Columns
“Meme”
From a German zoologist to internet burns, Dominic Green charts the history of the word meme
NHS propaganda
No rainbow-painting child could possibly understand the relative performance, good or bad, of the NHS
The danger of rewriting history
There is a concerted attempt to reconstruct what children are taught about their history
Sandy Devereux
Smallscreen scriptwriter
Crime incorporated
Why is it so hard to put rogue companies in the dock?
The key to the collapse of our cultural self-confidence
Why have our great cultural institutions been among the first to fall?
Don’t expect Biden to cut the ballooning US deficit
Under Biden, the US will continue amassing a huge deficit. Is it manageable?
The meek inherit nothing
Islamism is increasingly held not to be a deviant from Islam, but an orthodox aim of the “religion of peace”
No one guilty at the BBC
No one in BBC management ever pays a price for the BBC’s mistakes.They just happen, like the weather
Pointless protest
Spare us the snooty superiority of “real” writers affronted by celebrity novels
Most Read
The Book of JO’B
James O’Brien’s aggressive incuriosity is becoming ever more embattled as his worldview crumbles
A failed war on fags
The black market has taken over the tobacco trade Down Under
Thank God for Brexit
The EU is a bureaucratic monster and Britain is better off out
I don’t trust the British state
British institutions simply are not functioning in the interests of the people they are meant to serve
The lonely death of Henry Nowak
We must draw lessons from a horrendous and disgraceful case
Questions for the Munich hawks
It is wrong to use Neville Chamberlain as a byword for cowardice and fecklessness
The BBC needs competition
The scandal-ridden Beeb is doomed if it is not held to higher standards
Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law
Punishing anyone before they have even been convicted of anything makes me uneasy
Keeping the faith
Brexit triumphalists can’t understand how other people living in the UK in 2026 do not share their enthusiasm
Saint Nicola
Nicola Sturgeon wants sympathy for her husband’s crimes—but after years spent avoiding awkward questions, her latest reinvention may be the hardest sell yet.
Papal pressures
The Pope was well-received in Spain, but political tensions have been mounting
The costs of independence
Northern Ireland offers sobering lessons on the consequences of devolutionary radicalism
Green eggs and flam
A fine way to make herbes omelette
The price is right
Stories about outrageously profligate eating have the appeal of scandal
The welfare state of things
Tom Jones and Chris Bayliss discuss the numbers behind Britain’s welfare state
Reclaiming Christian nationhood
Linking the Christian faith to our national identity is not radical (or American)