Who’s afraid of the Abdul bros?
A populist insurgent is rising in a Democratic primary, outperforming the expectations of pundits and political elites. But the party establishment warns that the insurgent — a straight man —…
Trump’s shadow economy
School’s out for summer — and for one White House staffer, months of seaside lolly-licking beckon. Yes, Gabriel Perez’s schedule is wide open now that he’s been placed on unpaid…
The poverty of white nationalism
Over the last decade, once-fringe views on race and American identity have taken over important sectors of the US Right. These include the belief that people from some cultures aren’t…
Shabana Mahmood: human shield
If Shabana Mahmood didn’t exist, “Blue Labour” would have to invent her. The Home Secretary, one of few Cabinet ministers kept in their role by Andy Burnham, is tough on…
Burnham’s afternoon of the long knives
By the late afternoon, the announcements came with metronomic regularity, the great and the good of the last Cabinet eliminated. Rachel Reeves, gone. David Lammy, gone. Liz Kendall, Darren Jones,…
Labour’s next civil war
Who is Andy Burnham? It’s the £2.91-trillion question that the bond markets will be considering today. Labour has committed itself to a Doctor Who strategy, hoping that a regeneration of…
How Ferrari lost its sex appeal
Accustomed to near-universal adoration for its internal combustion and hybrid supercars, Europe’s most famous manufacturer cannot have anticipated the collective snort of derision that greeted its first battery-electric model, the…
Why Ukrainian liberals love conscription
“No!” the woman cries. “May you be damned!” You can hear the despair in her voice, as masked men grab her husband, then bundle him into a waiting van. Within…
Where’s the economic strategy, Andy?
At the World Cup, a single misjudgment by the manager ended the England team’s hopes of reaching the final. In politics, Keir Starmer never recovered from sending Peter Mandelson onto…
Inside Liz Truss’s America-brained CPAC
What is a conservative? For Michael Oakeshott: someone who prefers “the familiar to the unknown” and “present laughter to utopian bliss”. For Roger Scruton: someone who wants to protect repositories…