As the latest partygate photographs, and Sue Gray’s imminent report on the scandal, dominate the news, let us not overlook another breathtaking example of the incompetence and dishonesty of Boris Johnson’s government: last August’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Prime Minister sought to portray it at the time as something not far short of a triumph for “Global Britain”. The evacuation of more than 15,000 people whose lives were endangered by the Taliban’s capture of Kabul was “heroic” and “colossal”, he said. It was “one of the outstanding military achievements of the last 50 years”. The Foreign Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons, which has a Conservative majority and a Conservative chairman, Tom Tugendhat, begs to differ. “The manner of our ...

Standing alongside the Japanese prime minister at a news conference in Tokyo on 23 May, Joe Biden was asked whether the United States would fight to defend Taiwan if it was attacked by China in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This should not have come as a surprise. It was the most predictable question the US president could possibly have been asked during a trip that has focused on countering China’s power in the region. He had surely been briefed on the nuances of the language involved, which made his answer even more surprising. “You didn’t want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons,” a reporter asked. “Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend ...

Do I like taxing business? Absolutely not. In fact, I would prefer that corporation tax was lowered for smaller and medium-sized enterprises – because I believe that the lower the tax these companies face, the more investment they are able to make in employment. However, I recognise that big oil companies are some of the businesses that have done well out of the war in Ukraine, raking in billions of pounds of profits. Shell’s quarterly profits have almost tripled year on year to $9.1bn, while BP’s have more than doubled to $6.2bn. Moreover, the multimillion-pound salaries and bonuses that the CEOs of these companies earn hardly reflect performance or value for money. For example, Ben van Beurden of Shell made £6.1m ...

Over the last few weeks the UK has experienced an unexpected outbreak of the rare monkeypox virus. Since 6 May cases have doubled, and according to the UK Health Security Agency most of the reported 20 infections have been found in men who have sex with men. Fortunately, the disease is not easily contagious and only spreads by direct physical contact with an infected person. The “close physical contact” can mean transmission via respiratory droplets, contact with broken skin, contaminated bedding or, yes, sexual intercourse. It should go without saying that infectious diseases do not have sexual, racial or national preferences, and that no disease is a “gay” disease. A virus’s only preference is for bodies without prior immunity that will allow ...

As the results rolled in across Australia, Labor activists were experiencing two forgotten feelings. First, relief. The opinion polls that misled in the run-up to the 2019 election – when leader Labor leader Bill Shorten managed to lose the “unlosable” election to Scott Morrison – proved to be correct this time. And then, joy. One of their own had won. Anthony Albanese, the son of a single mother from public housing, would be the prime minister. Watching from the UK, the British Labour Party probably shared those emotions, with an added third: envy. Albanese defeated a populist prime minister known for playing fast and loose with rules and for masking his incompetence by stoking the culture wars. Yet only ...

Early in May, a few days before turning 28, I attended my ten-year high school reunion. In the days before the event, I became aware of a light sense of dread. There was one obvious reason for my anxiety, or so I claimed: I was a different person at school. I yearned for others’ approval, and I was mildly puritanical. (I didn’t know there was another way to be Asian back then.) But there’s another reason I didn’t want to go. I’ve spent much of my twenties being told I’m the “popular one”, feeling I have a spark and can draw people to me. Every few months I have a dream -- or nightmare -- accompanied by a faint sense of nausea. ...

For years the centre left only led the world in decline. Far from being a “progressive moment”, social democrats were routed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis as the populist right advanced. Left parties, it was said, had fallen prey to the curse of “Pasokification” (a term coined in reference to Greece’s vanquished Pasok, which was reduced from 160 seats in 2009 to just 13 in 2015). Today, however, it is the centre right that appears imperilled. Australian Labor’s first general election victory for nearly a decade fits a growing trend of progressive advance. Social democrats now hold power in Germany, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand and all five Nordic countries. The US, Canada and France are governed by liberals (and ...

Rishi Sunak has become the first major politician to make it into the annual Sunday Times rich list. It is the dream story for parts of the left that are fond of attacking Conservative politicians for being rich and "out of touch". However, in reality, the event is much less politically significant than a lot of people are sure to believe. No matter how many times it’s attempted, the result is always the same. Such stories might compound a negative impression that the public already has of a politician, but if they don't view the politician negatively, then for the most part the it just doesn’t care. Boris Johnson is the most obvious case. He makes no pretence of being like you ...