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Society

(Photo by Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)

What can society learn from the ‘grooming’ scandals?

15 May 2013 0:27

The verdicts have been delivered in the Operation Bullfinch trial. Seven of the nine men have been found ‘guilty’. The case involved the highly organised sexual and physical abuse of… Continue reading

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The Search Continues For Missing Schoolgirl Tia Sharp

The tragedy of trusting Stuart Hazell with Tia Sharp

14 May 2013 10:57

The Tia Sharp case is yet another harrowing untermensch saga. The man accused of the little girl’s murder, Stuart Hazell, has now changed his plea to guilty. Of course, it… Continue reading

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The crown of England being offered to William of Orange (1650 -1702) and his wife, Mary (1662 - 1694) by the Lords and Commons at Whitehall. Engraving by H. Bourne from the fresco by Edward Matthew Ward in the new Houses of Parliament, painted circa 1860. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Glorious Revolution and small ‘c’ conservatism

13 May 2013 9:45

From a dialogue  between a non-juring clergyman and his wife by Edward ‘Ned’ Ward Wife: Why will you prove so obstinate, my dear, And rather choose to starve, than yield to… Continue reading

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Where does the death of the three classes leave Downton Abbey? (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

The renewal of the class system

3 April 2013 16:30

Fun can be had by playing with the BBC’s new class calculator. The calculator, which was designed with the help of several eminent sociologists, replaces the 3 classes with seven stratifications,… Continue reading

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Katie Price at the launch of her jewellery brand. Image: Getty

Surely Katie Price demeans marriage more than gay marriage ever could?

3 April 2013 13:11

The right of gays to have a civil marriage in a non-religious service is once again an issue. There have been large and slightly violent protests in Paris as well… Continue reading

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Revellers enjoy one last blow out on the London Underground on May 31, 2008, shortly before mayor Boris Johnson began his crackdown on such activity.

John Hayes: Muslims are right about Britain

28 March 2013 14:40

John Hayes, the prime minister’s latest tribune, achieved some fame or infamy, depending on your view, when he wrote the following article for the Spectator on 6 August 2005, a… Continue reading

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Three Mitford sisters in the early thirties. Nancy Mitford (right) pinched 'U and non-U' pronunciation from Professor Ross, author of 'How to Pronounce It'. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

How To Pronounce It – U and non-U. A guide for George “innit” Osborne.

28 March 2013 11:38

Sometimes, in the joyous lotteries we call ‘secondhand bookshops’, you find a volume that takes you back to a different era because of its physical appearance. Sometimes you find one… Continue reading

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Papuan tribal warriors from Karang Senang village armed with bows and arrows prepare to attack the neighboring Harapan village after two Karang Senang tribesmen were killed in the raging tribal war in Mimika town located in Indonesia's restive Papua province. Authorities effort to mediate between the warring tribes have failed as violence erupted in 2012. (TJAHJONO ERANIUS/AFP/GettyImages)

Interview with a writer: Jared Diamond

1 March 2013 10:55

In his latest book The World Until Yesterday, Jared Diamond analyses the behavioral differences between human beings in tribal stateless-societies and those living in bureaucratic nation states. Diamond says that if… Continue reading

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Peter Stringfellow, father to be and political wannabe. Image: Getty

Peter Stringfellow: Why wasn’t I hacked?

8 February 2013 12:50

Peter Stringfellow made headlines last week when he threatened to run against the Liberal Democrat leader in his hometown of Sheffield. He made more headlines last night when he gathered… Continue reading

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A publicity shot for the 2005 adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice', starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. Image: Getty

What’s love got to do with it?

30 January 2013 15:56

In her Times column on Monday (£), Libby Purves valiantly attempted to fit together two things that were obviously on her mind. Discussing Pride and Prejudice, which is 200 years… Continue reading

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For John Burnside, happiness can be found in simple pleasures like a cup of coffee or a walk in the snow. Image: Getty.

Interview with a writer: John Burnside

18 January 2013 11:50

It’s Friday at 10am in a remote field in Fife. John Burnside is taking his morning walk, whilst simultaneously attempting to conduct a conversation with me down a dodgy telephone… Continue reading

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Robert Hughes' 'Culture of Complaint' is a brilliant guide to the various culture wars that have raged around us in recent days. Image: Getty

Do political correctness and the culture wars make us less tolerant?

16 January 2013 19:58

I have a confession. I saw a report on the Suzanne Moore row, and fled immediately for the safety of the sports pages. A lot of self-important people making a… Continue reading

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(Photo by Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)

Crime and Guilt, by Ferdinand Von Schirach

9 January 2013 10:00

Tis the season for shopping mall scuffles. A man with a red face prized the last Magimix (steel, 600 rotations per minute) from my hands yesterday, citing ‘the stress of… Continue reading

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Cameron and Osborne, architects of the coalition of the complacent. Image: Getty

A coalition of the complacent

7 January 2013 14:21

I don’t like to think that I am rich. In theory, I know that in comparison to the vast majority of the world’s population, I am. But perhaps because of… Continue reading

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A picture taken from the recent show drawing inspiration from Titian's Diana and Actaeon

Bad Sex Award

29 November 2012 9:53

Loins are girded and members tumescent, for next Tuesday sees the presentation of this year’s Bad Sex Award. The Literary Review’s annual prize for the worst description of sex in… Continue reading

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Night falls on Seattle, and Tom Hanks' vigil at the telephone begins. One of the known 'disectia' that Nicholson Baker devotes himself to is 'Sleepless in Seatlle'. Image: Getty.

The Way the World Works by Nicholson Baker – an ideal Christmas present

28 November 2012 9:51

Nicholson Baker is intensely interested. He looks at the world like he has never seen it before, fixating on the mundane and capitalizing upon the strange lacunae which exist between… Continue reading

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Zadie Smith's 'NW' seems to be winning plaudits, and rightly so. Image: Getty.

A tale of two Smiths: Zadie Smith and The Smiths

10 September 2012 15:00

It is lit-fiction season: that time of the year of when the premier novelists of the age dominate the market. Ian McEwan, Pat Barker, Zadie Smith, Sebastian Faulks and Rose… Continue reading

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Stepping out with my baby. Image: Getty

The language of patronage

4 September 2012 14:58

Somehow, sex is less appealing when it’s characterised as ‘equitable return’. Though I’ve heard the phrase used in a similar context a dozen times since, I wasn’t quite sure what… Continue reading

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Abandoned village, Getty Images

Last rites

28 August 2012 9:10

‘Village’, to most middle-Englanders, conjures up a cosy, living community. Perhaps the post office is threatened with closure or the bus timetable is to be cut, but the hanging baskets… Continue reading

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Harriet Harman, Getty Images

Joining Harriet Harman’s feminist club

22 July 2012 16:13

If feminism is ‘a creed of women’s solidarity’, do you pick and choose about which women you’re in solidarity with? In the case of Harriet Harman, the answer is, well… Continue reading

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