The tears of Keir’s
It was an anticlimactic end to an unconvincing premiership
Why has Keir Starmer been so unpopular?
He was the perfect embodiment of a failing system
What difference does he make?
Andy Burnham is not the answer to our woes because Burnhamism is not replicable
Can Russell T Davies write “terfs”?
In Tip Toe, Russell T Davies is more nuanced than one might expect — much to the dismay of gender ideologues
How religion shapes football fandom
The meaning of football is intertwined with the meaning of faith
Britain’s housing crisis is a crisis for veterans
We have to make the system more able to house our heroes
The decline of British food culture
The products of social media virality and high street homogenisation leave the ambitious diner as cold as a neglected jacket potato
Two false dawns
Anger can furnish a movement with energy, but not with votes
A win for academic freedom
The university free speech complaints scheme is (finally) going ahead
Sex wars, what are they good for?
On Norman Mailer, Germaine Greer and the virtues of intellectual combat
Civilisation needs silence
On cooing babies and other noisy performances
Fair vs free elections
The grey zone between interference and counter-interference is becoming Europe’s new political frontier
Has the arts sector learned nothing?
Tripling down on identity politics and censoriousness would be fatal
Scotland’s biggest legal scandal
Hundreds of men could have being denied their right to a fair trial because of a justice system that rules important character evidence inadmissible
Dear Prudence
A reflection on the Tory Party’s historic suspicion of interventionism
Jorge Luis Borges
A giant of Spanish letters who was forged by childhood exposure to his father’s vast English library
Beware the British ICE
Mass deportation of Muslims will not solve antisemitism, but feed feelings of alienation
The testing of Giorgia Meloni
Italy’s first woman PM has proved a pragmatic conservative who has brought stability to her country
What makes an American?
What characterises a US citizen in the 21st century, beyond abiding by the country’s laws and supporting its constitution?
Bach in black
CPE Bach: Berlin Symphonies (BIS)
Why Mali matters
Terrorism is spiralling out of control in West Africa
Racing in revolt
The sport continues along a path towards its collapse, spurning any opportunity for reform
Life for petty theft?
IPP sentences are a shocking stain on the criminal justice system that the Prime Minister would do well to kill off
The intractable problems pulling modern Britain apart
When does upholding free speech become an act of self-sabotage?
The errata of history
Misprints are just one in a catalogue of literary disorders
DeepMind delusion
The superstar Demis Hassabis is on a mission to create a God-like superintelligence
Eulogy for rural life
A growing sense of gloom pervades Starmer’s Britain
Confessions of an aging pop queen
Madonna once assured us that being an adult woman was something to aspire to
Facing demons
On the highs and lows of demonic infestation
The spy chief who sold us Blue Nun
Raise a glass to a long life, very well lived
Digging for gold
La fanciulla del West, Opera Holland Park
The praises of a neglected vegetable
Summer calls for cold cucumbers
Rewatching a TV show from a lost world
In River Cottage, a chef escaped to Dorset from London in search of the good life
Unusual summer reds
Think exotic spices, maraschino cherries and curly shoes
Hurry hurry to Chop Chop
Gambling on Cantonese cuisine