World
Sturgeon pushes for independence (again)
It’s Groundhog Day in Holyrood. Amid criticisms about her administration’s underwhelming ‘Programme for Government,’ Nicola Sturgeon has returned to her…
Mr Speaker is right to give scruffy MPs a dressing down
MPs are making their way back to Parliament with an order from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle ringing in their ears.…
Congress got mad about Afghanistan 20 years too late
Nearly a week after the last American C-17 flew out of Kabul, the Biden administration remains in the middle of…
Our Handmaid’s Tale hysteria
If you read one book this fall, make it The Handmaid’s Tale TV show. And then don’t read another book,…
Five more lowlights from Australia's Covid fight
It was less than a fortnight ago that Steerpike wrote of Australia’s various missteps in its long fight with Covid.…
Is the UK trapped in an inflationary spiral?
Are we heading for a 1970s-style inflationary spiral? Not according to Catherine Mann, former chief economist at Citigroup, who argues…
Emma Raducanu can save tennis
Something perfect at the death of summer: Emma Raducanu in full flight, smoking winners up the lines and progressing without…
Why didn't Tory MPs oppose Boris's tax hike?
Boris Johnson has just announced his plans to increase National Insurance by 1.25 per cent for both workers and employers…
Boris and Priti can't blame France for the Channel migrant crisis
The sun is beating down again, the waves are less choppy in the English Channel and the small boats full…
How the fight against terror in Afghanistan will change
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the West entered a new age: it was the era of the ‘shadow…
Why Johnson's tax gamble will pay off
Boris Johnson’s announcement today, promising he will fix the £15 billion hole in health and social care, may well be…
Can Johnson win round his social care critics?
Is Boris Johnson’s social care plan about to sail through the House of Commons? Today the Prime Minister will unveil the…
Oxford has more to be ashamed of than Gove
Being the most prestigious university in the English-speaking world comes with its drawbacks. While the rolls of alumni are littered…
Will Johnson's cabinet of cardboard cutouts make a stand?
Cabinet government has become a very degraded thing. When I checked last night, cabinet ministers had still not been told…
The grim prospect of Gov. Bill de Blasio
During the presidential election, there was a lot of talk about unifying the country. Seven months later and the restoration of norms…
The battle over abortion in America has only just begun
The battle to overturn Roe v. Wade is nearly over. The battle to end abortion is about to begin. When…
Lord Sumption was right to quit the Supreme Court
There used to be a saying: ‘never discuss religion or politics’. That was just a societal rule, a prudent tip…
On Afghanistan, Boris Johnson has escaped again
Boris Johnson took a strangely upbeat tone when he updated MPs on Afghanistan this afternoon. He argued that British planning…
Macron is terrible. Nobody can beat him
At the beginning of the pandemic, I advanced here the theory that having declared war on Covid, the virus could…
Is Boris weaponising reshuffle rumours?
Parliament is back today and the Prime Minister is facing an autumn filled with problems. Boris Johnson had hoped to…
Another Tory tech blunder
Oh dear. Longtime readers will recall that it was just three years ago that the Conservative conference app was revealed…
Now even Sir Alan Duncan turns on Stonewall
Covid has meant it’s been a tough old year for the charity sector – but few have had it worse…
The West is being played by the Taliban
There have been some curious juxtapositions in Afghanistan this week. On the one hand, the under-19 Afghan cricket team was…
The ivermectin skeptics
The first time I heard about ivermectin was from my doctor early on in the Era of Covid-hysteria. The United…
Hurricane Ida exposes the dire state of American infrastructure
Watching coverage of Hurricane Ida on both sides of the Atlantic, it was hard to escape the impression that politicians…
