The dystopian novel in which a Ballardian deluge or viral illness transforms planet Earth has become something of a sub-genre, and Clare Morrall’s astute and vigorously imagined novel follows on from the best of them, such as Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy and (most recently)Emily St John Mandel’s Station Eleven and Antonia Honeywell’s The Ship. Intriguingly,
Landskipping is about viewing the view, from the 18th century to the present. From the title (which is the only self-conscious thing about this terrific book) I feared we might be in for a heavy dose of Wordworthishness and ‘the lone enraptured male’ school of writing. But Anna Pavord, along with Kathleen Jamie, Dorothy Wordsworth
During Russell Brand’s brief foray into politics, the comedian struggled to be taken seriously by members of the establishment. On one such occasion, Peter Hitchens hit out at the BBC for inviting the comedian to discuss drugs policy on an episode of Newsnight. The incident irked Brand so much that he later asked for the scene
At first glance, Emma Thompson’s intervention in the Brexit debate earlier this week didn’t make much sense. Asked at the Berlin Film Festival whether the UK should vote to remain in the EU, she said we’d be ‘mad not to’. She went on to describe Britain as ‘a tiny little cloud-bolted, rainy corner of sort-of
If all goes according to David Cameron’s plan, then the EU referendum campaign will be under way very shortly. Cameron himself will be the main figure on the In side of the argument. The Home Secretary Theresa May will also throw herself into the campaign, as Rachel Sylvester wrote this week. Another face of the
It’s pretty extraordinary that a leading contender for the American presidency has just effectively threatened the Pope with terrorism. But then, Donald J. Trump is no ordinary Republican frontrunner. Everything about his campaign is outrageous — and that’s why he is winning. Today, the Pope, returning home from Mexico, told reporters that he thought Trump’s intention to
Yesterday saw a turn in fortune for the Out campaign after Emma Thompson declared her intention to vote to remain in the EU. The Nanny McPhee actress managed to upset those on both sides of the debate when she explained that without Europe, Britain is simply ‘a cake-filled misery-laden grey old island‘. Quite rightly a
The Chancellor certainly will have plenty to boast about in his next Budget. Today’s figures show an employment rate of 74.1pc, the highest ever recorded in Britain – better than Nigel Lawson’s record, better than anyone’s. Tax cuts and welfare reform have proved a potent combination. This makes it harder for Osborne to sustain his narrative about a scary
Poland’s new government, which is described as right-wing and nationalistic, is in the news again. This time it wants to make it a criminal offence, punishable by up to five years in prison, to implicate Poland in the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany on Polish soil. Uproar has ensued: the Law and Justice party is suppressing
Michael Fallon has used his visit to the Falklands to pinpoint Jeremy Corbyn – not Argentina – as the biggest threat to islanders. During his trip to the Falklands, the Defence Secretary insisted that Argentina wasn’t the main worry for the Falklands – it was actually the Labour leader and his party. He said: ‘The
One of my teachers in medical school kept saying: ‘A treatment that has no side-effects is already a good one.’ These seemed to be wise words worth remembering. But today I think he may have been not entirely correct: there is no therapy that does not have potential to cause adverse effects. What really counts,
The Duke of Cambridge caused much excitement today with a speech he gave to British diplomats at the Foreign Office. In the speech, Prince William spoke about the importance of uniting with other nations: ‘In an increasingly turbulent world, our ability to unite in common action with other nations is essential. It is the bedrock of our security and
The Liberal Democrats’ track record with female party activists has suffered in recent years after Lord Rennard was accused of sexual harassment. While the party have done their best since then to deal with the claims against the Lib Dem peer, they now face accusations of ‘gendered abuse’. Steerpike understands that one of the party’s rising stars has
It reflects rather well on Richard Dawkins that he still hasn’t joined his followers – the religious connotations of the word are intentional – in objecting to the Church of England tweet on Friday about praying for his recovery from a stroke. Prayers for Prof Dawkins and his family https://t.co/KxBBkBrECk — The Church of England
David Cameron is having more meetings today to seal his EU deal ready for Thursday and Friday’s EU summit. Though he had ‘constructive discussions’ with President Hollande last night, the Prime Minister hasn’t had as much luck this morning, with European Parliament President Martin Schulz saying this morning that there was ‘no guarantee’ the European
Despite what Emma Thompson may say, this ‘cake-filled, misery-laden, grey old island’ is actually a more than half-decent place to live. Most of the time, anyway. That it remains so is remarkable, given the provocations inflicted upon us by our political overlords. Here are three stories to make you weep. (And as you know, three stories constitute a
There was a commotion by the back gate. I grabbed my rifle and headed over. The week beforehand I was shooting in through the hinges at insurgents trying to over-run the base that was now my home for another hot summer in the Afghan desert. The gate was covered by a sentry. I shouted up
Remember when Tony Blair begged Labour supporters not to go for Jeremy Corbyn? Remember how well that turned out? Yesterday in South Carolina, USA, George W. Bush did something not too dissimilar. He didn’t copy Blair’s ‘even if you hate me’ line. Instead, Dubya urged his party, which is seemingly hellbent on destroying itself, to
So Pope John Paul II had a mistress. That’s not quite what the BBC’s Panorama asserted, but they chucked around enough hint, innuendo and nudge, nudge to make us believe he had. And there was similar suggestiveness in a Today programme interview on Monday morning between John Humphrys and the liberal Catholic journalist Edward Stourton. Humphrys delighted in
David Cameron has been accused of adopting a ‘Project Fear‘ approach as he tries to convince members of the public to remain in the EU. While this tactic has attracted criticism, take heart that the Prime Minister has at least refrained from adopting the Emma Thompson approach of being plain rude. During a press conference for