DOMINIC SANDBROOK: This hysterical protectionism would make a tyrant proud 

Wenn Sie in einem Loch sind, hören Sie auf zu graben. So runs the German translation of what the late Labour politician Denis Healey called his First Law of Holes. To put it in simple English: ‘When you’re in a hole, stop digging.’ I’ve translated it into German on the off chance that the president … Read more

DOMINIC SANDBROOK says surely there’s only so long Harry and Meghan can trade on their pique

For the oldest and most venerable institution in Britain, this has been a truly terrible week. When the news broke that Harry and Meghan had given an interview to Oprah Winfrey, Buckingham Palace insiders must have feared the worst. Few, though, could have imagined quite how ghastly the fallout would be. For days, the House … Read more

DOMINIC SANDBROOK: The incompetent Eurocrats are in a horrible hole. So why are they STILL digging?

For politicians across the world, the past 12 months have brought challenges few could have imagined. And inevitably, every government has made its share of mistakes. But for some people, determined to hold up a magnifying glass to Britain’s failings, there has always been a shining beacon of honesty and competence — the EU. Time … Read more

DOMINIC SANDBROOK: Joe Biden isn’t perfect. But end of Donald Trump’s madhouse was day to rejoice

So he did go — and quietly. After all the bombastic rhetoric about fighting to the end, President Trump simply walked out of the White House and on to the helicopter, to be swept into the pages of history. Being Donald Trump, however, he didn’t bow out gracefully. No president has snubbed his successor’s inauguration … Read more

DOMINIC SANDBROOK reveals how Trump’s narcissism has brought US to the brink of catastrophe 

Three days after Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the United States Capitol, the sense of shock has not faded. For more than two centuries, that vast white dome has been one of the world’s most recognisable landmarks, a symbol not merely of the promise of the American Dream, but of the integrity of Western democracy. Here, … Read more

Though I voted Remain we should all now celebrate, writes DOMINIC SANDBROOK 

Wonder of wonders, the deal is done! After all the squabbling and shouting — and despite the predictions of No Deal disaster — Boris Johnson has his trade agreement with the European Union, and we can get on with our lives. What a long, arduous, unedifying journey it has been, with so many twists and … Read more

DOMINIC SANDBROOK: Tobias Ellwood is yet another hypocrite destroying trust in our rule-makers 

When is a Christmas party not a Christmas party? The man to ask is the Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence committee. As the Mail revealed yesterday, Mr Ellwood went to a gathering at London‘s Cavalry and Guards Club on Tuesday, where 26 other people were in attendance. He insists it was … Read more

DOMINIC SANDBROOK says Britons may be on the verge of a truly dazzling 2021

A day to remember, in a year to forget — that was Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s verdict on Wednesday, after news that Britain had become the first country in the world to approve a Covid-19 vaccine.  Next week, vaccination with the breakthrough Pfizer/BioNTech jab will begin. The long nightmare isn’t over yet, of course. Every … Read more

DOMINIC SANDBROOK: As historian Lucy Worsley says the battle was a victory for Europe

 The date was June 16, 1815. At Quatre Bras, a few miles from the Belgian village of Waterloo, 19-year-old Private Matthew Clay was close to despair. All day, he and his comrades in the 3rd Foot Guards had been fighting to hold back Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army.  Now Private Clay was on the move, stumbling … Read more

DOMINIC SANDBROOK on Labour’s greatest rift since that electrifying conference assault on Militant 

What an extraordinarily dramatic, shaming moment this is. Extraordinary for British politics; shaming for the Labour Party; and in our lifetimes, at least, utterly without precedent. Even a few years ago, for one of the two great parties to cast out its own former leader, less than a year after he stepped down, would have … Read more