All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Remember when feminists rallied behind the mantra ‘Believe All Women’? It was back in 2017, at the peak of the #MeToo movement that rightly brought down serial sex offenders such as film producer Harvey Weinstein. But then the net was cast more widely, tripping up men like comedian Aziz Ansari for boorish behaviour on a date
The government is facing a rather strange dilemma: what to do about Prince Andrew. Last week the royal voluntarily gave up his titles after speaking with King Charles, following increasing scrutiny on his links to US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir – published today – has brought her accusations of sexual assault against
11 min listen
Rachel Reeves is hosting an investment summit in Birmingham, trying to turn the narrative away from Britain’s economic ‘doom loop’ ahead of next month’s budget. But the harbinger of bad economic news Michael Simmons – who joins James Heale and Patrick Gibbons on the podcast – points to the news today of soaring government borrowing
90 min listen
Freddy Gray sits down with academic James Orr at the Battle of Ideas in London for a live Americano podcast to discuss Vice President JD Vance. Having been described as ‘Vance’s British sherpa’, James responds to how likely it is that JD Vance will be President one day, which weaknesses could hold him back, and
It’s not often the Ministry of Justice gets it absolutely right. But they have today. It has been announced that the Victims and Courts Bill will be amended to stop coercive and controlling fathers from using their parental rights to control their children and former partners even from inside a prison cell. This long-overdue change
Whisper it, but it appears Zack Polanski’s eco-populism strategy is working. After his election as the new leader of the Green party, support for the environmentalists has surged. The party’s membership has seen an 80 per cent increase since Polanski took the reins last month, according to the group, which claims it now has over
Over the weekend, millions of Americans took to the streets in more than 2,000 ‘No Kings’ marches nationwide, protesting what they regard as the creeping authoritarianism of President Trump. The marches – which Trump’s allies called ‘the hate America rally’ – were notable for their scale, but more importantly they are a symbol of something
To veteran BBC documentary-maker, Louis Theroux. On The Louis Theroux Podcast, the longtime interviewer spoke to Bobby Vylan – one half of the punk-rap band Bob Vylan which led a chant of ‘death to the IDF’ at Glastonbury – in his first interview since the summer music festival. But it seems listeners have not been
When did you last go to a Pizza Hut? It’s one of those curious groups of fast food establishments – ‘restaurant’ seems rather too grandiose a term – that fell through the reputational cracks several years, perhaps even decades, ago, and has yet to expire. It was too expensive and fancy for those who wanted
Last night’s decision by Maccabi Tel Aviv to not take up its allocation of away tickets is deeply depressing. The statements of principle that have come from across the political spectrum, arguing that it is wrong to ban Jewish fans because of the sectarian bigotry of many in that area, are now irrelevant. Castigation of
Rishi Sunak was expected to set sail for the US after leaving No. 10, but it turns out his post-prime ministerial life is less Silicon Valley and more Sunday Times. The former Conservative party leader – who remains an MP for Richmond and Northallerton – will become a regular fixture in the august weekend paper,
I did not expect to have to write this, but I can say publicly and without reservation that I absolutely love my tumble dryer. I love its stern prompts to empty the lint filter or the water reservoir. I love the bossy beeping sound it makes when it has finished a cycle, asking me to
It was rather sly of George Abaraonye to move the motion of no confidence in himself as president-elect of the Oxford Union. He said it was an act of ‘true accountability’, but it seemed to me more a sense of false virtue. The ballot question was: ‘Should George Abaraonye, President-Elect, be removed as an Officer
Keeping abreast of President Trump’s changing moods has never been so challenging, especially for Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart. Judging by reports emerging of their meeting last Friday in the Oval Office, Trump made it clear in somewhat candid language that Zelensky should give up the eastern Donbas region of his country or face destruction
I often wonder – we all do – how human beings can be made to forget terrible events. Like the Tiananmen Square massacre, wiped, just like that, from a billion minds in China. Or the burning of the Jews of Jedwabne in Poland in 1941, which lay unforgivably unremembered until the truth was dug up,
We desperately need the national inquiry into child grooming gangs to get underway – both for the sake of the many victims and to hold both institutions and individuals to account. After months of backsliding then hopeless dithering by this government we are close to getting an inquiry chair appointed. Two candidates are in the frame,
Well, well, well. While the issue of drug decriminalisation has reared its head in recent months thanks to an intervention by London mayor Sadiq Khan, there aren’t all that many politicians who have advocated for the legalisation of illicit substances. That hasn’t put off the Economist which, in a leader titled ‘Brute force is no
Is Donald Trump’s peace process in Ukraine moving forward – or it is merely going around in circles in a series of gut-wrenching loop-the-loops? Less than a fortnight ago Trump raised Ukrainian hopes by dangling the possibility of sending Tomahawk cruise missiles, describing the Kremlin as a ‘Paper Tiger’ and warning that the Russian economy
A former heavy metal drummer and biker is not someone the world would expect to become a prime minister of Japan. Particularly if that someone is a woman. But that is what is likely to happen tomorrow. Last month, 64-year-old Sanae Takaichi became the first female head of the Liberal Democrat Party – the party
11 min listen
There have been lots of movements in foreign affairs over the weekend, including a potential collapse of the Gaza peace deal, a Trump–Putin bilateral and new revelations about the China spy case. But closer to home, all eyes are on Kent Council, Reform’s flagship administrative project run by Linden Kemkaran (formerly of this parish). Over
Britain once stood as the world’s unyielding shield – forged in Magna Carta’s fire, tempered by Elizabeth I’s resolve, and steeled by Churchill’s defiance. From across the Atlantic, where we enlightened Americans still trace our liberty to your common law and political traditions, we watch with unease as the Royal Family – once a byword for dignity
The decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending their Europa League game against Aston Villa next month has led to a major row about two-tier policing. Why exactly is the arrival of several thousand Israelis in Birmingham expected to precipitate a major, violent riot? And shouldn’t West Midlands Police, rather than advising the
Uh oh. There’s trouble in paradise as Reform UK has suspended four councillors on Kent county council after a leaked video revealed a rather lot of infighting in their ranks. Councillors were captured complaining about ‘backbiting’ and being ignored by leader Linden Kemkaran – formerly of this parish – who fumed that they should ‘f***ing
Two years ago I started wearing a Star of David necklace, for the first time in my life. The regular weekend hate marches had led to many Jews feeling so intimidated that they no longer felt able to be in central London on Saturdays. Added to that, the more general explosion in anti-Semitic incidents was
It is strange to see Maccabi Tel Aviv fans banned from a Villa match because the British state won’t protect them from Islamist mobs. I grew up in Birmingham – my formative under-age drinking took place by Villa Park – and it was a more racially mixed environment than any other I’ve come across outside
Thieves broke into the Louvre in Paris shortly after it opened on Sunday morning and stole nine invaluable relics from France’s crown jewels. While the exact valuation of the loot is still being established, it could be worth hundreds of millions of euros. The thieves used a cherry-picker to reach a window on the Seine side of
The last time I saw my cousin, the former Tory MP Danny Kruger, I found myself trying to ginger him up a bit. I said, which I thought then and thought now – and which I can’t think it is betraying a confidence to say publicly – that the low state of the Conservative party was a bummer for those who sat
The ceasefire in Gaza, barely settled just six days ago, has already been tested. Hamas was accused of violating the deal by firing rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire at Israeli forces while the US warned the terror group was planning an ‘imminent’ attack on Palestinian civilians. In response, Israel struck a wave of targets within
It’s a difficult time for Tory members. Down to barely 123,000 at the last count, the annual conference passed off well, given the circumstances. But while Kemi Badenoch’s speech received a thumbs up from the commentariat, those running local groups continue to complain of problems. For a leaked recording has revealed what senior members and
Amid the grim fluorescence of a police interview suite, a glimpse of where we are and where we are heading. The place is Hammersmith police station, the date August 30, and the time a little after 2 a.m. An unnamed lawyer in his 40s, whom we are told is Jewish, has been detained for allegedly
Ever fancied going stateside? Enjoy travel, hobnobbing and schmoozing Republicans? Well, now you can, thanks to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) latest posting. After Peter Mandelson’s unfortunate demise last month, London is looking for an ambitious, industrious type to go be our new man (or woman) in Washington D.C. The job advert has
If the Royal Family had hoped the punishment meted out to ‘the Banned Old Duke of York’ would suffice in the court of public opinion, they would now be disappointed. Since Friday’s revelations that Prince Andrew would ‘no longer use’ his dukedom or other honours following the stream of scandals about his friendship with paedophile
As a title, Harry Potter and the Potholes of Devon wouldn’t survive the editor’s pen – but sometimes life is more spellbinding than fiction. Just ask the villagers of Lustleigh, a few miles from where I live on Dartmoor, who have J. K. Rowling’s franchise to thank for making one of the lanes of their