James Ball
03 September 2025
Did Farage just lie to US congress under oath?
At a hearing in DC, the leader of Reform said that he does not ban journalists from his party’s conference - just hours after his party banned The New World
Read the full article03 September 2025
Chicken Farage bans The New World
Reform claims to be the party of free speech, but this last-minute decision to stop me attending its conference tells a very different story
Read the full article03 September 2025
The tough guys who learned to love tyranny
For decades, US survivalists have warned about a future with troops on the street and plain-clothes goons disappearing the White House’s enemies. Now it’s all happening under Trump, they are silent
Read the full article02 September 2025
Social media has ruined politics
The right have been radicalised, while abuse forces moderates off the platforms. This can’t go on
Read the full article28 August 2025
Nigel Farage, the man who broke Britain
The man who would be PM has already spent a decade getting much of what he wanted - and none of it has worked
Read the full article20 August 2025
The Bell Hotel ruling incentivises the far right
By factoring extremist unrest into his judgment, a British judge has signalled that disorder works
Read the full article16 August 2025
Britain’s real immigration scandal is not the one you think
A so-called national crisis isn’t being driven by migrant boats – but by a cynical political class that would rather feed fears than fix anything
Read the full article13 August 2025
The unpardonable sins of Ghislaine Maxwell
The woman who aided, abetted and abused alongside Jeffrey Epstein should be in prison until 2037 – at least. But as Trump allies flirt with pardons and political revenge, could she go free?
Read the full article11 August 2025
The government has lost the argument on Palestine Action
Yvette Cooper must reveal the ‘secret’ reasons for proscribing the group, or tell the police to stop arresting supporters
Read the full article06 August 2025
The trial of Benjamin Netanyahu
From petty corruption to genocide, the charges continue to mount. But the Israeli prime minister’s actions since October 7, 2023, show he is determined to escape the shadow of justice
Read the full article30 July 2025
Meet Claude, the $14bn AI that thinks it wears a tie
Artificial intelligence makes more and more of our decisions. But two examples show it remains untrustworthy – and sometimes downright bizarre
Read the full article30 July 2025
Farage’s firestarter politics
A year after riots swept Britain, Reform’s leader and his supporters are warning of future unrest unless their policies are followed. The message is a threat wrapped in respectability
Read the full article24 July 2025
This is Starmer’s worst mistake so far
He enjoys attacking the left of his party, but the PM’s reversal on planning laws sets him up for a confrontation with his loyalists
Read the full article19 July 2025
How the Epstein scandal broke MAGA
Trump’s supporters were promised revelations about a horrifying conspiracy. Instead, they’re getting denials and abuse from the president they helped elect
Read the full article14 July 2025
Exclusive: the Southport riots and Twitter’s failure
A new investigation shows how the moderating system on the social media network broke down at the worst possible time
Read the full article12 July 2025
The fight for Africa’s media
Trump has cut all funds to US media outlets across the continent. As the west takes itself off the airwaves, others are moving in
Read the full article07 July 2025
The Labour MPs giving up on Starmer
The government benches in the Commons are packed with ambitious young people who think their careers are hitting a dead end
Read the full article04 July 2025
Trump’s army makes America poor again
The Republican party used to have principles. Not any more
Read the full article02 July 2025
The deadly old men who rule half the world
In a draining digital age of new problems and new tech, the planet’s most powerful leaders are all in their 70s – and increasingly at war with reality
Read the full article27 June 2025
Starmer risks blundering into disaster with ECHR reform
While trying to outflank the right, Labour risks relighting a highly flammable issue
Read the full article26 June 2025
The welfare rebellion shows there’s no one driving Labour’s train
The effectiveness of Keir Starmer’s No 10 operation is being openly questioned as another U-turn is confirmed
Read the full article25 June 2025
Climate change will burn the insurance markets
As temperatures rise and insurance markets get spooked, voters and populist politicians still want to spend less on the environment
Read the full article20 June 2025
Labour’s devastating disability benefits cuts are a time bomb
Many of its own MPs won't support measures that could see some people lose £10,000 overnight
Read the full article18 June 2025
March of the symbolic capitalists
American sociologist Musa al-Gharbi thinks woke protesters are sincere – but they’re equally committed to being wealthy
Read the full article11 June 2025
Rachel Reeves’s best day still doesn’t feel like enough
The chancellor is spending billions – but the moment demands far more
Read the full article11 June 2025
The ugly truth about Farage’s baby boom
After a bruising few days, Reform’s leader is joining other populists in embracing nativism – encouraging the ‘original’ population to have more children while immigration is restricted
Read the full article06 June 2025
The exit that lays bare Reform’s fatal flaws
Zia Yusuf’s resignation deepens concerns over Islamophobia and Farage’s obsessive grip
Read the full article05 June 2025
Helen Lewis: ‘Is Musk a genius? Look at his tweets’
Lewis’s new book, The Genius Myth, skewers rebel innovators who come to believe they can do no wrong. Remind you of anyone?
Read the full article04 June 2025
The chancellor has the worst job in government
Rachel Reeves’s fear of tackling the big issues means she is repeating the mistakes of the past, and summoning up memories of Tory austerity
Read the full article31 May 2025
Donald Trump’s digital landgrab
His attempt to grab control of the internet is perhaps the biggest threat of all
Read the full article28 May 2025
If universities sink, then so will Starmer
Some Labour figures believe Britain has too many unis. But if they start failing, local economies – and Starmer’s re-election prospects – will go with them
Read the full article27 May 2025
Why is Kemi Badenoch so bad at politics?
The Tory leader has put her foot in it again by peddling one of Putin’s talking points
Read the full article