World
The flaw in Starmer's 'patriotic' pitch for power
If campaign messaging is too subtle then the chances are that the electorate won’t even notice it, so in his…
How well is Brexit going?
Twelve months after a comprehensive trade deal was signed with the EU, where are we now? How has the UK…
Germany's China-friendly approach is continuing under Olaf Scholz
As Angela Merkel prepares to write her autobiography, ‘explaining her key decisions in her own words’, her successor has his…
Will the real Keir Starmer stand up?
Keir Starmer begins 2022 looking like the best-placed Labour leader since the distant days of Tony Blair. That at least…
Biden’s coming year of paralysis
The first workday of 2022 and already Washington, DC has been paralyzed by snow. That isn’t saying much, given that…
The problem with 'vaccine equity'
‘A stain on our soul’. That was how Gordon Brown, in his latest missive on the subject, described the failure…
No slouch on the couch
I work on the weekends, so during the week I’m at home with my kids. I try to use that…
The China reckoning
Fifteen years ago, I remarked to an acquaintance over lunch that it looked like China might eat America’s lunch in…
Prince Andrew is fighting a PR battle – and losing
My late grandfather, the editor and columnist John Junor, nurtured fondly throughout his career the conviction that nobody could be…
The next chapter in American foreign policy
The new year begins a new chapter in American foreign policy. For the first time since 2001, we are not…
Back in the USA
American foreign-policy strategists used to promulgate doctrines. Now they dream up slogans. “America is back” is the jingle under which…
Can Armen Sarkissian fix Armenia?
Armen Sarkissian, the president of Armenia, is incandescent with rage. “Five thousand brave and selfless Armenian soldiers were killed in…
Harry Potter and the strange absence of J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter returned to Hogwarts this weekend for a 20th anniversary special. He was joined in the Gryffindor common room…
Boris Johnson’s friendship problem
Boris Johnson is hoping that his MPs have calmed down over the Christmas break and that this term will be…
Let’s stay together
Mom, can you come pick me up? They’re talking about a national divorce again. This time, it’s the Party of…
Guardian pulls poll after JK Rowling wins
Oh dear. There seems to be something of an ongoing campaign against JK Rowling at the moment. The Harry Potter writer…
Boosters give 88 per cent protection against hospitalisation
The good news picture continues to build for Omicron. Late on New Year’s Eve, the UK Health Security Agency released…
Tony Blair's knighthood is long overdue
Arise Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. Yes, that should give…
New Year’s resolutions for the political class
If you think politics was insufferable in 2021, just wait until the New Year. The midterms are around the corner,…
Inside Joe Biden’s disastrous negotiations with Iran
One of the West’s great foreign policy failures of 2021 was the Iran nuclear negotiations, which remained bitterly unresolved as…
How anti-lockdown protesters are outwitting German police
As Germans marked the new year last night, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s message was somewhat muted: ‘It’s clear to all of us: the…
Does Warwick’s Omicron modelling make restrictions more likely?
Two weeks ago, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College both published modelling showing frightening…
Boris Johnson’s coalition of voters is falling apart
Boris Johnson enters the third year of his premiership in a much weaker position than when he started it. Alongside…
China could be more dangerous than ever in 2022
Twenty twenty-two is the year that Xi Jinping plans to seize power for life, but it is not going according to…
Why warmer days in Alaska are not a sign of climate armageddon
It’s climate panic again. This time, under headlines such as ‘Baked Alaska’, we are informed that the most northerly US…
