Dutch Golden Age
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young (and old) Man
The Wallace Collection’s Frans Hals exhibition shows the artist at his best
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Why they hated Ann Widdecombe
Fair-minded people could agree or disagree with her opinions. Left-wing bigots hated her for not abandoning them
Amnesty irrational
Gender identity ideologues cannot get away with baseless smears any more
The case against recognising Somaliland
The Somaliland lobby is being dangerously naive about the realities of the region
The vibe shift is a myth
Far from living through an age of cultural rebellion, we are seeing the imposition of cultural conformity
The end of Peel’s police?
She invokes a vanished age of policing, but Shabana Mahmood’s reforms point towards a more continental model of policing
Our money, abroad
If Whitehall can’t stop taxpayers’ money reaching terrorists, it should stop sending it abroad
We must save the right to smoke
Liberals must not put down the sword against paternalism
The right-wing case for social media
X and other platforms can be vital sources of unfashionable information and dissenting opinions
Indefinite leave, unlimited access
While Westminster fixates on survival, a deeper battle will decide whether mass migration becomes a permanent and costly feature of the state
Patchett is as good as she needs to be
Whistler by Ann Patchett; The Smiths: A Novella by Michael
Bracewell; Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai
France’s fading yellow jersey
The Tour de France once united France, but now reflects its divisions
Homes for Ukraine — and everywhere else
Why were some non-Ukrainians far more likely to enter Britain under a scheme meant for Ukrainians?
Light my fire
A perfect spy requires a spark for his cigarette
The name game
Nominative determinism is a rich seam to be mined in sport
Faith in fakes
Baudrillard warned that politics would become a world of signs detached from reality. Manchesterism suggests he was right
A very American birthday party
n the USA’s divisive 250th birthday celebrations