World
Six of the silliest 'cakegate' defences
Polls might show that two in three voters think Boris Johnson should quit over No. 10’s parties but crucially less…
Can Boris Johnson now afford to scrap the National Insurance rise?
After promising not to raise National Insurance in the 2019 manifesto, the Tories are preparing to do just that in…
Did Plan B work?
Today is England’s last day under Plan B restrictions, brought in by the government at the beginning of last month…
France's election has become a race for second place
This year’s French election campaign is a strangely muted affair. The incumbent, president Emmanuel Macron, has still neglected to declare…
The truth behind the Pope Benedict inquiry
How are we to interpret the revelation that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI misled a sex abuse inquiry? That might seem an…
A rather pointless PMQs lets Boris off the hook
Given the extraordinarily low expectations, Prime Minister’s Questions went reasonably well for Boris Johnson today. That is partly because it…
Did Boris lie about the Afghan dog evacuation?
With Sue Gray keeping the lobby on tenterhooks, it’s a good day to bury bad news. Earlier today, the Foreign…
What it's really like facing a Downing Street police probe
Boris Johnson and No. 10 staff could soon face being interviewed under caution over partygate. While this is remarkable, it…
Macron's vaccine culture war
When French prime minister Jean Castex and health minister Olivier Véran held a press conference last week, they outlined the timetable…
The Daily Mail's curious partygate U-turn
The Daily Mail has long been the favoured mid-market newspaper of the masses, as the self-styled champion of Middle England.…
Springtime for liberal interventionists
It’s springtime for liberal interventionism. Russian President Vladimir Putin may not have intended it, but he is doing a good…
Who cares about partygate?
Does anyone else feel uncomfortable with the idea of the police investigating the elected government? I have laughed and fumed…
Downing Street braces for Sue Gray’s party report
It’s groundhog day in Westminster as once again hacks and ministers ask: when will Sue Gray’s report come out? On…
Putin’s big bluff
My first visit to Ukraine was in 1994. We drove to a village about three hours south of Kiev. The…
The Met's partygate probe has left the Tory party in limbo
The Metropolitan Police’s decision to investigate lockdown parties undoubtedly makes things more serious for Downing Street. It is now harder…
Boris will never regain his election winning magic
Even as the partygate stories continue to mount, some of Boris’s defenders still leap to his defence. This dwindling group…
Whisper it, but Putin has a point in Ukraine
Around 100,000 Russian troops are currently massed on the Ukrainian border. Talk of an invasion fills the air. British intelligence…
Can the Tories afford to grant Boris Johnson a reprieve?
This was supposed to be the week of judgement for Boris Johnson and assorted Downing Street officials about whether they…
Met Police to investigate parties in Downing Street
Boris Johnson’s team thought that the biggest problem they would encounter this week was Sue Gray’s report into allegations of…
Germany's naval chief has paid the price for Berlin's pro Russia policy
Germany’s navy chief, vice admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach, resigned over the weekend. His crime? Saying something out loud that many German politicians intrinsically…
Biden’s mask has slipped
It was, in a way, a refreshing moment of mental alacrity from President Joe Biden. Asked if he thought inflation…
Cheer up Boris, the French still like you
If, as many are predicting, the wheels are about to come off Boris Johnson’s premiership, few world leaders will be…
Inside Operation Save Boris
Will Boris Johnson still be Prime Minister in a year’s time? It’s the question that haunts Johnson’s closest allies. After news…
Will the old world order end in Ukraine?
As Russian troops encircling eastern Ukraine are preparing to attack, western leaders are bracing for a Russian invasion while struggling…
Joe Biden in the Metaverse
Meta is meant to be better — better than Facebook, better even than reality. In the future, a second Edward…
