World
The BBC's bid to axe left-wing comedy will fail
People of a conservative or Eurosceptic disposition should be thankful that the BBC’s new director general, Tim Davie, is to…
Prepare for the rise of Irish Euroscepticism
Welcome to the wacky world of Irish national economic accounts. The official figures for Ireland’s tax-haven economy are so bizarre…
The problem with fast-tracking vaccines
You have to admit it, Operation Warp Speed is a good moniker. It’s the name for the American interagency program,…
My run-in with the New York Times
It’s never a good sign when you’re watching a scene of street terror in yet another gut-churning YouTube video and…
Is your baby racist?
Babies, look at them: waddling about the place, falling over, crying, needy. Those racist bastards. Yeah that’s right, you heard…
Tories need to get real about tax rises
It’s sometimes said that Rishi Sunak has been playing politics on easy mode: when you’re giving away loads of cash,…
Award the Nobel Peace Prize to Jared Kushner. Seriously!
In these pages last year, I suggested that while the President’s son-in-law may not be a great geo-strategic mind, we…
The dead Kennedys: Joe blows it in Massachusetts
The unthinkable happened on Tuesday night: a Kennedy lost an election in Massachusetts for the very first time. Thirty-nine-year-old Rep.…
Is Boris pushing for a socialist Brexit?
One of the main things that’s holding up an UK-EU trade deal is the demand that the UK sticks to current…
What is behind the increase of non-Covid related deaths?
The latest data on weekly deaths in England and Wales, published today by the Office of National Statistics, show what…
Did Erdogan order his generals to sink a Greek warship?
Could war finally be coming to the eastern Mediterranean? It’s not as excitable a question as it might first appear.…
Keir Starmer’s big problem? It's his party
When Labour MP Neil Coyle took to Twitter for his extraordinary rant against Jacob Rees-Mogg and Brexit voters, he perfectly…
Will Tory MPs really back tax rises?
Another day, another story mooting a new tax rise. Today the Sun reports the Chancellor is considering a rise in National Insurance…
No, racism isn't a 'creation of white people'
I remember that, as a small child, I was told not to talk when my father took me inside the…
The media’s wavering burden of proof
President Trump spoke mildly in defense of Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse on Tuesday, saying that the 17-year-old seemed to be…
Blaming Trump for the riots is a Democratic disaster
After months of trying to spin the nationwide unrest as ‘mostly peaceful’ or ignoring it entirely, Democrats have discovered some…
Delivering the goods?
Seattle My local post office in suburban Seattle seems to be rigged to obstruct customers these days. After standing motionless…
‘It’s not a crime to understand science': Behind the scenes at Extinction Rebellion
There was plastic aplenty at today’s Extinction Rebellion rally in Parliament Square. Plastic shoes, plastic badges, plastic sunglasses, plastic phone covers. A…
Boris's U-turn defence
Is Boris Johnson’s government jumping from one crisis to the next or is No. 10’s agenda progressing roughly as planned? It…
Swing states are the best states
Swing state season, that three- to four-month stretch of peak American crazy, is upon us. The big three states —…
The real test for Starmer will come post-Covid
Labour is gearing up for its first big Commons clash since returning from recess this afternoon, with shadow education secretary…
Putin's culture war
One thing we know that Putin reads is history. He’s keen on chronicles and biography of great Russians, presumably with an…
Coronavirus cases are mounting but deaths remain stable. Why?
Something rather odd is happening in the two Europeans nations worst hit by Covid-19. The UK and Italy have a…
Most lockdown pupils are ‘three months behind’
As schools return to full in-person teaching, a survey reveals just how far behind pupils are in their education. The…
No fun, no sex, and Zoom: the misery of the Covid campus
Usually I can’t wait for the start of a new term at university. But not this year. When students return,…
