Do you want to understand what is wrong with the BBC, why it is in crisis and why so many people are refusing to pay their licence fee? Look no further than Gordon Ramsay’s new game show, which began with much fanfare on Wednesday night. For the next three weeks, Gordon Ramsay’s Bank Balance (BBC … Read more
During the relentless gloom and uncertainty in the early weeks of this pandemic, the Queen was accused of misjudging the mood of the people. The Times, no less, criticised her ‘silence’, while pointing out that the monarchs of Spain, Holland, Norway, Belgium and Sweden had all had something to say to their people on the … Read more
It’s hard to look at Gavin Williamson without seeing him wearing dunce’s hat: HENRY DEEDES watches the Education Secretary’s statement in Parliament By Henry Deedes for the Daily Mail Published: 22:06 GMT, 25 February 2021 | Updated: 22:31 GMT, 25 February 2021 Just as confidence in the Government is returning to vaguely respectable levels, enter … Read more
Are vaccine passports imperative if this country is ever going to return to normality? Or do they represent another unacceptable infringement of our liberties, as well as being deeply impractical? The Government until recently has leant towards the second view. Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccines minister, dismissed vaccine passports earlier this month as ‘discriminatory’. Only 10 … Read more
In 1918, Beatrix Potter published The Tale Of Johnny Town-Mouse, about a country mouse and a town mouse who visit each other. Timmy Willie, the country mouse, finds the big city far too hectic. There is simply too much going on. ‘There was no quiet; there seemed to be hundreds of carts passing. Dogs barked; … Read more
Boris had undergone a snip. No, not the sort of painful chop that dog of his clearly needs. Ouch! Heavens, no. I’m talking about a haircut. With the nation’s nimble-wristed crimpers barred from wielding their scissors for another two months, Carrie had apparently grown impatient with her fiance’s mop and attacked the unruly mess herself. … Read more
These are dark, even dangerous days in Scotland. The stramash between the country’s two most famous politicians, Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, has resulted in vital public documents being censored or banned, important information being suppressed, the media cajoled and cowed, the legal system brought into disrepute, the Scottish Parliament neutered and even bloggers being … Read more
How fabulous it will be if the stamp duty holiday is extended in next week’s Budget – but how much better still if Rishi Sunak were to scrap this rotten tax for good. The Chancellor would not only win homebuyers’ undying gratitude, but would be giving the economy a much-needed boost. Stamp duty clogs the … Read more
There has been nothing slapdash about the Government’s presentation this week of the case for keeping us all locked down in an ever-more depressing loop of lockdown extensions. The Prime Minister’s announcement cancelling Christmas last year seemed hasty and ill-prepared. By contrast, the move this week to cancel Easter and keep the economy shut down … Read more
As a leading light of the contemporary art scene, Grayson Perry —Turner Prize-winner, potter and cross-dresser extraordinaire — is no stranger to controversy. In fact, it’s fair to say he thrives on it. This time, however, it’s possible he may have bitten off slightly more than he can chew. Talking with Twiggy about ‘cultural conditioning’ … Read more