‘Watkins turns. Watkins scores. Bang on 90 minutes’. The last-minute Ollie Watkins goal that took England to the European championship final was watched by twenty million of us back home – making it easily the biggest collective national moment broadcast this year. As Gareth Southgate noted in his ‘Dear England’ letter to the fans, ahead […]
Michelangelo was a prodigy and a late bloomer. As befits the greatest genius of his or perhaps any age, his talents blossomed early and late. In his twenties he was a renowned sculptor; in middle age he became a major painter; and just at the point when he wanted to retire, the Pope insisted that […]
There’s a problem with EDI enthusiasts. Their well-meaning aim to avoid putting anyone at an unfair advantage can quickly turn into the kind of joyless puritanism we used to expect from temperance campaigners in 1890 or a delicate maiden aunt in one of the Just William books. If you don’t believe this, have a look at […]
Earlier this month, university leaders from around the country were summoned to Downing Street to discuss the recent explosion of antisemitism on UK campuses, which has been so extreme that the Community Security Trust (CST) labelled it a ‘watershed moment for antisemitism in the UK’. Unfortunately, despite strong statements from the government that this newest […]
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Centre for Policy Studies and the 10th of CapX, we’ve been republishing CPS pamphlets from our archive. This week, it’s Gertrude Himmelfarb’s 1987 paper ‘Victorian Values and Twentieth-Century Condescension’. In it, Himmelfarb argued that Thatcher’s government truly knew what attitudes drove most Britons, and critiqued the ‘social-control’ theory […]
Below is a transcript of a speech delivered by the Rt Hon Esther McVey MP at an event hosted by the Centre for Policy Studies on May 13 2024. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to welcome you all here today. I would like to thank the Centre for Policy Studies for hosting us and […]
Like many smug middle teenagers, I used to harbour dreams of spending three years at either Oxford or Cambridge for my undergraduate degree. Having visited both a couple of times for school trips and listened to interminable anecdotes about punting and fiery union debates, either seemed like the ideal environment to nurture my ballooning adolescent […]
When scriptwriter Gareth Roberts was 14, he called a helpline promoted by a new organisation, one dedicated to helping gay and lesbian youth. The operator tried to set him up on a date with a 19-year-old. Fortunately, the young Roberts had the wit to realise this ‘was a very bad idea’. A related organisation opened […]
For those of a conservative disposition, the never-ending conflicts that continue to keep the culture wars aflame usually make for depressing reading. Barely a week goes by without something either worrying or mad (or both) being reported in the press. The ‘great awokening’, which some would claim is now a decade old, continues to dominate […]
When I moved to East London, I walked into a busy barber shop for a trim and my olive complexion was greeted with the question, ‘You Arab mate?’. Rather than give a detailed response about my Jewish heritage, I just responded, ‘No mate, I’m from Leicester’. Whilst some people might find my reply deceptive, I […]
Everybody loves a good bad guy. From Dracula to Darth Vader to Hannibal Lecter, yesterday’s villains are today’s heroes. The twentysomethings and thirtysomethings who grew up on the stories of fairies, princes and princesses now turn on Netflix or visit the West End or the Edinburgh Fringe to see the bad guys taking the centre stage. Sometimes that’s a […]
In recent years, the scourge of ‘honour-based’ violence has shown a disturbing upward trend, with a staggering 60% surge in reported incidents over just two years. Despite their name, there is nothing honourable about these crimes – they are acts of brutality and violence against vulnerable women often from isolated communities. Defined as crimes committed […]
Celebrating the resurrection is a wonderful time for Christians, but the Church of England is at a low ebb. Rather than a leadership confidently preaching the Gospel, it comes across as muddled and apologetic. We might take comfort from Professor Richard Dawkins, that most prominent atheist, describing himself as a ‘cultural Christian’. He adds: ‘If […]
Well, the Hate Crime Act is up and running and over the next few weeks and months, Scotland will find out just how like North Korea we have become. Not everyone is taking it lying down: Scottish Family Party (SFP) member Niall Fraser and activist ‘the Glasgow Cabbie’ marked the momentous day with a funeral […]
On April 1, almost three years after the legislation received Royal Assent, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 will come into force. It was devised under Nicola Sturgeon and introduced to the Scottish Parliament by her second Cabinet Secretary for Justice, one Humza Yousaf MSP, in response to a 2018 report on […]
Dame Sara Khan has published her independent review on social cohesion and democratic resilience, coming to the damning conclusion that there is ‘no adequate national strategic approach’ to such matters within Whitehall. The human rights activist and counter extremism expert is right. While we are a relatively successful multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-faith democracy in the […]
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