Almost half a century ago I had my fifteen minutes of – well, not quite fame; but time in the witness box at the Old Bailey. The trial still lives in the memory, and not just mine. Last night BBC1 broadcast Mangrove, a dramatic reconstruction of the events that led to one of the great … Continue reading The day I gave evidence against the police

The good news for Labour is that it now leads the Conservatives for the first time since the general election; and it is doing especially well in the seats it has lost in the past decade. The bad news is that it still has a massive mountain to climb if it is to win the … Continue reading Labour is ahead in the polls, especially its “red wall” target seats, but….

How bad were the American polls last week? Until the final figures come in, any verdict must be provisional. However, at the time of writing, this seems to be the picture. The polls systematically understated Donald Trump’s support. This meant that the predicted landslide (in electoral college terms) for Biden didn’t happen – and nor … Continue reading Last week’s polls got the US elections wrong – but not THAT wrong

Here is some good news for those who fear a messy, long-drawn out battle after next Tuesday to determine who will be America’s president for the next four years. Unless the contest proves a great deal closer than the polls now indicate, we shall know by the end of election night who has won. That … Continue reading Ignore the scares. If Joe Biden wins, we’ll know on the night

In at least one respect, Britain has gone backwards in the past thousand years. In 1028, according to legend, King Cnut sat in his throne on a beach in the west of England and commanded the tide to stop rising. The tide disobeyed, and the king had to leap from his throne to escape the … Continue reading Brexit: King Cnut’s lesson for Boris Johnson

The bitter polarisation of the American election is only too obvious. For many of us, the contours of the battle are clear: in one corner, Joe Biden: a decent, moderate candidate with liberal values and respect for what science tells us about issues ranging from climate change to Covic-19. In the other corner, Donald Trump, … Continue reading America’s liberals are gaining ground – but tribal divisions are widening

The first batch of polls conducted after Donald Trump went to hospital make one thing clear, but they also pose one big question. What is clear is that the past few days have been bad for Trump’s chances of re-election; the question is: how bad? As ever, reports of the latest polls have sometimes added … Continue reading Covid has damaged Trump’s health – and his poll rating

After three months in which the poll ratings of Donald Trump and Joe Biden have flatlined, two events in three days have – perhaps – shaken up the US election campaign. If last night’s extraordinary TV debate doesn’t do so, surely nothing will. Elections are not just, and sometimes not much, about policy and ideology. … Continue reading Biden is on his way to passing the Rocky test as Trump blows up

I joined the Sunday Times in 1969 and stayed until 1980. I worked for Harry Evans for 11 of his 14 years as the paper’s editor. Last week’s obituaries rightly described him as one of the great editors, arguably the greatest, of the 20th century. Here are some of my memories of those times. Let’s … Continue reading Memories of Harry Evans

This blog is my attempt to dissect the current dramas in British politics for a pan-European audience. It updates a commentary I wrote last week for Carnegie Europe. Insults, however unfair, are apt to stick. In the early 1790s, as the French Revolution descended into terror, the sympathy it had enjoyed in Britain drained away. … Continue reading Dear Europe: This is what you need to know about Boris Johnson