Status anxiety
Wormwood Scrubs, my deserted little bit of paradise
On the face of it, Wormwood Scrubs is not particularly appealing. I don’t mean the prison, but the common in…
The case for an independent Kent
I’m just back from Vancouver, where I was speaking at a fundraiser for the Free Speech Union of Canada. At…
Make Trump Britain’s prime minister
When I was a young man, the claim that Britain was in danger of becoming the 51st state was a…
The lanyard class is imploding – and it can’t blame Musk
I was surprised to read a report by Sunder Katwala’s thinktank British Future saying the UK is a ‘powder keg’…
Let straight white men write novels!
About 15 years ago, I tried to interest my literary agent in a state-of-the-nation novel set in 21st-century London. My…
My sober assessment of the fat jabs
It was my friend Alex who tipped me the wink. I bumped into him at a party earlier this year…
Ofcom still isn’t sure what a woman is
Earlier this week, GB News again found itself at odds with Ofcom. The channel had written to the broadcast regulator…
The secret to ‘womankeeping’
God, men are pathetic. At least, that’s the view of Angelica Puzio Ferrara, a researcher at Stanford, who has come…
Has Trump been taking inspiration from the royals?
One of the objections to the military parade in Washington, DC last Saturday – supposedly to mark the 250th birthday…
Pride continues to crumble
In the canteen of the House of Lords last week, a friendly server asked me if I’d like some ‘Pride…
Should we be above cancelling the cancellers?
I’ve been mulling over Marco Rubio’s latest salvo in the Trump administration’s assault on the Censorship-Industrial Complex. The US Secretary…
My sitcom-worthy walking holiday
I’ve just returned from a walking holiday in Northumberland with Caroline and my mother-in-law. I say ‘walking’ but that makes…
How do I feed my children now my wife has gone on strike?
Caroline has gone on strike. At least, as far as cooking is concerned. Her case for downing spatulas is that…
My son took drugs – and they were mine
The weekend before last, I came home from walking the dog at about noon to find Caroline asleep in bed.…
Are you a ‘tidsoptimist’?
Last week Caroline sent me an Instagram reel that featured a Norwegian word and its English translation. A ‘tidsoptimist’, I…
Bridget Phillipson’s perfect storm for schools
In its manifesto, Labour pledged to recruit 6,500 new teachers and the Education Secretary reiterated this a few days after…
Is the end of ‘non-crime hate incidents’ in sight?
Could the end of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) be in sight? As the head of the Free Speech Union, I’ve…
Can Trump keep me on side?
I’m in danger of falling out of love with Donald Trump. I was ecstatic when he beat Kamala Harris, delighted…
Leave our Lords alone
Within a few months, the constitution that has served this country so well for hundreds of years will yet again…
Is it time to clean up my act?
I was having a drink in the Bishops’ Bar in the House of Lords last month when I was introduced…
How to be a Lord
At the end of my first day at the House of Lords, I staggered out with so many books and…
The curse of Disney’s Snow White
One of the early decisions David Zaslav made after becoming the CEO of Warner Bros Discovery in 2022 was to…
I was right – and Gove was wrong – on lockdown
In an otherwise excellent article for the Sunday Telegraph last week about our government’s hopeless pandemic response, Dan Hannan made…
Are you offended by ‘hard-working families’?
Scarcely a day passes without a newspaper story about some absurd ‘language guide’ issued by a public body. This week…
Cracks are appearing in the Cathedral walls
Is the ‘Cathedral’ about to fall down? That’s the name given by the right-wing blogger Curtis Yarvin to denote the…
