Racism
Two of a kind: Monica Jones proved Philip Larkin’s equal for racism and misogyny
Monica Jones certainly proved Philip Larkin’s equal for racism and misogyny, says Andrew Motion
Why do theatres think audiences want Covid-related drama?
Hats off to the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. They’ve discovered a new form of racism. Some people say we…
The case against reparations for slavery
Last week, a bill cleared the US House Judiciary Committee that would establish a 13-person commission to consider federal reparations…
The Church of England's new religion
This article first appeared in the 20 March edition of The Spectator.The Church of England report that was leaked to Douglas…
What does it really mean to feel English?
Referring to the precarious future of the Union of England and Scotland, the authors of Englishness: The Political Force Transforming…
Anti-Semitism and the far left
The comic David Baddiel has written a book which explains that much of the far left hates Jews. There are…
When 'white privilege' doesn't count
First off the blocks criticising Dr Tony Sewell’s report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities was Professor Kalwant…
Faux fury against the race report is unsurprising
Back in the 1960s, my brother, Asim, and I were smitten by the magical Manchester United trio of Law, Best…
Tony Sewell’s race report critics are guilty of gaslighting
The Sewell Report on Race and Ethnic Disparities is courageous, thoughtful and measured. Its relative optimism has triggered a torrent…
In defence of Flannery O’Connor
I have a thought for the students of Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland: this Easter, why not resurrect Flannery O’Connor?…
I was Oprah Winfrey’s hero
Gstaad Some of you may have noticed that I have not commented at all about the ongoing soap opera and…
The trouble with 'BAME'
Are Black people and Asians the same? Are they different from other ethnic minorities? What about Jews? And who do…
Is Black Lives Matter a voice for black Brits?
Does Black Lives Matter speak for black Brits? The organisation’s objectives are certainly radical: it has professed public support for direct…
What 'Britain's wokest headteacher' gets wrong
Ah, a story for our times. And I think you know how it’s going to go. There was this junior…
The fakery of Martha Gellhorn
Gstaad Martha Gellhorn was a long-legged blonde American writer and journalist who became Papa Hemingway’s third and penultimate wife. She…
Holding the Empire responsible for the state of modern Britain is becoming commonplace
It seems to have become a virtual orthodoxy of the academic and publishing worlds that history and fiction now have…
The aesthetic prejudice towards white classical statues
In the 1930s curators at the British Museum, under orders from Lord Duveen, a generous donor, scoured and hacked at…
The ‘anti-racism’ movement is sowing deeper divisions
Why the ‘anti-racism’ movement is dangerous
I could have directed it better: Steve McQueen's Small Axe reviewed
Unlike with every other BBC period drama series these days, I didn’t have to sit through Small Axe: Mangrove grumbling…
Racists will love it: National Theatre's Death of England – Delroy reviewed
Death of England: Delroy is a companion piece to Death of England, which ran in February at the NT and…
Why New Yorkers are fleeing the city in droves
New York Back when people used to read newspapers, they called it a ‘human interest’ story. Now it appears as…
A night of angry pipsqueaks: Young Vic's 50th birthday gala reviewed
When Kwame Kwei-Armah took over the Young Vic he strapped a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign over the front of the…
The most important book on black Britishness has one flaw: its author was white
Can people of one race really understand the experience of another? asks Colin Grant
Covid marshals are killing theatre: The Shrine & Bed Among the Lentils reviewed
Covid marshals have invaded theatreland. Arriving for a weekday matinee at the Bridge, I was greeted by stewards holding up…
Louis Theroux’s podcast reveals a master at work
I always want to know more about Louis Theroux, which is odd, since I’ve seen so much of him already.…
