covid-19
Angry Burnham takes on No. 10
Keir Starmer has made life difficult for Boris Johnson this week with his demand for a circuit-breaker lockdown. But the…
Covid second wave sparks European parliament bust-up
The Covid second wave is hitting Europe, so the European parliament has decided not to up sticks from Brussels and decamp…
How new Covid restrictions are stalling the economy
The theory behind a V-shaped recovery relied on the assumption that the economy would open up almost as quickly as…
The lunacy of customer service in the time of Covid
‘Please be aware there is now a Covid surcharge,’ I told the builder boyfriend one morning, as we discussed the…
Sunak warns of hardship
When Rishi Sunak was appointed Chancellor in February, he must never have imagined that his first address to the Conservative…
Rishi Sunak prepares UK economy for 'permanent adjustment'
The UK economy is no longer hibernating; it is ‘adjusting’. Today’s measures announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak are designed to…
Have big cities had their day?
About 15 years ago I noticed a few surviving chattel houses in Barbados and wondered what they were. As it…
The WFH community are finally walking their own dogs — with terrible consequences
Every time I get on a horse I have to face the likelihood that a dog, or pack of dogs,…
I admit it: I was wrong to back Boris
A friend emailed me earlier this week in despair about the Prime Minister. ‘Boris reminds me of a hereditary king…
Was the maskless man in my carriage dying of Covid?
A man without a mask appeared to be dying of Covid, or something quite like it, on the London to…
Dear Mary: How can I get my social skills back after lockdown?
Q. I have just been out to my first lunch in months. Ten of us sat around a table in…
The Archers is a masterclass in how not to write a monologue
If you’ve been listening to The Archers lately, you’ll know how tedious monologues can be. The BBC has received so…
From Covid to football, the rise in ‘upticks’
Political commentators love talking about the optics — the way something looks to voters. Just at the moment, though, everyone…
The vaccine goalposts have shifted
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock provided a vaccine update this morning London time, reporting that the chances of the Oxford…
How to seduce a Border Force officer
There was only a handful of us arriving at Bristol on flight 6114 from Nice. Oscar and I had the…
What a relief it is to be back among level-headed Kenyans
Kenya I stood under huge skies in the open country of our farm in northern Kenya and, after months of…
Will the next U-turn be on face masks at work?
There’s a new trend emerging when it comes to Covid-19 policy: where Scotland leads, England follows. In recent weeks, decisions…
Would this Marseille-bound flight be the death of me?
‘There’s no need to wipe down your tray table,’ screeched Heidi, chief steward of the ‘amazing team you have looking…
Has Sweden been vindicated?
Sweden has released growth figures for the second quarter – a contraction of 8.6 per cent – and two narratives…
Does Boris's 'new deal' offer anything new?
Today Boris Johnson launched his ‘new deal’ for Britain – billed as an economic recovery plan to follow the Covid…
How fast can Britain recover from its economic free-fall?
Putting the UK into lockdown was only going to send growth in one direction: down. While today’s figures from the…
Letters: the NHS shutdown is hurting patients and costing lives
Poor treatment Sir: My recent experience supports Dr Max Pemberton’s view that the NHS is letting down thousands of patients…
Has Covid-19 evolved to become less deadly?
Covid deaths Has Covid-19 evolved to become less deadly? — Global infections reached a new peak on 29 May, with…
Portrait of the week: MPs return, dentists reopen and racing resumes
Home Primary schools were allowed to reopen but many did not want to. MPs voted to return to their physical…
Why is YouTube so afraid of free speech?
On Sunday, the hosts of Trigger–nometry, a YouTube show, posted an interview they’d done with Peter Hitchens. They labelled it…
