covid
Despotic laws can — even should — be ignored, says Jonathan Sumption
Jonathan Sumption has developed ‘many strange habits over the years’, he tells us disarmingly, and one of these is to…
Our doctor’s surgery is beginning to look like a Category A penitentiary
When the time came for the nurse to ring me to take my blood pressure, the phone simply didn’t ring.…
How much of a threat is the South African variant?
For residents of six London boroughs, as well as those in Smethwick in the West Midlands, the partial relaxation of…
The UK’s vaccine roll-out has ended the Brexit debate
The country would remain implacably divided for a generation, with Remain and Leave replacing class and geography as the new…
Can Spain's Europhilism last?
‘Suppose a man be carried, whilst fast asleep, into a room where there is a person he longs to see…
Why I’m worried about the teenage cancer generation
As I sit here writing this, it’s just over one year ago since the first lockdown was imposed, without which…
My best Duke of Edinburgh salute for my oncologist
In the waiting room I thought about the Duke of Edinburgh. In particular, I pictured him saluting the cenotaph on…
The economic cost of the EU’s vaccine catastrophe
It didn’t order enough vaccines, spent too little money, dithered over authorisation and then lashed out at the companies making…
The creeping authoritarianism of the Covid-19 restrictions
How can a country abide a government that consistently says one thing and then does the exact opposite? Whether it’s…
Could the Sputnik vaccine end Russia’s rift with the West?
Accounts differ. But it would appear that during a wide-ranging conference call earlier this week, the leaders of France and…
Macron's latest lockdown fiasco
On New Year’s Eve, Emmanuel Macron promised France an economic revival by the Spring. Cancel that. Instead, as the intensive…
How the Sputnik vaccine brought down Slovakia’s Prime Minister
March was a dark month for Slovakia. Covid cases and deaths in the country were among the highest in Europe,…
Boris Johnson's vaccine problem
On the day that people are finally allowed to gather in groups of six outside, tennis games get underway and wild…
Boris tries to avoid a vaccine war
After France’s Europe Minister became the latest politician to threaten a vaccine export ban on the UK, Boris Johnson used today’s…
Vaccines should mean more freedom – not less
Do vaccines lead to freedom – or to more lockdown rules? That very question would have seemed bizarre a few…
Why are Covid conspiracies so appealing?
The recent decision by a several European countries to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine will have thrown petrol…
Let's call time on Britain's gerontocracy
The boomers are eating their grandchildren. They don’t see it this way, of course, but they are doing it nonetheless.…
How real is the performing arts exodus?
Richard Bratby on the post-Covid exodus of talent from the performing arts
Don't blame the EU for the latest Covid vaccine clash
Far from subsiding, as it seemed to be doing last week, the European war over the AstraZeneca vaccine has intensified.…
After Covid, get ready for the Great Acceleration
Before the pandemic struck, there was talk of a ‘Great Stagnation’ – the idea that the world economy was doomed…
Corruption affects everything in Palestine – even vaccines
Visit certain parts of the West Bank and you’ll encounter mansions owned by senior officials in the Palestinian Authority (PA).…
The EU's ugly vaccine nationalism
We have to rid the world of vaccine nationalism. No one is protected until we are all protected. And we…
Why we shouldn't worry about Covid super strains
Should we worry about new Covid variants? Much has been made in recent weeks about the potential for new Covid…
Is the news making us unwell?
Since the start of the pandemic I’ve been observing friends and family and their reactions to the virus. Broadly speaking…
The West’s vaccine complacency
Today, in their first bilateral summit, Joe Biden will meet (virtually) Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Among other things…
