Marie Le Conte
28 December 2025
I don’t need New Year’s resolutions, but our politicians do
Here are some suggestions for Starmer, Badenoch and Farage, which might help them – and us – to have a happier 2026
Read the full article19 December 2025
The most libidinous plan the EU ever created
The Erasmus scheme allowed millions of UK students to broaden their horizons – and also their private lives
Read the full article15 December 2025
Reform’s Bonnie Blue Christmas
An endorsement from the porn star underlines the hypocrisy at the heart of Nigel Farage's party
Read the full article15 December 2025
Brigitte Macron’s nasty little words
Non-French speakers don’t fully understand the phrase “sales connes”. But we do, which makes the president’s wife using it even more awful
Read the full article10 December 2025
Sorry Aussie kids – you have been permanently logged out of your account
Young people got depressed, anxious and led astray long before social media arrived. So is the new ban in Australia really going to do any good? And if so, how will we be able to tell?
Read the full article10 December 2025
In praise of being a citizen of everywhere
Lacking roots doesn’t mean lacking ties, and people will always matter more than places do
Read the full article03 December 2025
Your Party is a circus – but so are all the others
Corbyn’s comical conference highlighted a broader dearth of vision and intellectual heft that’s diminished UK politics
Read the full article03 December 2025
It's time to get out of your cultural silo
I’ll go out of my way to watch stuff I’m sure won’t be my thing, just because finding common ground is pleasant – even if it’s friendly disagreement
Read the full article27 November 2025
Backing books over screens might be Reeves’s best budget move
The chancellor recognises the power of getting children to read - now she must convince the parents
Read the full article26 November 2025
Why I hate bleak, bland AI
I look at the way millions and millions of people use generative AI and it makes my brain want to shrivel and hide
Read the full article21 November 2025
Will the real Shabana Mahmood please stand up
The home secretary says we need to get tough on immigrants, but only a few years ago, she thought the complete opposite – so which is it?
Read the full article15 November 2025
The Epstein enablers who looked away
I'm always shocked to my core when I remember that only relatively few people consistently care about rape and sexual assault
Read the full article13 November 2025
Apparently I have ruined the workplace
That is what the New York Times seems to think – but surely I can’t take all the credit
Read the full article12 November 2025
What the right doesn’t understand about cities
According to the right wing, both in Britain and elsewhere, major cities are ridden with violence and crime
Read the full article08 November 2025
The menopause and dangers of quack doctors
The symptoms of the menopause are often severe and help can be thin on the ground. Well done Wes Streeting for finally doing something about it
Read the full article06 November 2025
Mamdani, a blip or the future?
The new mayor of New York’s victory has let a little light back in after a year of darkness
Read the full article30 October 2025
What we can learn from Mamdani about Islamophobia
The New York politician was advised to hide his faith but refused. Would we be in a better place if others did likewise?
Read the full article27 October 2025
James Orr: Reform’s polished extremist
A decade ago, his views would have been considered beyond the pale. But now this friend of JD Vance is right at the heart of British politics
Read the full article24 October 2025
Where have all the normal Tories gone?
Not long ago, the Conservative party had a centrist wing. Now it is flirting with immigration policies that make Idi Amin look like a moderate
Read the full article22 October 2025
The confessions of a failed film buff
I’ve no idea why film is the one medium I just can’t seem to crack. Maybe it’s my attention span
Read the full article17 October 2025
Will France’s fragile peace hold?
Macron and Lecornu have got away with it for now - but the country has forgotten the art of compromise
Read the full article13 October 2025
Denmark’s social media ban for kids is a tragedy. But it’s right
For my generation, the internet meant connection. Now it only means division
Read the full article10 October 2025
The unsettling state of settled status
In Farage and Badenoch's eyes, is even paying taxes in Britain good enough for EU nationals like me?
Read the full article08 October 2025
Why it's better to travel alone
You don’t need to negotiate with anyone, and if you suddenly decide that whatever plans you made before leaving no longer suit you then you can change your mind
Read the full article02 October 2025
Does Gen Z have a future?
People in their early 20s are growing up with no jobs, no help and no prospects. That is a problem for us all
Read the full article30 September 2025
I'm skipping party conference season
I used to love it – but now I can see the problem with these annual political get-togethers
Read the full article27 September 2025
Sebastian Whale’s book of dirty politics
A new book on the role of the whips office raises an exasperating question about the role of politicians
Read the full article24 September 2025
Dear young people, get a life
Happy-clappy beige influencers are everywhere now, encouraging us to stay away from anything that makes life worth living
Read the full article18 September 2025
No, Unite the Right was not about women’s safety
Those who attended Tommy Robinson’s rally may have told journalists and social media that they “only” oppose immigration on feminist grounds, but they aren’t fooling anyone
Read the full article17 September 2025
The blandness of algorithmic TV
Most entertainment produced by streaming giants is quite nothingy these days
Read the full article10 September 2025
Britain’s trains are enough to radicalise you
No 10 talks about asylum seekers, hotels and flags, but the bread-and-butter issues are called that for a reason
Read the full article09 September 2025
Crisis in France: it’s all Macron’s fault
There’s only one person to blame for this cycle of collapsing governments
Read the full article