James Ball
01 September 2022
How to fix Boris Johnson’s Lords fraud
One thing is clear: reforming the House of Lords won't be easy
Read the full article25 August 2022
Can the new prime minister keep the lights on?
Britain’s energy crisis is even harder to fix than you thought – and Truss and Sunak don’t even seem to be trying
Read the full article18 August 2022
The executives on the make
The harsh reality of how this is achieved is that it takes from the public not once, but twice
Read the full article10 August 2022
27 reasons why Rishi Sunak will be a bad prime minister
As predicted, Liz Truss was a hopeless prime minister. But her successor, Rishi Sunak, is likely to be equally terrible
Read the full article03 August 2022
39 good reasons Liz Truss will be a terrible Prime Minister
Truss has the potential to be a prime minister who makes the Johnson era look like one of calmness and stability
Read the full article27 July 2022
Battling to lead the Britain they broke
Anyone coming into No 10 with the slightest hope of fixing Britain would need to acknowledge it is actually broken, and neither of the Conservative leadership candidates can do that
Read the full article14 July 2022
A harsh reality is awaiting the new leader of the Conservative party
Whoever is chosen will have no personal mandate nor a manifesto that’s been tried and tested with voters
Read the full article05 July 2022
Put this sleazy house in order
Once again, this government is failing to deliver the most basic levels of decency
Read the full article30 June 2022
The case for Julian Assange
Assange and his fans make it difficult to take his side. But this doesn’t change the fact that this prosecution is dangerous and unjust
Read the full article23 June 2022
No, Brexit won’t ever be ‘done’
Claiming Brexit can be ever “done” ignores the complicated reality of the real world
Read the full article16 June 2022
Our callous Ukraine fatigue
Our tone of how we discuss the war in Ukraine has evolved and not for the better
Read the full article02 June 2022
Trans children are suffering because of the government’s cowardice
The government are too afraid to challenge adults’ belief systems. This is pure cruelty
Read the full article26 May 2022
At sea over sanctions
The government has the chance to show the world the days of London being Russian oligarchs' playground are over, but that would involve action by Boris Johnson
Read the full article19 May 2022
Priti Patel’s broken Windrush promises
A report on the scandal said Home Office staff should be trained in diversity.. but two years on, the number of staff trained is zero
Read the full article12 May 2022
Don’t sleep on China’s threat
We dropped the ball spectacularly on Russia. On China, and other human rights and international law abusers, we must not do the same
Read the full article05 May 2022
The land of freedom… for some
There are real fights on free expression being carried out across the world every day. We must not let the more visible, sillier ones crown them out
Read the full article27 April 2022
The danger is not over
Emmanuel Macron may have beaten Marine Le Pen in the presidential election, but France has not yet banished fascism
Read the full article21 April 2022
The playbook of playboys
These three men should be on top of the world. Instead, each of them seems as if it's falling apart around them and they can't even enjoy it
Read the full article06 April 2022
The UN gets little respect. It deserves less
The values it supports have absolutely nothing to do with the ones it practises. What is the organisation good for and why are we still playing along?
Read the full article26 March 2022
Dare Boris Johnson sack Rishi Sunak?
The chancellor’s disastrous spring statement has set a timebomb ticking under the prime minister. How will he react?
Read the full article24 March 2022
The despots we keep on the boil
The West missed warning after warning when it comes to Putin. We mustn't fall into the same trap with his peers
Read the full article17 March 2022
Our broken Home Office
The Home Office is in urgent need of fixing, and Priti Patel is not the woman for the task
Read the full article09 March 2022
The crisis in Ukraine won’t save Boris Johnson
Johnson won't get his Churchillian moment from this crisis, nor will he get the chance to return to his mister good times act afterwards
Read the full article03 March 2022
Our fatal addiction to roubles must end
If we don't stop with sanctions and retool our economy, we will be even more complicit in the next atrocity we enable
Read the full article24 February 2022
Time is running out to fix British democracy
To survive storm Johnson and salvage British democracy, we must change how the UK runs its public sector
Read the full article15 February 2022
Jacob Rees-Mogg and the ministry of funny business
The newly appointed Brexit opportunities minister has been repeatedly reassured by the prime minister that his new role isn't a demotion, which is usually a sign that it is
Read the full article10 February 2022
A sign of The (New York) Times: The logic behind the newspaper’s Wordle purchase
In Buying Wordle, The New York Times raised a few eyebrows. But, it does make sense in this digital age.
Read the full article03 February 2022
The art of the grift: Why NFTs are No F***ing Good
If NFTs are the future of art then the future looks bleak. But, if it is supposed to be representative of the era that generates it, then perhaps it is what we deserve.
Read the full article27 January 2022
Welcome to the 21st Century Reformation
Where did the current cultural upheaval begin exactly? And will the social schism it has created end in unity – or a more deeply divided nation?
Read the full article20 January 2022
Boris Johnson and Prince Andrew: A pair of entitled men no longer defying gravity
The two men aren't getting away with their rotting of British life any longer. The #MeToo moment may not have delivered all that was hoped, but is this the start of the #HadIt era?
Read the full article13 January 2022
55 Tufton Street, SW1: The most influential address you’ve never heard of
It’s home to pro-Brexit groups and climate change sceptics. But just how much power over this government is wielded by the tenants of 55 Tufton Street?
Read the full article06 January 2022
Maybe things are, in fact, looking up
Boris Johnson’s motivations for avoiding an Omicron lockdown are all bad, but that doesn’t make him the equivalent of Meryl Streep’s president in Don’t Look Up.
Read the full article