All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
For the latest assignment, inspired by W.W. Jacobs’s macabre mini masterpiece ‘The Monkey’s Paw’, you were invited to supply a chilling short story featuring an animal’s body part. There were echoes of Jacobs in the entry: in Alan Millard’s malign machinery, for example, and Jennifer Moore’s be-careful-what-you-wish-for theme. Toni Hinckley, Roger Rengold and David Higham
President Donald Trump is demolishing his predecessor’s legacy as fast as he can sign executive orders, but one thing for which the Obama administration will be remembered is its zest for imposing fines on UK and European banks. In a flurry of Department of Justice activity ahead of the transfer of power, Deutsche Bank agreed
The bicoastal elite might be more effective in opposing Mr Trump if it weren’t obsessed with the persecution of anybody who says the wrong thing. ‘While you self-involved fools were policing the language at the Kids’ Choice Awards,’ raged the broadcaster Bill Maher last week, ‘a madman talked his way into the White House.’ This
I have noted before in this place that the people who seem most fascist these days are self-described ‘anti-fascists’. The inaugural weeks of Donald Trump’s Presidency are – whatever else you think of them – doing a fine job in smoking these people out. The principal cause of ‘anti-fascist’ ire today would appear to come
Jeremy Corbyn isn’t going to become Prime Minister. But if the housing crisis isn’t solved, the next left wing populist could—I say in The Sun this morning. Home ownership has dropped to a 30 year low and homes are becoming increasingly unaffordable. In London the average house costs 11 times earnings. Without radical reform, the
I think on balance I would prefer people to demonstrate their opposition to political developments — Brexit, the forthcoming state visit of Donald Trump and so on — by setting fire to themselves in the manner of outraged Buddhist monks, rather than simply by clicking ‘sign’ on some internet petition. I think the self-immolation thing
Friday morning’s attack in Paris in which a machete-wielding man was shot and wounded in the stomach by a French soldier after he injured another soldier near the Louvre museum is the first terrorist incident in France since July. Then two teenagers murdered an elderly priest in his Normandy church, an attack that shocked and
President Trump has a ‘dark vision’ of America under siege from radical Islam, says the New York Times – and that vision is now radically reshaping the policies of the United States. Hence the ‘Muslim travel ban’, as it’s still being called, despite the protestations of the administration that it’s nothing of the sort. Fear of
A man armed with a machete has been shot by a soldier outside the Louvre in Paris this morning. French police said the attacker – who is fighting for his life in hospital – yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he tried to gain access to the world-famous museum. Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has described the attack
You know what the world needs right now? More seriousness, that’s what. Within that, we desperately need more serious commentary. These are serious times and they demand stout-hearted, truth-telling, serious people. The kinds of people who will speak truth unto power while assaulting a series of diminutive straw men. Serious types who stroke their serious
The last time Theresa May met with EU leaders en masse, she was caught on camera being shunned by her European counterparts. At today’s Malta EU summit, the Prime Minister managed to avoid any lonesome moments. On the walkabout she was seen with Angela Merkel, but then a planned bilateral meeting between the two was
Oh dear. Earlier this week, Mr S reported that Derek Hatton — the ‘socialist firebrand’ who joined Labour with the Trotskyist group Militant (before being expelled) — had turned on Jeremy Corbyn. The former Corbynite said the Labour leader’s Article 50 stance showed ‘a real lack of leadership’. In a further sign that Corbyn is losing
As Diane Abbott continues to receive flak today for missing the Article 50 vote thanks to ‘a migraine’ (with #PrayForDiane doing the rounds among Labour MPs), the shadow home secretary is in need of some good press. Alas, with Abbott ducking questions from an ITV reporter last night, she doesn’t appear to be keen on mending press
What does the Government’s Brexit White Paper – which was unveiled yesterday – actually tell us? ‘Nothing and everything’, says the Guardian, which accuses ministers of dishing up a document stuffed with ‘platitudes and empty rhetoric’. But for all the lightness of detail, the White Paper reveals a bigger truth: a ‘troubling form of politics,
If you’re thinking about investing your money in cash, but want a tax-efficient way to do that, check out this week’s best buy three-year and over fixed rate cash ISAs.
Imagine if Dostoyevsky had spent a year or two knocking around Penge. Or if Balzac had sojourned in Stoke Poges. If those great European novelists seem out of place in a provincial English setting, you’ll get a flavour of the comedy and poignancy of Émile Zola: The Upper Norwood Years, as Michael Rosen’s new book
One of the UK’s biggest energy suppliers is under fire this morning for hiking the price of gas and electricity by an overall 9.8 per cent. Npower has announced one of the largest single price rises implemented by a ‘Big Six’ supplier, according to the BBC. The company will raise standard tariff electricity prices by 15 per
On this week’s episode, we discuss how to stay sane in the age of Trump, whether Hull deserves the mantle of Britain’s City of Culture, and if Tatler were right to outlaw the word ‘ghastly’. First, we sat down with Harry Mount, who writes a guide in this week’s magazine on how to keep your head
Oh dear. With Diane Abbott currently off work with ‘a migraine’, the shadow home secretary is facing a growing work headache. After missing the Article 50 vote due to illness, questions have been raised over Abbott’s ability to speak at a Westminster Hall debate just three hours before falling so ill she could not vote.
Is the government trying to avoid scrutiny of its Brexit policy? That’s the charge that MPs on the Labour and SNP benches are levelling at ministers today as the White Paper on leaving the European Union is published. Keir Starmer told the Commons this afternoon that he and his colleagues were being hampered in their
It has been clear for some time that the pre-referendum warnings made by Bank of England governor Mark Carney were wide of the mark. Last May, he said that a vote for Brexit would pose an ‘immediate and significant threat’ to the UK economy, increasing unemployment, hitting growth, possibly to the point of recession. Today,
Last night, 47 Labour MPs rebelled against a three-line whip and voted against the triggering of Article 50. Embarrassingly for Jeremy Corbyn, three Labour whips — meant to enforce discipline — were among the rebels. But on the bright-side, he can still count on his comrades… right? Perhaps not. Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary,
It’s hard not to feel for François Fillon, the French presidential hopeful whose career is now imploding. He looked destined for the Élysée Palace — until Le Canard Enchainé, the French equivalent of Private Eye, broke the story about him paying his British wife too much to pretend to be his assistant. Sensible, small c conservative, Catholic France had
The outpouring of love following Alexandra Shulman’s departure from Vogue was truly touching: she was described as ‘unpretentious’ and ‘very British’ (code for overweight and posh) as the UK fashion industry mourned the loss of this affable leader. Though I’m sure she was a very nice lady, there is something quite perverse about celebrating a fashion
The movement for free speech on campus was born at the University of California, Berkeley in 1964. Last night it died there. In the intolerant screams, smashed glass and fire — actual fire — of the Berkeley protesters who successfully prevented Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking, the ideal of free speech on campus was dealt a
On Thursday afternoon, lovers of liberty and lovers of daytime drinking came together to celebrate Boisdale Life‘s inaugural Libertarian of the Year Awards. As MPs prepared to vote for Article 50 in the Commons, those who had done their bit for individual liberties were honoured at Boisdale Belgravia. ‘I was particularly impressed to hear this chap on the radio defending smoking
This week is one of the gloomiest of the year for people who work for themselves because they’ve had to settle up with the taxman. And it’s not just this week they feel the pain of self-employment, or just them who shoulder the burden. The financial impact of the way they work is taking its
There are lots of problems with Warhammer fans. Bad haircuts, terrible dress sense, to name just two. These aren’t even stereotypes; as a little girl I went to the Games Workshop multiple times with my brothers, so have first-hand experience. Still, I feel strangely defensive over Warhammer because it has been the victim of a vicious smear campaign. PETA has launched the
Imagine if Dostoyevsky had spent a year or two knocking around Penge. Or if Balzac had sojourned in Stoke Poges. If those great European novelists seem out of place in a provincial English setting, you’ll get a flavour of the comedy and poignancy of Émile Zola: The Upper Norwood Years, as Michael Rosen’s new book
After Tesco surprised the City by announcing a £3.9 billion merger with Booker comes the news that the supermarket giant could be forced to dispose of more than 600 stores. Analysis by the data team at The Times has found ‘there are 635 Tesco stores situated less than 500 metres from a shop in Booker’s
The period of ‘phoney Brexit’ is over, says the Daily Telegraph in its editorial this morning. After MPs overwhelming backed the Government on the triggering of Article 50 in last night’s historic vote, one thing is now clear: ‘there is no way back’. It’s obvious, the Telegraph says, that whatever happens next, the process is
Donald Trump promised to bring some pizzazz to the White House. And last night he delivered, unveiling his selection for a vacant Supreme Court seat on prime time TV after teasing the American public with a reality show style whittling down of candidates. His selection, the Oxford-educated Neil Gorsuch, is an established legal mind who will
The government’s Brexit bill has been given the green light by Parliament. On Wednesday evening, MPs voted in favour by 498 votes to 114 to give Theresa May the power to trigger Article 50 and begin formal Brexit talks. A separate SNP amendment to stop the bill from progressing was also defeated, by a comfortable majority of 236.
Mrs May has spent the week meeting naughty presidents. Today she was made to pay for it. Parliamentarians were queuing up to scold her for missing a great opportunity to bleat, pout, whine and nag on the world stage. She’s been to America where she failed to lecture Donald Trump on his meanness to Muslims and