Standpoint | Politics, Ideas and the Arts

Books

A conspiracy unmasked

Despite having no instinct for organisation and never using the jargon of modern business management, Margaret Thatcher had extraordinary political instincts. These are a central theme of Herself Alone, the third volume

October 23, 2019

African reset: will Covid-19 bring change?

It is tempting to hope that ordinary people will rise up and

Features

A boy’s own adventure

Privileged images: the photography of Jacques Henri Lartigue

Art·Drawing Board

A breath of fresh paint

A revival in figurative art and the changing face of portraiture

Art·Drawing Board

A hinge in history

The tumult in Kiev 15 years ago seemed a victory for progress

Features

Critique

Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps

John Buchan was a writer with a rich hinterland—and an affection for

Features

A focus on economic growth is too narrow

The scale of economic inequality across the UK is scandalous. Roads and

Counterpoints

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Counterpoints

Royal Flush

Liberal objections to the British monarchy overinflate its symbolic significance

September 3, 2026

Counterpoints

Dalí In Wonderland

The 150th anniversary of Alice In Wonderland sees a reissue with Salvador Dalí's psychedelic 1969 illustrations

September 3, 2026

Counterpoints

Dashed Bad Form

The elegant semi-colon is dying out; it is being replaced by the em-dash—the all-purpose tool of the lazy writer

September 3, 2026

Counterpoints·France·Media·Publishing

Left Foot Forward

A plethora of new Left-leaning French magazines show that in France the intellectuals remain socialist

September 3, 2026

Columns

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Open Season

Can we reverse the “long march”?

‘After a long time people are finally beginning to wake up to “the long march through the institutions”—the idea that left-wing “progressives” have to

December 23, 2020

Open Season

Black and Asian Britons should not be treated as a bloc

‘People do not vote as a bloc, and ethnic or racial groups—and often individuals within these groups—contain a multitude of political opinions’

December 23, 2020

Open Season

There have always been “woke” students—the problem is their elders

‘The people running these institutions—they’re the people who are actually cancelling the songs, renaming the buildings and withdrawing the paintings’

October 21, 2020

Open Season

Can a white conservative be trusted?

There is particularly fertile ground for mistrust in an era in which fear has become a dominant public perspective

August 28, 2020

Dispatches

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Dispatches

September 3, 2026

Mapuche thugs fan the flames of revenge

"On one side is a government with a history of military overreach and ethnic cleansing. On the other is Chile’s poorest and most disenfranchised

Budapest: Screwed Left, Right and Centre

Dispatches

September 3, 2026

Budapest: Screwed Left, Right and Centre

‘Unfortunately, most Hungarians expect their politicians to be on the take and that's because many of them are. I'd love to name names, but

Features

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September 3, 2026

Features

Sex, politics and the new blasphemy

Westminster is scandalised by sexual harassment that would once have been treated as a joke. But does the nation take it quite so seriously?

September 3, 2026

Features

The Arabs need us to support democracy

Since the Arab Spring, authoritarian regimes are on the march. To discourage democrats is bad for the West as well as for their peoples

Social market liberals of the world, unite!

September 3, 2026

Features

Social market liberals of the world, unite!

We need to restate the case for the free-market policies and liberal politics that have ushered in an age of unprecedented prosperity

Conor Cruise O'Brien and an African tragedy

September 3, 2026

Features

Conor Cruise O’Brien and an African tragedy

When the greatest living Irishman came to lecture in Cape Town, he had to defend free speech against the anti-apartheid boycott

September 3, 2026

Features·Islam

Forced Marriages Dishonour Britain

The fear of singling out Islam for criticism has so far blocked the criminalisation of the abduction and rape of Muslim girls

The Secret of Cheap Energy: Fire Chris Huhne

September 3, 2026

Energy·Features

The Secret of Cheap Energy: Fire Chris Huhne

The global price of gas should be falling, but our "greenest ever" government is busy driving up the cost of heating our homes

Back to the "Future Of Socialism", Mr Corbyn?

September 3, 2026

Features

Back to the “Future Of Socialism”, Mr Corbyn?

Tony Crosland’s social democratic manifesto is still worth reading. But its author is notorious for his crusade against grammar schools Little Jeremy and his

The Trump Presidency: A Worst-Case Scenario

September 3, 2026

Features

A conspiracy unmasked

African reset: will Covid-19 bring change?

A boy’s own adventure

A breath of fresh paint

A hinge in history

Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps

A focus on economic growth is too narrow

Counterpoints

Royal Flush

Dalí In Wonderland

Dashed Bad Form

Left Foot Forward

Columns

Can we reverse the “long march”?

Black and Asian Britons should not be treated as a bloc

There have always been “woke” students—the problem is their elders

Can a white conservative be trusted?

Dispatches

Mapuche thugs fan the flames of revenge

Budapest: Screwed Left, Right and Centre

Features

Sex, politics and the new blasphemy

The Arabs need us to support democracy

Social market liberals of the world, unite!

Conor Cruise O’Brien and an African tragedy

Forced Marriages Dishonour Britain

The Secret of Cheap Energy: Fire Chris Huhne

Back to the “Future Of Socialism”, Mr Corbyn?

The Trump Presidency: A Worst-Case Scenario

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