By the by-elections
Do not expect major surprises or lasting change as a result of the latest Scottish by-elections
The rise and fall of Nicola Sturgeon
The former SNP leader squandered her talents in a classic tale of hubris
The case for vapes
Arguments for prohibitionism disappear in a cloud of vapour
Don’t bet against the SNP
The complete ineptitude of their rivals has kept them at the top of Scottish politics
Scotland’s cold and durable fire
John Swinney is proving that in politics what matters most is simply showing up
Scotland should reject assisted suicide
It is dangerous, and arrogant, and premised on irrational fears
The strange death of Christian Scotland
Scotland’s religious traditions have been swept away. Now, secular intolerance rules
The fall and fall of Scottish Labour
Anas Sarwar can only seem to compound the failures of the party in Scotland
For the love of guga
An attempt to ban guga hunting is metropolitan colonialism
Reform is winning over Scotland
A recent local election result was bad news for the political class
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How religion shapes football fandom
The meaning of football is intertwined with the meaning of faith
The martyrdom of Young Bob
On ebbing power of the political influencer
Why has Keir Starmer been so unpopular?
He was the perfect embodiment of a failing system
Grooming gangs and the truth
We should not give ammunition to deniers of the grooming gangs scandal
Babies need women
Leaving children with only men who are not their parents is foolish and dangerous
Europe should defend itself
European states should invest more in their own defence, and the US should let them
Angst in the Anglosphere
England’s existential crisis is being played out at the World Cup
The pathologies of outdated ideologies
Our managerial elite will go the way of the Mamluks, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Moriori
Unreadable red bile
This anti-capitalist screed is profoundly and irredeemably fatuous
A rare interview proved a delight
Eavesdropping on two intelligent people sharing a civilised conversation about interesting things
Keep the state out of sex
Bureaucracy should not be allowed into the bedroom
Welcome to the low-trust economy
The multi-billion pound cost of Britain’s shoplifting surge
The artist formerly known as Nero
The life and death of Rome’s last Julio-Claudian emperor revealed every Roman fear about the dangers of one-man rule
Don’t panic about “Angry Young Women”
Despite everything, most people are still fairly normal
New model Auntie
David Elstein spells out the big decisions that Matt Brittin, the BBC’s new director-general, needs to make very quickly in order to save the Corporation
Cloaked Crusader
Richard I: valiant hero of Romance but also a perfidious, self-serving lord