World
Is Joe Biden really running again?
Will President Joe Biden be on the ballot in the presidential election of 2024? It’s a question that Biden seemed…
Why are so many Catholic schools affected by the Raac crisis?
We now know the names of the 156 schools across the country with crumbling reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) inside…
When will the Tories clear up the transgender confusion?
Schools are back but teachers are still waiting for the government’s guidance on transgender pupils. Back in March, Rishi Sunak…
Blundering mandarins forget £3.6 billion
Oh dear. It seems that Sir Humphrey has messed up again. Perusing parliament’s records this morning, Mr S was struck…
Tory MP Chris Pincher quits and triggers another by-election
To no-one’s surprise, Chris Pincher has now quit as a Tory MP, preferring to resign now rather than drag out…
It would be madness for Modi to change India’s name
India’s rulers are apparently unhappy with the country’s name and appear determined to do away with it altogether. They would…
A Wandsworth prison jailbreak was waiting to happen
As a former inmate of HMP Wandsworth, I can’t say I’m surprised that a prisoner, Daniel Khalife, has escaped. When I was…
How not to host a dinner party
I’m always a bit wary when invited for the first time to a dinner party at a friend’s home; some…
Is the Bank of England done with raising rates?
Is the UK set for its 15th consecutive interest rate hike later this month? Markets expect that rates will peak…
The Birmingham council disaster was entirely preventable
Last month, in the heart of Birmingham’s Grand Central station, a mechanical bull called Ozzy was unveiled to great fanfare,…
Is Andy Beshear the new Mitch McConnell?
In a move that is right out of the hard political playbook of Mitch McConnell himself, the Democratic governor of…
The hypocrisy of Birmingham’s council
Who is to blame for Birmingham City Council’s dire financial situation? The council has long been struggling to pay its…
Banning Iran’s IRGC makes more sense than cracking down on Wagner
Is the Wagner Group a terror threat to Britain? Until this morning, the thought had probably never occurred to most…
Kemi Badenoch’s growing popularity makes her vulnerable
The news is grim for supporters of Kemi Badenoch: our heroine has climbed to the top of the Conservative Home…
Was Truss doomed to fail on day one?
‘I’m sorry for the damage and the loss. It was a scary time, and I’m sorry for that.’ Kwasi Kwarteng’s…
The SNP’s four day week won’t work
Pigs will surely sooner fly over Glasgow Pollok than business will take inspiration from Humza Yousaf’s approach to running government. Nonetheless, the…
Just Stop Oil protests cost Met police over £9 million
Staging sit-ins, slow marches and protests throughout the spring and summer, Just Stop Oil (JSO) and Extinction Rebellion (XR) have been…
The unholy alliance between Kim Jong-un and Putin
On 27 July, while commemorating the 70th anniversary of what North Korea perversely terms its ‘victory’ in the Korean war, Kim…
Sunak is embracing wind farms because of politics, not principle
Michael Gove today announced that the government was relaxing the effective ban on new onshore wind farms that was introduced…
The tragedy of Jordan Henderson
‘Money has never been a motivation,’ according to footballer Jordan Henderson, the ex Liverpool captain and recent recruit to Al…
Jimmy Buffett invented the Florida of our dreams
It was once said by somebody, and then repeated ad nauseum, that Brian Wilson invented California. Or, at least, the…
Labour can’t pass the buck for Birmingham’s troubles
Whose fault is it that Labour-controlled Birmingham city council, the country’s biggest local authority, is now effectively bankrupt? The answer,…
The lack of Indigenous mass graves in Canada
In May 2021, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the remains of 215 children had been found buried at the…
Why Birmingham council went bust
There’s a bit too much schadenfreude from Tories over the effective bankruptcy of Birmingham Council. Its ‘Section 114 notice’ is…
Bring in the Gen X politicians!
American politics has become a tug-of-war between two generations. Boomers (and those older) dominate positions of power even as their…
