An indefensible defence policy
Why the country’s strategic ambitions are incompatible with our welfare bill
One deuce of a decider
This is it, when you look into the abyss and the abyss looks back into you
The hitch with the Hitch
How Christopher Hitchens brought me back to Christ
The ties that bind
A revived society tie has raised thousands for hedgehogs — and reminds us what Britain has lost with the decline of the club tie
In praise of the English football fan
No one likes them, they don’t care — and good for them
The SNP is in a Peter Murrell muddle
The Peter Murrell case has exposed the rot at the heart of the SNP’s political culture
Tasty tunes
The Chocolate Soldier, Opera della Luna, Wilton’s Music Hall
Election objections
Andy Burnham doesn’t need a general election mandate
Burying their heads in the ash
The battle against the illicit tobacco market has not been won
Will Andy Burnham be a literary leader?
Burnham is a rare politician who reads books — but how will they affect his premiership?
Dead reckoning
How Britain forgot the sea (and why it matters)
In partial defence of Steve Bray
You can’t blame the pro-EU irritant for making British politics undignified
What if the AI bubble bursts?
Arguing that an AI bubble is a good thing reeks of techno-optimist complacency
Keeping us on message
The UK’s secret government propaganda unit dedicated to praising multiculturalism
A massive cross-party achievement
The new V&A East Museum has surpassed all expectations
It’s time to see Brexit through
The next government must finally drag Britain out of the European Union’s tractor beam
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
Murders for July
Your summer holiday reading is sorted here
The vague vision of Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer was competent but directionless on foreign policy
The right moment?
Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage are offering some cause for optimism — but is it enough?
Hurty words
Robust debate is to be celebrated, not condemned
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
Fisticuffs over the fourth movement
When did classical music become so disturbingly polite?
Wilde times at the country house
Gerald Barry’s outrageous The Importance of Being Earnest manages to overmatch the virtuoso original
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 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