein, cheap to farm…
Julian Smith: Despite being sacked, it has been a weirdly good week
A doctor will tell you heart attacks may appear to come out of the blue, but if you look carefully,…
Susan Hill: The brilliance of the NHS cancer service
Exactly 50 years ago I drove, for the first visit of many, across country to Aldeburgh in Suffolk, following the…
Sarah Sands: I never wanted to climb the BBC career ladder
After I took the editor’s job at Today on Radio 4 nearly three years ago I had to answer to…
Rory Stewart: How will Brexit be remembered when my son gets to my age?
I still live in the same house, in London, in which I lived as a baby. I walk my five-year-old…
Andrew Doyle: I may have to kill off Titania McGrath
I start the week by going through my iPhone to delete the numbers of former friends. It sounds depressing, but…
I was joking about Meghan and Harry becoming king and queen of Canada
Washington, D.C. On 8 January, I tweeted about the Sussex-Markles: ‘Obviously the plan is to return to Canada, lead a…
Fraser Nelson: What categories should we include in our Parliamentarian of the Year awards?
The night before our last issue went to press, I received a message from the Prime Minister saying that he…
Boris Johnson: Perhaps my campaign was ‘clunking’. But sometimes, clunking is what you need
You may wonder why I am up at 4.45 a.m. writing this diary when I have a country to run, Queen’s…
Andrew Sullivan: The evidence against Trump is overwhelming
When people ask me what the mood is in DC these days, the only word I can come up with…
Remembering the genius of Clive James
‘Clive James Stirs.’ That was the standard subject line for the emails I used to get from the great Australian…
Andrew Marr: December elections are a very bad idea
December elections are a bad idea. Never mind politicians talking rot — the ludicrous promises, the ludicrous numbers — it’s…
George Osborne: The temptation of voting Lib Dem
Going to Pizza Express is a very usual thing for me to do, unlike Prince Andrew. I grew up in…
It would be a big mistake to underestimate Corbyn
Thud. It’s my advance copy of Dorothy Byrne’s new book, Trust Me, I’m Not a Politician, landing on the doormat.…
If parliament were more modern, might it become less aggressive?
I’m writing this in Crete where a late summer has seen brilliant sunshine and temperatures reaching 25°C — but can…
Nick Timothy: Theresa May folded like a Brompton bike during the Brexit negotiations
As my train hurtles northward, my phone starts to buzz. Jeremy Corbyn has agreed to hold a December election. So:…
Should we be blaming Balliol, rather than Eton, for our political woes?
In our house, the biggest source of tension is that I think there is an important difference between deferring a…
