The Two Matts
The Tories are dead
A toxic and debased brand may be still in denial, but the only vital signs on the right are now with Reform
The complete unknown who could wreck Labour
Morgan McSweeney is the most influential invisible man in British politics. Is he to blame for Labour’s rightward turn and tanking opinion poll numbers?
Starmer’s realism won’t go far in fantasyland politics
Starmer is doing deals as old certainties vanish. But frustrated voters will be hard to convince
Laura Loomer, the real first lady
Loomer, rumoured to be Donald Trump’s girlfriend, is a hardcore right wing extremist. It’s a shame she’s also one of the most influential people in America
Da Pope’s new sandwich
A Chicago restaurant has begun selling ‘The Leo’, a limited-edition sandwich dipped in gravy and topped with peppers, in honour of the new pope
Why we love whodunnits
The story of the detective who gives a neat solution to the mess of human affairs is deeply satisfying – and reassuring
Latest audio articles
Mr Starmer’s strange island of strangers
Join Matt Kelly and Matthew d’Ancona as they try to make sense of Labour’s latest plans for immigration. Are they trying to outflank Farage? What will their core voters think? And does this make their chances of a second term more or less likely? Also – are the Tories finished as a political force? Matt […]
Bertrand Russell: lessons from a pacifist prophet
Many secular philosophers have opposed war and particular wars, but Russell stands in a class apart
Alastair Campbell’s diary: Labour can’t beat Farage at his own game
Don’t fight him where he is strong, fight him where he is weak – the economy, the NHS, Putin, Trump, climate, and yes, Brexit
Inside the minds of extremists
The media often describes terrorists as manifestations of evil, or as zombie-like products of indoctrination, but we urgently need a better account than that
The great Trump meltdown
Is it too much to hope that, eventually, Trump’s constant lying and backtracking will be enough to bring down his administration?
Why Mark Carney is one of the luckiest politicians alive
It could well be that just days apart Burnley get promoted back to the Premier League and Carney, the first Canadian prime minister ever to have visited Turf Moor, wins the election
How to live like Sartre and Beauvoir
The philosophical power couple lived in freedom, but that came at a cost for others around them
Vive la France, à bas JD Vance!
If Trump and his vice-president have a genius for anything, it’s global media dominance
The myth of the lone genius
When we see something that’s well-crafted it’s very tempting to assume that it was designed by one person. But that tendency can lead us astray
Dear Rachel, here’s a big idea for you
No matter how loudly we call for a return to the customs union and the single market, Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer are not going to listen
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Nigel Farage’s economic plans make Liz Truss look prudent
Letters: Labour needs to stop apeing Reform and start being positive
The complete unknown who could wreck Labour
Alastair Campbell’s Diary: The Pope vs JD Vance
Bertrand Russell: lessons from a pacifist prophet
Lie of the Week: Farage on the UK-India trade deal
Cartoon: How would a Reform government rule the UK?
Eurovision’s performers without borders
A bit of pocket money for Rishi Sunak
The former prime minister picked up £160,175 for a single speaking engagement in the US
Leaked recording reveals Tories’ Dublin disorientation
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp was caught out revealing how Boris Johnson’s government hadn’t understood the EU’s asylum rules
Jonathan Gullis finally gets a job
The former Conservative MP is returning to the world of work after struggling to land an interview as a teacher
Writers
Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell’s Diary: The Pope vs JD Vance
Marie Le Conte
Dilettante: The blind faith of old-school photography
Matthew d’Ancona
The Tories are dead
Patience Wheatcroft
This is the wrong way to mark VE Day
Tanit Koch
Germansplaining: The battle over free speech
Paul Mason
Starmer’s realism won’t go far in fantasyland politics
Latest
The prime minister appears to know less about Brexit than Simon Cowell
A bit of pocket money for Rishi Sunak
Leaked recording reveals Tories’ Dublin disorientation
Wherever you stand on Gaza, starving children to death is indefensible
Jonathan Gullis finally gets a job
Nigel Farage’s economic plans make Liz Truss look prudent
Podcasts
The Two Matts
Blessed are the jet-givers: St Donald goes to Qatar
The Two Matts
Mr Starmer’s strange island of strangers
The Two Matts
Q&A: Rip-off train fares, vile Andrea Jenkyns and bye bye Weightwatchers
The Two Matts
The problem with this Labour government is…
The Two Matts
Zbig: the man who shaped the world
The Two Matts
Disaster prepping, taxing sugar and enough of Tony Blair already
The prime minister appears to know less about Brexit than Simon Cowell
While Keir Starmer no longer resembles the man many people voted for, the former X Factor judge is calling for a new referendum on Europe
Leaked recording reveals Tories’ Dublin disorientation
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp was caught out revealing how Boris Johnson’s government hadn’t understood the EU’s asylum rules
Alastair Campbell’s Diary: The Pope vs JD Vance
Robert Prevost may have been born American, but his experience, views and values are as far from Trumpian as were his predecessor’s
Spies, lies and Britain’s prize: We still need a Brexit inquiry
A photo of three Bulgarians convicted of espionage for Russia at a Commons committee on EU membership has opened up an old question
The ‘Brexit benefit’ trade deal shows we’re weaker out of the EU
Keir Starmer has done the best he could at a relatively low cost, knowing Britain lacks the backing to fully stand up to Trump
Wobbling Starmer must not turn back on the Brexit reset
Battered Keir Starmer knows the May 19 Brexit summit will bring more criticism from Nigel Farage. But the PM can’t turn back now
The New Europe
Why you should visit Heligoland
Eighty years ago, the island was nearly wiped off the map. Today it relies on wind-farm crews more than tourists
Greenland knows what it wants, and it’s not JD Vance
If the vice-president wishes to return to the country, he may want to be better prepared
The revenge of the Spanish economy
Spain has made a spectacular economic recovery since the last economic crash– but Spaniards are still struggling and fear Trump’s tariffs might trigger another disaster
North Macedonia loses an entire generation
With 59 fatalities and over 200 hospitalisations, the fire at Club Pulse was the stuff of nightmares
Putin’s tortured prisoners of war
Evidence and eyewitness testimony shows how Russia has maimed some Ukrainian PoWs. But other soldiers and civilians have simply disappeared from sight
Ukraine’s defiance is rarer than minerals
The most egregious demands from the US-Ukraine minerals deal’s first draft have gone. But, in Kyiv, there are fears that it still offers no concrete security guarantees
Steve Witkoff, the world’s worst diplomat
He is a life-long property developer. So how the hell did he end up as America’s top international negotiator, on everything from Ukraine to the Iran nuclear deal?
The fall of Saigon, 50 years on
Half a century ago, a humiliated America scrambled out of a losing war. But parallels with Ukraine show little has changed
Alastair Campbell’s Diary: Putin’s dirty tricks campaign
Whether or not they were involved in the Heathrow fire, the Russians revel in the mayhem their hybrid actions cause
The day Putin took power
The foundations of the Kremlin strongman’s ascent to power were forged in the ruins of Grozny a quarter of a century ago
Père-Lachaise: Where Paris goes to die
The cemetery, opened by Napoleon, was unpopular at first. But then the VIPs came – followed by the ghosts
Utagawa Hiroshige, master of fire and water
The elemental works of the Japanese ukiyo-e artist are celebrated in a new book and exhibition at the British Museum
Why did they bother with this mis-shaped monument to Sondheim?
Dilettante: The blind faith of old-school photography
Heathens and pagans
Why we love whodunnits
A continent of Hans Grubers
The Eurovision troll contest
Raoul Lufbery, the Frenchman who became America’s greatest aviator
Eddie Barclay, the man who invented showbiz
Jerzy Kosiński, the writer whose last act was to plagiarise himself
Maria Schell, Hollywood’s grounded alien
Totò, the unlucky actor who took it on the chin
