Almost exactly a year ago I wrote a slightly tentative blog about small boats crossing the Channel. Something odd appeared to be happening. In August 2025, the number of people arriving in Britain by small boat had fallen by around 40 per cent compared with the previous month. It was the lowest August figure for … Read more
I’m in Albania, one of the European countries with a Muslim majority. When people talk about Islam in Europe, the conversation often starts in the 1950s or 1960s, with immigration from former colonies and labour migration into countries such as Britain, France and Germany. Increasingly, it degenerates into conspiracy theories about Muslim invasions or the … Read more
This summer I visited Northern Ireland for the first time in more than twenty years. The last time I had been there was shortly after the Good Friday Agreement. I worked for a while with Mo Mowlam when she was MP for Redcar, and my memories of Northern Ireland were inevitably bound up with that … Read more
Clacton is back in the news. When I visited earlier this year, I didn’t realise it would briefly become the epicentre of British politics. Nigel Farage is fighting a by-election against Count Binface. If he wins, he has beaten a bin. If he loses, he’s been beaten by one. Farage himself has considerable form when … Read more
We woke up 10 years ago to discover Britain had voted to leave the EU. For many a day of national humiliation. I started writing Industrial Estate of Mind shortly after the Brexit vote. At the time I was working just outside Durham in an area that had been solidly Labour for generations but had … Read more
I went to a far-right rally last week. It wasn’t big. Fewer than 75 people turned up. They were outnumbered by a left-wing counter-demonstration of nearly 500. The police outnumbered the right-wing protesters by roughly three to one. At the heart of these arguments is integration: the idea that immigration has changed Britain and that … Read more
The number of people crossing the Channel in small boats fell again in May. In May 2025, 3,738 people crossed the Channel in small boats. In May 2026, that figure was 2,713 — a reduction of 1,025 people. More importantly, this is not a one-off. Crossings have now fallen in eight of the last ten … Read more
There has been a lot of comment about the latest UK growth figures. The headlines are undeniably good. Britain is now the fastest-growing economy in the G7 on recent quarterly measures, and since the General Election only the US has grown faster. That is particularly notable because the US is running a budget deficit of … Read more
Over the last few weeks I’ve been travelling up and down the East Coast, visiting places that already have Reform MPs, and places they are targeting in the upcoming local elections. You can find the other pieces below. I’ve saved the most interesting for last: Sunderland. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m a Sunderland … Read more
Small boat crossings are falling. They are down around 40% in April 2026 compared to the same month last year, and down roughly 38% so far this year. That makes nearly nine months of sustained decline. More strikingly, the pace of that decline is increasing — from around 30% in the latter part of 2025, … Read more