British Politics
The liberal establishment is to blame for public outrage
Ignoring and enabling horrendous crimes has encouraged a nativist backlash
We need a proper inquiry into grooming gangs
It must be independent, transparent and efficient
The establishment is still denying justice to the victims of grooming gangs
Institutional failures must be exposed and accounted for
The government must stand up to India on immigration
An exemption from National Insurance contributions would be intolerable
Has Kemi Badenoch engineered a political disaster?
Barring a late Christmas miracle, her allegations against Reform UK seem to have backfired
The assisted suicide debate is not over
But will its supporters try and stop genuine scrutiny?
The curse of the SW1ers
We need people who can actually do things, not just be their beautiful selves
British politicians are turning me into a libertarian
Their incompetence and presumptuousness is the best advert individualists have
Season’s bleatings
Christmas is almost here, but our MPs are not in the festive spirit
The enemy of the Civil Service is my friend
Conservatives should hope that Keir Starmer can weaken its grip on British policy
Making a mockery of Labour
The ministers just can’t yet do chaos like the Tories could
On cockroaches and cancellation (w/ James Dreyfus)
How ideology is spoiling the arts
A bloodless coup in Bucharest
How can elections be cancelled without substantive reasons even being presented?
Debunking the decline deniers
Armed police at Christmas markets are a bad sign however you look at it
Don’t let it go
Communal singing is good for the soul
A beguiling star who loved melodrama
Taylor’s hunger for money, flashy gizmos and flashier gewgaws found its echo in Burton’s need to forsake the classics
Lily Phillips is a Rorschach test
Experience and behaviour are not solely reducible to consent
Final notes
The end The Musical Times is symbolic of a broader malaise in classical music
How long can Ireland’s gender equality hold?
A gender divide in voting is not as clear as in other countries — but that could change
The vital few
A new book explores the importance, as well as the dangers, of risk
Fleeing Sally Rooney’s god
Why have critics been ignoring one of the novelist’s most important themes?
