World
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggests Tier 4 could stay until vaccine 'rolled out'
As 16.4 million people wake up to the first day of Tier 4 restrictions, many are asking for how long…
How sure can we be that Britain's Tier 4 lockdown will work?
How certain should we be of the government’s claim that the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 is 70 per cent more transmissible…
John le Carré’s London of exiles is alive and well
‘I’m an Englishman born and bred, almost.’ So says Karim Amir, protagonist of Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of…
The new strain of Sars-CoV-2: what we know
What do we know about the new Covid strain? Like all viruses, Sars-CoV-2 changes. Like a manuscript that is being endlessly…
The fight for liberalism
The world has many island nations, and sometimes the United States counts itself among them. We have water on either side of us,…
The case Brexiteers should make for Brexit
Why are Brexiteers rubbish at making the economic case for Brexit? On a whole range of things from three pin…
Liz Truss is right to take on the ‘equalities’ cartel
Yesterday the equalities minister, Liz Truss, gave a speech in which she attempted to lay-out a new direction for the…
The limits of trans tolerance
Andy Wightman is — or, as of this afternoon, was — the most independent-minded Green member of the Scottish parliament.…
The useful idiots of TikTok
Tyrants have always had useful idiots to whitewash their crimes but few have proven as useful and idiotic as those…
The never-ending smugness of the NeverTrumpers
In March 2016 as Donald Trump looked likely to be the Republican party’s nominee to run for president, more than 100 foreign…
Putin’s festive message: the world’s naughty, but I'm nice
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. When a reclusive figure comes bearing gifts, when the air is full…
Fishing is now the sole major obstacle to a Brexit deal
Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson spoke this evening to try and give the negotiations a shove. The statement…
Liz Truss's equalities speech is a sign of things to come
Liz Truss has set the cat among the pigeons today with a speech entitled ‘the new fight for fairness’. The…
The resurgence of the New York Republican
Have you met Tina? You may have seen her this month leading a charge outside Mac’s Public House on Staten…
Where is the Conservatives’ post-Brexit agenda?
What’s the point of Brexit? We are told it is to take back control, but that is a means to…
Can any country dodge the Covid bullet?
The government is yet again under fire for its handling of Covid-19, as cases rise across parts of the country.…
Germany is in the grip of a Covid crisis
Germany’s ‘lockdown light’ strategy has failed: the country, which has been widely-praised for its response to the pandemic, recorded a daily…
Will Macron start an EU Covid chain reaction?
The Elysée palace has just confirmed that French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19, after developing symptoms this…
Boris Johnson’s Christmas Covid gamble
Boris Johnson is taking a gamble with his decision to stick with the easing of Covid restrictions for Christmas. The…
The Democrats don’t care what you think about their scandals
I’ve watched with a mixture of amusement and surprise over the last few days as my right-wing friends have descended…
Biden should embrace Britain’s new Indo-Pacific strategy
While final negotiations on the UK’s relationship with the EU continue to drag, No. 10 is moving rapidly to expand…
Europe’s slow vaccine approval is testing Germany’s patience
The Bundestag can’t be an easy place to be a politician right now. At the start of the pandemic, Germany…
Why is the National Trust so determined to lecture its members?
Can the National Trust dumb down any further? Its latest crazed venture, the Colonial Countryside project, is ‘a child-led history…
Is Boris Johnson braced for a Brexit deal?
Prime Minister’s Questions may have proved a rather dreary affair this week but there was one reply that has become a source…