coronavirus

The new Covid divide: one rule for the elite, another for the rest of us

26 June 2021 9:00 am

Politicians made the rules – so they know how to bend them

Ministers need to start bracing Britain for the third wave

21 June 2021 1:00 am

The third wave of Covid-19 is well underway, driven by the now-dominant Indian variant. It may now be no more deadly than a typical…

Why Warwick’s Covid modelling doesn’t add up

19 June 2021 10:46 am

This week began with more frightening graphs from SPI-M, the government’s scientific modelling committee. A team at Warwick University calculated…

The new leviathan: the big state is back

19 June 2021 9:00 am

Boris and Biden have placed their faith in the power of big government

Portrait of the week: Freedom off, GB News on and the Queen’s tea with Biden

19 June 2021 9:00 am

Home The lifting of coronavirus restrictions was delayed from 21 June until 19 July, probably. The motive was to avoid…

The luxury of being pro-lockdown

19 June 2021 9:00 am

I’ve just written an essay for the People’s Lockdown Inquiry, a new collaboration between Buckingham University, the Institute of Ideas…

Covid has warped our collective attitude to death

19 June 2021 9:00 am

Covid or no Covid, we’re all going to snuff it

The biggest danger to Boris comes from the enemies within

19 June 2021 9:00 am

Boris Johnson’s predecessor was destroyed by her inability to meet deadlines. Theresa May extended the Brexit transition period so many…

Air travel is in terminal danger

19 June 2021 9:00 am

During the political car crash of 2019, I couldn’t imagine ever agreeing with Theresa May. Yet last week she exhibited…

Does ‘Johnson’s law’ explain why people won’t work from home?

18 June 2021 9:22 pm

Even after the one metre rule and the limits on numbers are removed on July 19th, we will not be…

Delay, data and the need for transparency

18 June 2021 1:20 am

Boris Johnson delayed 21 June, he said, because the data did not merit a full reopening. The specific data government…

Lockdown delay is a price worth paying

16 June 2021 10:01 pm

For the first time during this pandemic, I think we should delay lifting restrictions. Looking at the latest data, it…

The cost of delaying 'freedom day'

15 June 2021 3:30 pm

When Boris Johnson announced that unlocking would be guided by ‘data not dates’ he handed detractors ample scope for derision…

The polarising power of plague

12 June 2021 9:00 am

Now that the government has kindly allowed us to go out again, I wonder if anyone has discovered the same…

The forgotten joy of spontaneity

12 June 2021 9:00 am

If you ask people what they’ve missed out on since the pandemic, they’ll probably lament their cancelled plans. Weddings postponed,…

The third wave: it’s here – but it shouldn’t delay our reopening

12 June 2021 9:00 am

It’s here – but it shouldn’t delay our reopening

Why are GPs still not seeing patients in person?

12 June 2021 9:00 am

The GP won’t see you now

Portrait of the week: Pub staff shortages, a baby called Lilibet and a slap in the face for Macron

12 June 2021 9:00 am

Home The government pondered delaying the end of coronavirus restrictions on 21 June. But Chris Hopson, the chief executive of…

Letters: The uncivil service

5 June 2021 9:00 am

Uncivil service Sir: The elephant in the room in the handling of the pandemic (‘A tragedy of errors’, 29 May)…

Covid is losing its sting. It’s time to repair our society and our economy

5 June 2021 9:00 am

It seems all but impossible to convince government scientists of the wisdom of proceeding with the final lifting of Covid…

Big Tech is turning into Big Brother

5 June 2021 9:00 am

The Big Tech social media giants are having to rethink their policy of censoring anybody who suggests that Covid originated…

Have tennis players always been expected to give interviews?

5 June 2021 9:00 am

Game, set, chat Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open after being fined $15,000 for failing to…

China is not as strong as it appears

5 June 2021 9:00 am

The theory that the pandemic began with a leak from a research laboratory in Wuhan is rapidly gaining currency. Since…

What Dominic Cummings and the Prime Misfit have in common

5 June 2021 9:00 am

Should the name of Dominic Cummings ever make it into the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, there’s one Cummings phrase…

Covid deaths in context

27 May 2021 8:04 pm

What would have been your overall chances of dying in the first 19 weeks of 2021 compared with recent years?…