Society

Saturday

James Esses

The strange reaction to the death of a child rapist drag queen

On Sunday 22 January 2023, Darren Moore was found dead. Moore was a long-standing and well-known drag artist in Cardiff where he lived.   He was also a convicted child rapist.   The fact that news outlets had the ability to report on the colour of Moore’s wig but not on the atrocious crimes he had previously committed is worrying But this chilling fact has been almost entirely ignored by the mainstream media as they report his death. Instead, the commentary and news coverage has been hugely positive about Moore’s life. At times, the coverage has bordered on gushing, with article after article going into great detail about the warm

Vivek Y. Kelkar

Pakistan is crumbling

Stampedes for subsidised government-distributed flour, the worst economic crisis in decades, a coalition government unsure of its moorings and reluctant to carry out much-needed economic reforms, sectarian and separatist violence across large spans of the country, terrorist groups, diplomatic and ideological problems with neighbouring Afghanistan, and some of the worst floods the country has ever experienced – disaster has gripped Pakistan.  On January 7, Harsingh Kohli, a labourer and a father of six, was trampled to death while trying to get subsidised flour at the Gulistan e Baldia park in the city of Mirpur Khas in Pakistan’s Sindh province. The trucks had been sent by the government with flour at a

Theodore Dalrymple

Why are we letting dangerous criminals roam the streets?

If you repeatedly ask someone to do something that is inherently, and obviously, impossible, and then blame him for not having done it, you might be suspected of ulterior motives, such as a desire to hide something such as your own incompetence.  And so it is with the criticism constantly levelled at the Probation Service, which is accused of not keeping the public safe. It does not do so because it cannot do so. Blaming it diverts attention from the defects of policing and criminal justice policy now going back over decades.   The probation service is a scapegoat for the failure of the police and the judiciary  Much publicity

Friday

Gareth Roberts Gareth Roberts

Did Sandi Toksvig think she could change Justin Welby’s views on gay sex?

An urgent ecumenical update: the conclave has taken place. The great community leader has descended from the summit of Sinai, bearing, not tablets of law, but sorrowful tidings. Yes: the Archbishop of Canterbury has ‘grabbed a coffee’ with Sandi Toksvig, following her twee plea for an audience a few months ago on the subject of the Church of England’s attitude to gay sex.  The good news is that the ‘long-promised coffee’ was ‘calm and considered,’ according to Toksvig. The bad news is that Sandi is sad: Justin Welby had to report, unsurprisingly to anyone paying the slightest attention, that any change in the Anglican Communion’s stance on same-sex relations is

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Europe’s leaders are failing in their duty to keep people safe

Life in Europe is becoming increasingly precarious; a case of hoping it’s not your turn to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a Salisbury court on Monday a 21-year-old Afghan with a long history of violence was convicted of the brutal murder of Thomas Roberts; on Wednesday, a Palestinian allegedly stabbed two people to death on a German train. That same day in Spain a Moroccan under a deportation order was arrested after a verger was killed with a machete and a priest badly wounded in two related attacks in the city of Algeciras. Meanwhile in France an Algerian and a Kosovan are in custody after two

Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

Is Nicola Sturgeon a transphobe?

Is Nicola Sturgeon a transphobe? I ask because she has decreed that Isla Bryson, a violent man who identifies as a woman, should not be locked up at a women’s prison. And every woman who has said similar in recent years, every feminist who has said that no blokes should be allowed into women’s prisons, women’s domestic-violence shelters and women’s changing areas, has been horribly attacked by the right-on. They’ve been denounced as phobes, bigots, TERFs and worse. So is Sturgeon a bigot, too? Should she be cancelled? This is the disturbing story of the male rapist who says he is a woman. Scot Isla Bryson, whose birth name is

John Oxley

Why ‘Spotify dads’ are turning on the Tories

It’s probably never been cool to be a Tory. There will never be a Conservative youthquake – they are the unhip party, the unkissed party. Voting Conservative has always been a mark of being a bit older, a bit more settled down. Like a sensible saloon car and comfortable shoes, it was something you eased into when you acknowledged you were past the flush of youth. Now, however, the party is seemingly losing even that. New polling from Portland Communications shows the Conservative party is losing sway with the least cool demographic of all: middle-aged dads. On almost every metric, the party is in retreat, with its vote share among

Jake Wallis Simons Jake Wallis Simons

We must remember the unique atrocity of the Holocaust

At the heart of marking the Holocaust lies a conundrum. On the one hand, genocides happen all over the world, from Cambodia to Darfur. Each life lost is an equal horror; there can be no hierarchy of death. On the other, the attempted liquidation of world Jewry during the second world war was an entirely specific atrocity. It was an expression of mankind’s oldest hatred by the most advanced civilisation on Earth, using the most sophisticated science, technology, logistics and propaganda at its disposal. It was unique. It was about the Jews. Clearly, balance is required. But it seems in short supply. Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. My teenage children

Thursday

Steerpike Steerpike

Rod Stewart calls time on the Tories

Rod Stewart has been a Conservative supporter for some time – but no longer. The ageing rocker, who congratulated Boris Johnson after his landslide election win in 2019, says it is time for the party to move over and give Labour a turn. ‘This is a bad time for us in Great Britain – change the bloody government,’ he told Sky News viewers after phoning in during a discussion on the dire state of the NHS. Stewart described the cost-of-living crisis as ‘heartbreaking’ and suggested that Rishi Sunak’s government was failing: ‘I personally have been a Tory for a long time and I think this government should stand down now

William Nattrass William Nattrass

Novak Djokovic and the real reason many Serbs support Russia

Novak Djokovic is no stranger to controversy. A year ago, the Serbian tennis star was deported from Australia after failing to comply with the country’s covid vaccination rules. Organisers of the Australian Open are once again fighting fires relating to Djokovic.  This time, it is Djokovic’s father, Srdjan, who is in trouble after he posed with supporters of Russian president Vladimir Putin outside the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Djokovic senior was pictured with a man holding a Russian flag emblazoned with Putin’s face, and wearing a T-shirt printed with the pro-war Z symbol. In a video recording of the incident, Srdjan appears to say ‘Long live the Russians’. The Aussie Cossack YouTube channel,

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Could Britain cope without Taiwanese microchips?

So now we know what Britain’s great green economy looks like. First, the good news: construction of electric cars in Britain increased by 4.5 per cent in 2022 to 234,066 vehicles. Now the bad news: overall car production slumped to its lowest level since 1956, with just 775,014 units rolling off the production line. Britain may be leading the world when it comes to setting targets for decarbonisation, but it isn’t helping us to even maintain our manufacturing industry, let alone to turn us into a hotbed of ‘green growth’. The next government target to hit the industry is the Zero Emission Mandate, which will oblige UK producers to make

Rory Sutherland Rory Sutherland

The dwindling case for living in London

The recent debate around ‘levelling up’ may be missing something. I would argue that there is another way to consider geographical inequality – and, by this alternative measure, a levelling has been under way for more than 20 years. I’ve spent three decades working in advertising, so it’s unsurprising that I tend to view economic life through the lens of consumption. By contrast, mainstream economists tend to view disparities through the medium of earnings or wealth. To me, measures of wealth should include not only the quantity of money you have but the breadth of worthwhile options available in choosing how to spend it. Let’s put it another way. If

Terry Barnes

Who’s killing Australia Day?

Australia Day was once a big deal Down Under, but in recent years the annual celebration has been somewhat muted. Take the Australian Open, currently running in Melbourne. The organisers have dedicated days throughout the tournament for a range of causes: there has been a Pride day and a day celebrating indigenous art and culture. But although the semi-finals are being played today, on Australia Day itself, there will be no recognition of the country’s national day. ‘We are mindful there are differing views, and at the Australian Open we are inclusive and respectful of all,’ Tennis Australia said in a statement. Tennis fans aren’t the only ones missing out:

Julie Burchill Julie Burchill

In praise of drunkenness

Europe, I’m told, is entering the age of the ‘sober-curious’. Curiosity is a wonderful thing; why, then, did hearing this make me want to drink whisky until I talk in tongues and pass out? I’ve had such a long and varied relationship with alcohol since we met when I was a shy provincial child. It’s been my naughty secret (12-16), partner in crime (twenties), dangerous obsession (thirties/forties), toxic bestie (fifties) – until, somehow, now I’m almost 64, it’s ended up as casual restaurant date, always welcome but never needed. I’ve done some dumb things on alcohol, but I’ll always believe that it gave me more than it took from me.

Bruce Anderson

The surprising joy of involuntary sobriety 

I have just finished a sojourn with a curious twist. Readers of Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain will remember Hans Castorp, who set off to visit a cousin confined to a sanatorium in the Alps. Nothing went according to plan. The cousin fell into a sharp decline and died. Castorp himself was diagnosed as suffering from a lung ailment and spent the next seven years in the sanitorium. This ended only with a social, political and cultural upheaval, followed by a -conflagration. St Thomas’ Hospital is hardly the Alps. But I spent five weeks there, having expected a three-day sentence. A surgeon told me that it was one of the

Toby Young Toby Young

Why I’m sleeping in the garden shed

Two and a half years ago, I wrote a column about how I’d started sleeping in my garden office. No, not because Caroline had kicked me out of the master bedroom, but because we were having the house rewired and the builders needed us to vacate our room at seven o’clock every morning. The move was supposed to be temporary, but I liked the arrangement so much it became permanent. Unfortunately it’s causing a few tensions in the marriage. Most wives who have had to put with their husband’s snoring for more than 20 years would welcome this set-up, but Caroline is a bit nonplussed. She doesn’t miss the nightly

Wednesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

‘Isla Bryson’ and the madness of Scotland’s gender bill  

Adam Graham was four years old when, according to his own account of his life, he first began to suspect he might be transgender. ‘I was always hanging about with the girls and always doing make up’, he said. It was not until he was 29, however, that Graham began to openly identify as a woman, taking hormones and changing his appearance.  By that time he had been arrested and charged with two counts of rape.   It is incredible that the sensitivities of convicted rapists are now the subject of so much official sympathy in Scotland Appearing in court this week, Graham’s new – and putatively ‘real’ – identity took centre

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Rolling in it: the return of Tory sleaze

When Rishi Sunak stood on the steps of Downing Street to give his first speech as Prime Minister, he had a simple message: ‘This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.’ He wanted his premiership to move on from the scandal, mayhem and psycho-drama of his two predecessors. As Michael Gove later put it: ‘Boring is back.’ The government, he said, has an ‘utter determination to try to be as dull as possible’. But the Tory scandal stories that Sunak is so keen to avoid are not, it seems, over yet. His party chairman, Nadhim Zahawi, is reported to have had to pay a penalty of more

Charles Moore Charles Moore

The curious tale of Lady Hale

Has the German leopard at last changed its spots, now that it says it will release the tanks of that name? The Germany/Ukraine story has so far been another example of the former’s long-proclaimed desire to create a European Germany rather than a German Europe. In fact, however, the two phrases now amount to much the same thing. As with the single currency and with energy, so with war materiel: German power exceeds that of all continental rivals. But, by speaking about being so European, Germany has probably gained dominance more easily than if it had been more national in tone. It might now be more honest – and safer

The Spectator

Britain’s asylum crisis

Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai, 21, an Afghan convicted this week of murdering a man in Bournemouth last year, had previously murdered two men in Serbia. He had also been caught drug-dealing in Italy. He had been allowed to stay in the UK despite doubts about his claim to be 14 years old (he was then 18) and was placed with a foster carer and enrolled in a secondary school. When his foster carer caught him carrying a knife, a social worker was sent to his home to give him a talk about the dangers of knives.  The case of Abdulrahimzai shows just how easy it is to outwit our authorities. It tells