Issue: February 2026
And that was the news …
The decline of quality journalism amid a “jungle of drivel” on social media
This drama in Tehran is fictional
The spy drama never flinches from portraying the savagery of the Ayatollahs’ regime
Welcome to cut-price justice
David Lammy’s claim that his quest to abolish jury trial is driven by faith is grotesque. The real reason is to save money.n
High Noon is a disappointing evening
Westerns, like science fiction and pornography, are a genre best left to film
Peston’s Inbox
As hacked by Robert Hutton
The new age of empires
The world faces a new reality: three predatory imperial powers in Russia, China and the USA
Farage’s new faces
Reform needs to pick hundreds of candidates who are ruthless politically, but not lunatics
Are the Tories broken?
Why vote Conservative?
Most Read
American strategy in Iran is wiser than it seems
President Trump’s intervention will leave the world safer than it was
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.
The lonely death of Henry Nowak
We must draw lessons from a horrendous and disgraceful case
Rewatching the English
English identity has become too surreal and discomfiting to define
A failed war on fags
The black market has taken over the tobacco trade Down Under
Dangerous liasons
Does Keir Starmer have a plan for dealing with Donald Trump?
Irish anti-Israel agitation is out of control
Anti-Israel sentiments among Irish nationalists are irrational and opportunistic
Embers to tend
The brilliance of Sappho has been obscured by rumour and neglect
Dancing with death
The rush to judge Liam Scarlett was cruel and unjust
In the trenches
Hannah Betts considers whether the
classic trench coat is the GOAT
The sectarian state
Tom Jones and Chris Bayliss discuss the Balkanisation of Britain
Brexit was not an act of economic self-harm
Whatever you have heard, UK-EU trade is doing just fine
A moment of profound national unseriousness
Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch know that the world faces crises — but are they part of the crises?
The Blob playbook
How activist charities subtly shape policy
Crushing the real progressives
The Islamic Republic of Iran, now under fire from the demonic West, is the most progressive society on earth
The asylum seeker will see you now
We should not legitimise illegal migration and its damaging effects