British Politics
Keir’s woetanical garden
Labour still don’t understand the scale of the reforms that are needed
The meaning of depoliticisation
How the establishment made political questions unanswerable
Shattered illusions
The record of the authorities defies denials of two-tier policing
Britain needs an actual leader of the opposition
Rishi Sunak is doing nothing to hold Keir Starmer to account
The riots and the social media blame game
Politicians blaming social media for the riots are hiding from state failings
Weren’t the grownups meant to be back in charge?
Shallow managerialism has failed us already
Up with expertise, down with experts
Politicians should be informed by experts but not led by them
Lebanonisation in the UK
Sectarianism, crackdowns and ethnic tension are becoming the new normal in the UK
Boiling the British frog
Decline is a process, not a moment
Southport and the inescapability of politics
There is nothing essentially wrong with talking about immigration
Most Read
The establishment is still living in an immigration fantasy land
It is influential left-wingers, not the broader public, who have deluded themselves on mass migration
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.
On Britain as a capitalist command economy
It is neither neoliberal nor socialist but a secret third thing
Rewatching the English
English identity has become too surreal and discomfiting to define
The masses against the classicists?
Reflections on the virtues and vices of academic gatekeeping
The banality of Bower
The much-feared biographer is choosing the wrong targets
Joyous genre-bending
Milestones (Signum Classics)
An artful chip
Any penalty is at heart a psychological battle between taker and keeper
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a masterclass in self-defeat
Labour’s tobacco crackdown will fuel crime, hurt retailers, and push smokers towards worse habits
Self’s the man
Will Self can be absurd and obnoxious — but also highly entertaining and insightful
We’re all living in America
For all the talk of “BRICS” and “multipolarity”, America is still number one
After the flood
Net migration may be falling, but the long tail of Britain’s recent immigration regime ensures the debate is far from over
Warm home, wrong decision
Ministers are once again choosing the most politically convenient response to rising energy costs, not the most effective one
Exiles from the Rainbow nation
Race, land and why white South Africans are leaving their homes behind
The miracle of the magical migrants
Is a man’s identity is fluid when he steps on British soil, but calcified on African soil?