Margaret Thatcher is back in the news. But it is not her admirers on the Right who have put her there. It is our new Labour Prime Minister, whose diagnosis of our country’s ills seems to be that Britain was on the right path up until 1979, when the Conservatives got into power and precipitated […]
Dear Andy Burnham, Firstly, I must congratulate you on your new role. I am sorry that I have not written to you sooner and I know that you’ve technically been in post for a while now. In my defence though, you did go away almost immediately after taking office. The reason that I am writing […]
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is not a publication most would be familiar with. It is meant as a repository of overviews of big topics in philosophy broadly defined, inclusive of political theory. As such, entries added to it are unlikely to generate strong responses by the experts deeply familiar with each individual entry. Every […]
Channel 5 has announced that it is preparing to dramatise the Peter Murrell embezzlement scandal. The 90-minute film will be made by Wonderhood Studios, whose most recent work was the well-received ‘Downfall’ about Huw Edwards. Not much is known about the production as yet, but those hoping for a deep dive into the complexities of […]
It’s been a wild summer already. Britain’s onto its seventh prime minister in a decade, with Andy Burnham wasting no time rearranging the furniture – and, for part of the week, the postcode – of No 10. Outside Westminster, England gave us their best World Cup run in 60 years, though the trophy itself will […]
If you have argued in favour of market-based solutions in some area of society which is under government control, you may have received objections along the lines of ‘I don’t believe the market can handle X’, ‘companies only look at the short term’ or ‘companies are motivated by greed and cannot be trusted to handle […]
Should universities have a say before speakers are excluded from the UK? The Government has cancelled the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) of a controversial left-wing US political commentator, in a move that prevents him from appearing at one of the UK’s oldest debating societies and raises renewed questions about broad and discretionary powers used to […]
This is an edited extract from ‘In Defence of Populism’ by Frank Furedi, published with permission. In recent times I have been struck by the frequency with which common sense serves as a target of scorn by educators, especially in universities. It is also treated with contempt by the cultural elites in the media. Common […]
To egalitarians, anything that rises above the average, be it wealth or exceptional beauty, is questionable. And, as in the economic and social spheres, this is another area in which they expect the state to intervene with regulations and bans. Heather Widdows, whose book ‘Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal’ was published in 2018, […]
On Wednesday mornings in my little rural village in Hampshire, I have two options for a morning coffee. The first is the charming community café, freshly ensconced in the village hall, which is a cross-generational space where my teenage daughter serves coffee to our octogenarian neighbours, and which I happen to love. The second is […]
Last Friday morning, there was a palpable sense that Britain was having a nervous breakdown. The abominable Greens had stormed to victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election; in Parliament Square, the statue of Winston Churchill had been defaced with graffiti branding the Greatest Briton a ‘Zionist war criminal’ and calling for the globalisation of […]
Three and a half years ago, the British Monarchy appeared serene in its stability. After a lifetime of grandeur and service, a great reign had ended. In response, the national mood appeared to be one of solemnity and gratitude. Although there were complaints from fringe groups, they appeared to be speaking for no one except […]
Our countryside, we have just been solemnly told by administrators, is too white. It is ‘seen by both black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and white people as very much a ‘white’ environment’. National Park and National Landscapes administrators (as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty planners have now become) have jumped enthusiastically on board, announcing […]
Our staff and contributors have rounded up some of their favourite works of the year, and whether you’re after a history of English poetry or a sleazy Frenchman’s account of a trip to Lanzarote, there’s something for everyone in CapX’s Books of 2025. Robert Colvile, CapX Editor-in-Chief Since we’ve all had enough of politics at […]
The decline of Christianity is nothing new. Some 150 years ago, Matthew Arnold, in his poem ‘Dover Beach’, mourned the ‘melancholy, long, withdrawing roar’ of the ‘Sea of Faith’. And that was in the high noon of Victorian England. Today, he would have far more to be concerned about. The last 20 years have witnessed […]
It is easy to scoff at the middle-class pretensions of Canterbury Cathedral’s current graffiti display. As Joseph Dinnage, the deputy editor of this publication, notes on X, it looks as though the cathedral has been turned ‘into a South London youth club c.2005’. The style of the temporary graffiti they have plastered on the ancient […]
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner warned that the effects of immigration and social cohesion, among other factors such as rapid de-industrialisation, was having a profound impact on society and trust in public institutions. However, she expressed the belief that Britain was a successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy – but how right is she? Rayner’s […]
There is much discussion right now about the dysfunctionality of UK politics. This goes beyond complaints about the policy incoherence or ineffectuality of any particular government, whether that be the current one or its Tory and Coalition predecessors. Rather, there is a growing feeling that the political system itself, the whole process of politics, no […]
In this edition of Nimby Watch, James Ball journeys to… actually, this week let’s just jump right in. Okay, where are we this week? We’re visiting an idyllic village, somewhere people apparently move for a slower pace of life, to enjoy the peace and quiet and to have uninterrupted access by road to anywhere they’d […]
It’s a crescendo as predictable as a chorus from the latest chart-topper – and unfortunately in a minor key. Late last week, a High Court judge ruled that Lambeth Council had bodged the planning process for the Brockwell Live festival series, throwing into doubt whether the events can go ahead at all. Brockwell Live had been […]
‘Up Hamas, up Hezbollah!’ I don’t know about you, but if I was at a gig and heard a band yelling that to the crowd of adoring fans, I’d assume that they quite liked Hamas and Hezbollah. Just like if I walked the streets screaming ‘Millwall!’ at people, you could reasonably infer that I was […]
War often has a chilling effect on freedom. Sometimes this is necessary. Being at war necessitates restrictions that would be completely out of place in normal society. This expectation is even written into international law, with clear examples and acceptable reasons – especially during war – for restrictions on human rights and personal freedoms. Yet […]
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