Justin King: Tinkering, when we needed a true reset
Rishi Sunak’s Budget, far from being a visionary response to the economic challenge ahead, failed to address the changed landscape that businesses will face when we emerge from lockdown
Slow views
Giles Whittell: This Sceptred Aisle
The post-Brexit British supermarket bombards you with Union Jack product branding. But food nationalism – crude as it can be – is mostly a myth in a system of global supply chains
Simon Barnes: Return to the rivers
Beavers are coming back to the waters of Britain, in glorious abundance. They must not be thwarted by the meddling of our own species
John Sawers: How to build a post-Covid world order
Structural reform of international bodies is only part of the solution. The key is to identify the main challenges – China, climate emergency, global economic change, the next pandemic – and develop a new and nuanced multilateralism
Emily Benn: Parliament should be more important than ever in the age of Covid
Brexit was meant to take back control for the legislature. But the Palace of Westminster has been dangerously docile during the pandemic
James Oliver: Why Scorsese is only half-right about streaming
Cinema is a unique and precious art form. Which doesn’t mean Netflix is all bad
Lara Spirit: Happy anniversary, Mr Rawls
The great political philosopher’s A Theory of Justice is 50 years old – and out of fashion. We should still read it
Philip Collins: Between the extremes
A former Number 10 speechwriter gives his assessment of the prime minister’s Monday evening address
Richard Lambert: London stalling
For centuries, foreign talent has invigorated the City. After Brexit and the pandemic, London is losing its lustre
Matthew d’Ancona: What Boris learned from Gordon
The plan to exit lockdown, unveiled by the PM this evening, will only work if the country accepts its complexity and can tolerate further delays
Rachael Revesz: No idle matter
Idling, the act of keeping an engine running when a vehicle is stationary, has been an offence for decades. Yet fines are rarely issued. Small changes could help end this dangerous habit once and for all
Selina Flavius: A perfect storm
Access to the financial world has never been easier for young people. But the pitfalls are as limitless as the opportunities
Daniel Treisman: Putin is under pressure
With political problems building at home, the options available to Russia’s president are narrowing
Andrew Heyn: Democracy in Myanmar is what counts
Don’t focus on Aung San Suu Kyi’s undoubted flaws. The prize in this fragile state is the survival and flourishing of a meaningful liberal society
Matthew d’Ancona: Why so nervous, Boris?
The PM is rightly proud of the vaccine roll-out’s success. But that success is fraught with danger
Nell Frizzell: These are the Panic Years
Women in their twenties and thirties will know this feeling of pressure and change. But they haven’t been allowed the language to describe it
Jean M. Twenge: The pandemic among young people
Life spent in digital spaces might have made young people especially well prepared for lockdown. But it didn’t – they’re bearing the brunt of the mental anguish
Philip Collins: Jackie Weaver vs Aled’s iPad was a rhetorical battle for the ages
2001: A Space Odyssey, The Usual Suspects, William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar… the Handforth Parish Council meeting had it all
Simon Briscoe: There’s so little care about care homes
There are plenty of gaps in the statistics, from the number of vaccinations to even just the number of care home residents. It’s a sign of official neglect
Ellen Halliday: The life and death of an English river
As the River Lea progresses to the Thames, it is sullied and poisoned. Its plight, shared by waterways all over the country, should not be ignored
Mark Earls: To prepare for the next pandemic, we must be Time Lords
The findings of decision science – and past calamities like the Challenger Shuttle disaster – can help us prepare for multiple futures
Alex Holmes: Vaccination won’t heal the mental side effects of Covid
The pandemic has caused specific forms of anguish for specific groups – and the problems will stay with us for years
Matthew d’Ancona: Three jabs on a shirt
Vaccine nationalism is inevitable, especially after Boris Johnson’s victory over the European Commission. But now the PM faces much deeper and unsettling questions about the UK’s place in the world
Liz Moseley: The stories in the quiet and banal
It’s a Sin, the television drama about the AIDS crisis, reveals a lot about then and a lot about now – including things that seldom get noticed
Alastair Campbell: The BBC should do its job
The government has presided over a national disaster – but you wouldn’t know it from watching the news
James Ball: Elon Musk is overvalued
The world’s richest man is telling one hell of a story – and lots of people are aching to believe it
Matthew Boyle: Discover the world through pop
English speakers have traditionally been resistant to non-English language music. They’re missing out – big time
Jess Phillips MP: We count what we care about
Why we’re calling for a national count of the domestic abuse victims who die in sudden or unexplained circumstances
Megan Kenyon: Miles to go
The dark winter months are always a worry for women runners – and now they can’t just go to the gym instead. Lawmakers must find a solution
Matthew d’Ancona: No time for performative politics
Churchill, statues, “wokeness”: these should not be priorities for Left or Right in an age of pandemic
Noga Arikha: Reading ‘The Magic Mountain’ in a flattened world
Set in a sanatorium in the Alps, Thomas Mann’s 1924 novel diagnoses our current condition. Its main character emerges into the horror of World War One. What will we emerge into?
Philip Collins: Biden brought the daylight
A former prime ministerial speechwriter assesses the president’s Inaugural Address, which may have lacked a strong central idea – but struck the right tone
Michael Brendan Dougherty: What Trump got right
The president leaves office with few admirers and facing an impeachment trial. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore his agenda altogether
Iona Craig: Don’t ignore the UAE
The Emirates avoid much of the criticism that Saudi Arabia attracts. But their influence in the region is just as significant – and perhaps even more pernicious
Bob Stanley: Saying goodbye to Murderer Number One
The producer Phil Spector was rightly reviled for the murder of Lana Clarkson. But he also single-handedly created much of the modern musical landscape
Matthew d’Ancona: The British coup you missed
The Tory MP Steve Baker threatened Boris Johnson’s leadership last week – revealing the tasteless idiocy of the lockdown sceptics