The Christmas lights switch-on in my town last weekend was epic. Streets were blocked off, the market square was filled with funfair rides, and stalls selling hog roast and hot-dogs, glowsticks, candyfloss and wreaths.
The countdown was MC’d by a …
The dogmatism of common sense
So Esther McVey has been made Britain’s Common Sense Tsar. One can imagine the scene around the Cabinet table, as Rishi Sunak calls on various of his ministers to sketch their plans for the future.
First to speak up is …
Gay cinema is too boring
When I was a teenager, films about gay men came in two varieties: BFI gay films and Canal+ gay films. BFI gay films were worthy classics from the Seventies and Eighties. Jarman. Fassbinder. Pasolini, if you felt up to it. …
The NHS cult of natural birth
One of the riskiest things you can do in an NHS hospital is have a baby. Two thirds of NHS maternity units are not “safe enough” for women giving birth, according to the Care Quality Commission, while a quarter deliver …
Joe Biden is the grinch of Iowa
In 1988, Dick Gephardt’s mother moved to Iowa. He was running for the Democratic nomination for president and Loreen Gephardt, at the age of 79, wanted to make sure he ate properly in the run up to the Iowa caucuses. …
Who will win Israel’s oil and gas war?
When we talk of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we tend to focus on the latter’s political, social and humanitarian dimensions. But often this comes at the expense of considering an important economic dimension — one which recent events in Gaza have …
The ANC has betrayed Nelson Mandela
Ten years after his death, the legacy of Nelson Mandela, for those few South Africans who bother to think about it, remains elusive. To many, he embodied a lost civility in interracial politics, a generosity of spirit, an unswerving faith …
Why MBS wants peace with Israel
The 1945 meeting between American President Franklin Roosevelt and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz, which laid the foundation for their nations’ enduring relationship, is often portrayed as an exchange of oil for security cooperation. But in reality, oil was hardly discussed. …
Searching for Shane MacGowan
Other than a dissection of abject narcissism, I’m no longer sure poetry has much to offer us. I think we’re losing our capacity to look outwards. The writing that interests me most now is about this crisis, this prolapsing of …
What do Christian Zionists think about Jews?
When Jerry Seinfeld took his family to an “anti-terror fantasy camp” in the West Bank in 2018 to “play war games with the IDF”, the backlash was swift and impassioned. Intrigued, the following year, I travelled to the controversial Gush …
Nigel Farage’s plan for power
Every other week, Reform party leader Richard Tice and his “shadow cabinet” meet in central London to go through party business. The party’s deputy leaders David Bull and Ben Habib are usually there, as well as Ann Widdecombe, who comes …
Can the media trust this doctor in Gaza?
In the weeks since Israel launched its offensive against Hamas, one doctor’s reports from Gaza’s hospitals have proved more valuable to the media than any other: those delivered by Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a British-Palestinian surgeon. Indeed, when Abu-Sittah held a …
Stonewall doesn’t understand human rights
As we move into the festive season, some unexpected joyful tidings: the UK’s foremost LGBT charity has finally discovered the importance of independence from government. This week, it was reported that Stonewall has successfully persuaded the UN-partnered Global Alliance of …
Gavin Newsom’s shadow campaign for the White House
In an unorthodox televised event that many read as a transparent ploy to boost the presidential aspirations of both men, last night California Gov. Gavin Newsom debated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The event was billed as an epic forum to …
The two faces of Henry Kissinger
In the coming days, many will lavish praise and blame on Henry Kissinger for what he did and did not do. A prime example is the coup in Chile that removed Salvador Allende in 1973, which Kissinger welcomed but did …