literary biography
Terry tackles literary lightweights
Is a distinguished professor right to hold intellectual biography in low esteem?
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A shameful Bill
Labour is spectacularly failing the British people on immigration
The hitch with the Hitch
How Christopher Hitchens brought me back to Christ
The ties that bind
A revived society tie has raised thousands for hedgehogs — and reminds us what Britain has lost with the decline of the club tie
Going Green
A day out with Zack Polanski and friends
Against Northernism
“Northernism” is a superficial form of cultural branding, not a serious political project
Outside the box
why traditional topiary is
making a comeback
Critical briefing: local elections
Our political editor explains what to look out for in Thursday’s elections
David Lean
the cinematic genius admired by today’s directors
The NHS is no longer above question
People are finally, if grudgingly, waking up to its flaws
The limits of choice
Sometimes, we do know better than people who are harming themselves
Ant & Dec: heroically bland
Clear separation between private and public selves is faintly refreshing
Keeping the faith
Brexit triumphalists can’t understand how other people living in the UK in 2026 do not share their enthusiasm
In defence of division
We cannot allow oikophobes and iconoclasts to define what it means for us to be united
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
The decision-dodgers
The puberty blocker trial shows that outsourcing policy choices to experts isn’t working
Illuminating shady corners of the soul
Chilling accounts of how men can be destroyed from within