As a former Prime Minister grabbed headlines by re-entering the political fray, a new bill breezed through the Commons attracting scant attention and even less opposition. But we should care about the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill. It provides yet another troubling case study in how influential, self-righteous pressure groups can peddle […]
Like many other fashionable causes, tackling menopause began as a necessary response to a genuine issue. But as with many other campaigns du jour it has morphed into the latest opportunity for the politically correct to virtue signal or grab favourable headlines. For evidence, look no further than this recent quote from Cleo Madeleine of […]
Years ago, as the UK braced for a cold snap, my parents rang their local radio station. Couldn’t the weatherman give us some good news for a change, they joked. ‘You’d be surprised,’ came the deadpan reply.'”We get far more complaints when we forecast heat than we do cold.’ If true, then we Brits really […]
When I sat down to write an article on economic sanctions, the plan had been to explore whether they could deter a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But events have moved so quickly that the question is now moot. Ukrainians are meeting the unimaginable reality that their freedom and their lives must be defended against Russian […]
For a brief moment, it seemed Britain was finally waking up from the Covid nightmare. Cases were soaring across Europe, while the ‘dangerous and unethical experiment‘ undertaken here was beginning to look like a masterstroke. Restaurants were gearing up to the busiest time of year. Friends were planning festive gatherings. Businesses had booked their Christmas […]
There won’t be any winners from Stella Creasy’s battle to bring her baby into the House of Commons. Not a Parliament now held in contempt by much of the British public. Not the Walthamstow MP, whose demand, once you scratch beneath the surface, has the distinct whiff of cakeism. And probably not any innocent brought […]
The idea that Britain is a gerontocracy, run for the benefit of the old at the expense of the young, has gathered support over the course of this pandemic. If Gen Z aren’t being placed under house arrest to protect Granny, then they’re funding care for the elderly via a hike in National Insurance contributions. […]
I rarely wade into issues of wokery. Anyone who does risks giving oxygen to fringe fanatics and intensifying synthetic outrage. But occasionally it’s impossible not to be reeled in – and the Zero Tolerance controversy earlier this week is one of those times. More than half a century after its publication and two years after […]
Government has taken a pickaxe to our freedoms over the course of this pandemic, tirelessly chipping away at our basic liberties with restrictions ranging from the reasonable to the ridiculous. And in response to this creeping authoritarianism the public’s freedom muscle has atrophied to such a degree that even human rights barristers no longer seem […]
Should pubs be allowed to refuse right of entry to any customer they choose? On Wednesday the Prime Minister suggested the decision would be down to individual landlords, prompting a media storm and Labour accusations of “passing the buck” on a key policy. Boris Johnson’s position here barely qualifies as an announcement, more a muttering […]
Life under lockdown may be a profoundly, relentlessly monotonous existence but Conservative politicians floating a different tax increase each week is no way to spice things up. No, Minister, headlines about raising Corporation Tax or hiking fuel duty will do little to shatter the chronic sense of timelessness that has characterised the past 11 months. […]
Not since Fyre Festival have images of pitiful meals whipped up such a furore. But the pictures of food parcels for children eligible for free school meals plastered across social media and shared thousands of times on Tuesday certainly won’t have elicited the same schadenfreude as the “$12,000” cheese sandwich. The initial image, posted by […]
Amid hysteria over Pogues songs and the report on Priti Patel, a story that usually whips certain groups into a frenzy went largely unnoticed today. One day each November the Fawcett Society makes the preposterous assertion that women will be “working for free” until the end of the year. Equal Pay Day is based on […]
“When you need someone to be thrifty with the nation’s cash, who better to call on than an adopted Yorkshireman?” What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, then Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak was able to offer a little quip about his Richmond constituency. Fast-forward to today and humour will be […]
When the US Center for Disease Control released a new alcohol advisory for pregnant women back in 2016, it was greeted with predictable outcry. It contained the preposterous recommendation that “women of a childbearing age” not using birth control refrain from drinking in order to avoid an accidental, alcohol-exposed pregnancy. They say when America sneezes, […]
For three months, governments have made enormously consequential trade-offs based on limited evidence. Lockdown slows the spread – the ONS has estimated that 0.06% of the population had Covid-19 last week, down from 0.1% the previous week and 0.27% a month ago – but risks economic catastrophe. The slogan “Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives,” wheedles […]
An inevitable consequence of the Coronavirus will be the acceleration or magnification of existing trends – be it towards home working or the intensification of the shift from physical to online shopping. Doomsayers who have portended the high street apocalypse in recent years may feel a sense of grim vindication following recent news of Debenhams, […]
When asked by an NBC reporter whether he takes responsibility for the lag in making test kits available, Donald Trump replied: “No. I don’t take responsibility at all.” As it dawned, excruciatingly slowly, on the US President that America was no more immune to Covid-19 than any other nation, he has aired grievances and assigned […]
The gig economy has elevated itself from a buzzword to a fluent characterisation of our current labour market, with 4.7m people now involved in it. Out with the 9 to 5, in with digital platforms enabling us to work where, when, and however we want. Whether this is a force for good depends on who […]
