The Critic

The Critic is Britain's new highbrow monthly current affairs magazine for politics, art and literature. Dedicated to rigorous content, first rate writing and unafraid to ask the questions others won't.

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Where did all the money go?

The Critic

Letters • Write to The Critic by email at letters@thecritic.co.uk including your address and telephone number

Can my lawyer get me a gong? • What happens when the courts get involved in ruling upon the awarding of honours, hitherto a purely political process?

Woman About Town

PESTON’S INBOX

A capital plan to rescue Britain • Unleashing the potential of the Square Mile would put the vim back into UK plc

WILL THERE BE AN EARLY ELECTION? • Some claim Labour is revitalised, backed by the progressive vote, and that it is time to go to the polls. But that’s not the full story

IT’S TIME TO TOUGHEN UP • In a bid to break from the past and to improve the quality of candidates, both the Conservatives and Reform are making the selection process much more difficult

Dressing up DEI in an academic comfort blanket

INSIDE THE £2.6 BILLION CASH MACHINE • At a time of straitened Government finances, the British state is handing out billions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash to charities and researchers whose main aim seems to be to challenge political policy — without effective democratic oversight

The right Kemistry • Daniel Johnson argues that with a new treatise laying out her principles, Kemi Badenoch proves herself the best leader available on the right

A battle for the soul of the nation • We must reclaim our cultural institutions from the idealistic grip of the left

THE SECRET PLAN TO CURB DISSENT • Britain is building a wide-ranging framework to counter false information spread online. But with little parliamentary scrutiny, it could also serve to stifle legitimate political debate

EVERYDAY LIES WITH THEODORE DALRYMPLE

Take the bureaucratic brakes off • Lawyers must become more responsive to commercial reality if Britain is to prosper

We’ve got your back, Zack

THE MED’S NEW GREAT GAME • The Mediterranean is at the centre of a new maritime struggle and the prize is not territory, but control of vital networks for trade and energy

HAVANA IN THE CROSSHAIRS • The US oil embargo has left Cuba in crisis, and its communist leaders trying to work out whether Donald Trump will do a deal, or stage a Venezuela-style coup de main

US-ISRAEL BOND: TIME FOR A RESET • Barack Obama’s election in 2008 marked the beginning of a shift in relations between America and its formidable ally in the Middle East

The Critic Profile John Betjeman • The witty, fun-loving bisexual poet whose sunny public persona hid a complicated romantic life

Viola Borage •  Rat race escapee

A very safe haven • Our once-great riverine ports are now largely devoid of the maritime hustle and bustle that once made tham so characterful and vital. Zoe Strimpel visits the Thames estuary container port of Felixstowe in search of what remains of the romantic and sometimes ribald age of British sea power

EXCELLENCE IN THE ARTS IS NOT ELITIST • Alexandra Wilson fears that it is deeply damaging to prioritise “access”, “relevance” and “inclusivity” above all else in the theatre and concert hall

Conjuring beauty from the cloud • The Victorians built cathedrals to technology that are still enjoyed today. We should do the same for our plethora of giant data centres

Adam Dant on …

STUDIO • QUENTIN BELL

A perfect...