Patience Wheatcroft
14 January 2026
First you think, then you make policies – not the other way round
The winter fuel mess, the farm inheritance tax u-turn and now the debacle over pubs: why can’t this government plan in advance?
Read the full article07 January 2026
This sounds crazy, but our politicians need a pay rise
The current system attracts incompetent chancers. The answer is a Westminster that’s smaller and better rewarded
Read the full article31 December 2025
A new year’s resolution to keep: get rid of Brexit
If 2026 is to improve on 2025, the UK must start behaving like a serious country at long last
Read the full article15 December 2025
Tommy Robinson’s gospel of hate
His motives for calling on religion look less like a personal awakening and more a cynical marketing ploy
Read the full article10 December 2025
The empty theatre of Keminism
Badenoch may suddenly have a spring in her step, but her snark and stunts reveal a lack of serious ideas
Read the full article02 December 2025
Assisted dying dirty tricks could kill the Lords
The machinations of a few opponents means the upper house is in danger of being seen to flout the will of MPs
Read the full article26 November 2025
The Telegraph falls into the wrong hands
The Daily Mail group backs authoritarian views. The idea that they’re better buyers than an overseas investor is nonsensical
Read the full article12 November 2025
Why Britain’s public services are so bad
We have never paid so much tax and received so little in return. Worst of all, no one in Whitehall or Downing Street will ever take the blame
Read the full article31 October 2025
Snobbery and deference have broken Britain – and created Andrew
Crises in Windsor and Westminster have at their root our willingness to kow-tow to the upper class
Read the full article21 October 2025
Nathan Gill: a scandal with no outrage
Russia bought themselves a senior member of the Reform party to do their bidding. He’s been found guilty – why does no one seem to care?
Read the full article15 October 2025
London, the city that scares Trump
Populists have some very strange ideas about London. The best way to get over their irrational fears is to pay the capital a visit
Read the full article03 October 2025
Michelle Mone: the embodiment of British corruption
She was appointed to the Lords by Cameron and used that position to profiteer during the Covid pandemic. How could this have happened?
Read the full article30 September 2025
A Reform merger would be extinction for the Tories
Farage is only interested in a reverse takeover. Kemi Badenoch must resist – and find a way to rouse her rabble
Read the full article20 September 2025
Andy Burnham eyes No 10
It would be difficult, though not impossible - but would he leave behind his political success in Manchester for the much choppier waters of Westminster?
Read the full article17 September 2025
When clever politicians turn stupid
Mandelson and Rayner seemed to be in total command, right up until the moment when it was revealed they’d done something unbelievably misguided
Read the full article08 September 2025
When a patriot becomes a nationalist
Where is the line and how do you know when someone has crossed it?
Read the full article01 September 2025
Rachel Reeves is not the answer
The chancellor lacks the calibre and clout to spell out Britain’s challenge - and the inevitable pain involved in fixing it
Read the full article23 August 2025
Bring on the United States of Europe
There’s only one way to stand up to superpowers such as the US and China, and to the authoritarian bullies like Putin
Read the full article09 August 2025
Labour have lost the moral high ground
The resignation of housing minister Rushanara Ali shows Starmer’s government mired in the same ethical scandal it once condemned
Read the full article06 August 2025
Britain, an unserious country with serious problems
The silly season is now permanent as UK politics is overwhelmed by the emotional, the irrational and the plain ridiculous
Read the full article01 August 2025
Britain isn’t working
Our parliamentary system is not fit for purpose. But what can we do about it?
Read the full article23 July 2025
Rachel Reeves’s very bad idea
The post-2008 financial rules are there for a very good reason. Taking them apart would give our Gordon Gekkos free rein
Read the full article15 July 2025
Inquiries don’t work
Victims do not get their compensation, quick action to fix obvious problems is impossible and the guilty escape the blame. And yet the inquiries drag on…
Read the full article09 July 2025
The government that tells it like it isn’t
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for politicians to tell voters things they do not want to hear. But deceiving the electorate is a very bad idea
Read the full article01 July 2025
Does anyone want to buy the Daily Telegraph?
The paper drifts on in a state of limbo, becoming ever more right wing – but is a secret dose of foreign money coming its way?
Read the full article24 June 2025
Risk and reward: Starmer’s tightrope act
The prime minister needs to retain a strong relationship with Donald Trump’s America – but not any price
Read the full article18 June 2025
The rise of influencer journalism
In today’s crowded media landscape, outlets are increasingly conscious of the need to build their brand – as are the individuals who work for them
Read the full article11 June 2025
Labour’s weird gift for alienating everyone
From pensioners to pop stars, the government’s misfiring messages are uniting Britain in frustration
Read the full article05 June 2025
WTF WFH: It’s time to get back to the office
Huge numbers of people are discovering that working from home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
Read the full article28 May 2025
Labour’s prison plan: reform or retreat?
The prime minister’s reforms are crucial to achieving a more humane prison system. But, they’re only the start
Read the full article16 May 2025
The flawed Assisted Dying bill still deserves to succeed
Scaremongering and clumsy amendments should not stall the cause of helping the terminally ill to die with dignity
Read the full article07 May 2025
This is the wrong way to mark VE Day
Late pub opening hours and face painting feel crass and nationalistic
Read the full article