Honoré de Balzac
A story of doublings
If you want to understand how the world works now, read a classic
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 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
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
Jams, jellies and EU insanity
From toast to tungsten, the EU is an enemy of innovation
The decision-dodgers
The puberty blocker trial shows that outsourcing policy choices to experts isn’t working
In defence of Gary Stevenson
If economists were only those with doctorates, we would have to ignore both the market’s wisdom and many of its most perceptive critics
Why do we still have social housing?
A decade working in Social Housing taught me that the sector’s perverse incentives guarantee the perpetuation of the very poverty it exists to eradicate
Itamar Ben-Gvir, heel
The Israeli demagogue is a bleak but interesting model of a modern politician
On a winning streak
Eventually streaks end, but it does not have to be The End
A rare interview proved a delight
Eavesdropping on two intelligent people sharing a civilised conversation about interesting things
Green eggs and flam
A fine way to make herbes omelette
Won over by a stately Italian saga
A fictional Italian president and a cinema spin-off
The Ghost Dance of Rejoin
There is no real argument for rejoining the EU — and nobody makes one
Hey, leftists, leave independent schools alone
The campaign against independent schools is irrational, short-sighted and destructive