Gavin Esler

Gavin Esler

Columnist


Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond was what his compatriots sometimes call a 'man of parts' – a talented or gifted man with many different attributes. AFP
I most admired Alex Salmond for his optimism and stubbornness

Gavin Esler pays tribute to the former first minister, who died suddenly aged 69

October 15, 2024
Starmer recently concluded his first 100 days in office. EPA
Starmer's rocky start is still miles away from Johnson

As Downing Street's history shows, rough beginnings need not be the death of hope for a UK prime minister

October 09, 2024
Robert Jenrick takes part in a leadership hustings at the annual Conservative party conference in Birmingham on Sunday. AFP
Hard right, wrong turn: Why the UK Conservatives should avoid oversteering

The country's main opposition party risks courting the Nigel Farage vote and losing the 'common ground'

October 01, 2024
Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has been banned in Brazil. AFP
What tech titans will do to get your attention online

If consumer's attention is their economic strength, it is also their regulatory weakness

September 17, 2024
Britain's shadow minister for security, Tom Tugendhat, announced his bid for Conservative party leadership on September 3, in London. Getty images
Most Britons can contain their excitement about the next Tory leader

It may take a decade before the Conservatives are regarded by voters as again fit for government

September 11, 2024
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Berlin, on August 28. Bloomberg
The search for Brexit benefits can be called off

But Brexit is back in the news for political reasons

September 03, 2024
Pigeons released at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park during the 79th Atomic Bombing Day anniversary in Hiroshima, western Japan, on August 6. Reuters
The spread of conflict in our world highlights the importance of arms control

A nuclear strike anywhere, ever, would assure mutual destruction

August 28, 2024
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses a meeting during a visit to The Hub - Solihull Mosque in the West Midlands. AFP
Starmer's at a turning point. Which way will he choose?

The British Prime Minister has room to get on with the job of changing the UK, perhaps – as with Thatcher and Attlee – for a generation

August 21, 2024
Former US president Donald Trump is helped off the stage by Secret Service agents at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. AP
Trump shooting is shocking, but gun problem made it unsurprising

In the run up to the November election, the maelstrom of American politics is becoming ever more divisive and turbulent

July 14, 2024
A man enters a polling booth to vote in the second round of France's legislative elections on Sunday. There is a sense of change and turmoil in three of the great capitals of western democracy. AFP
A tale of three democracies: what next for the UK, US and France?

Rishi Sunak in London proved a ditherer. Emmanuel Macron is disliked but decisive. Joe Biden is decent but possibly debilitated

July 10, 2024
Getty images
With an in-tray this full, Keir Starmer’s honeymoon will be brief

The British people have shown their impatience with failure and a suspicion of the promises of all governments

July 05, 2024