Articles by James Monteith

The spectacle of all five candidates for the Tory leadership pandering to an Imam who invited them to condemn ‘Islamophobic rhetoric’ in last week’s television debate was disgusting – and that was one’s reaction even before the Imam concerned was revealed to be an anti-Semitic bigot.  They were falling over themselves to demonstrate their respect for Islam, their appreciation of … [Read on]

On Monday ‘the guvnor’ touched down in Britain again, this time for a state visit. Welcome back Mr President. There are lots of things to like about President Trump. He’s a patriot and has a real affection for Britain, his mother’s birthplace. He was a wild kid who liked to challenge authority so his father sent him to military school. It worked, he learned … [Read on]

Andrea Leadsom got into terrible trouble in the run-up to the last Tory leadership election for hinting that her experience of being a mother and raising children gave her an advantage over Mrs May – a wider experience, a broader understanding of people, greater empathy perhaps. This was most unwise because according to diversity and inclusivity theory, the new religion … [Read on]

Conservative activists are out campaigning for the local elections. In a few weeks, they may well be campaigning for the European elections. One Conservative MP recently admitted privately that these activists faced an impossible task: how, he wondered, could the party expect them to sell ‘this pile of shit’ on the doorstep. It is a very good question. I found … [Read on]

Decent people of all faiths and political persuasions will have been appalled at the carnage at a mosque in New Zealand, where a lone gunman and confessed Nazi-sympathiser opened fire on worshippers. Subsequent media analysis has inevitably focused on the activities of far-right extremists and white supremacists, whose targets in recent years have included Muslims, Jews, and teenagers at a … [Read on]

Many will regret the passing of that great comic actor Windsor Davies, whose depiction of Battery Sergeant Major Williams in It Ain’t Half Hot Mum made us laugh till our sides ached. We laughed all-the-more because the character, based on one of Davies’ own sergeant majors during his National Service, was so true to life – as indeed were the … [Read on]

Fraser Nelson’s Christmas message in the Telegraph the other day (‘Despite the Brexit warnings, Britain has never been a better place to live’) showcased everything that is wrong with the modern Conservative party. The good news, we learn, is that Britain is the best place in the world to do business, foreign investment is flooding in, immigrants are being welcomed … [Read on]

Let us open our borders to those ‘who will contribute’. Let us welcome ‘the brightest and the best’. Let us open our doors to ‘the best talent from across the world’. We need an immigration system that meets ‘the needs of our economy’. This is the true meaning of Brexit. No longer will we discriminate against non-EU citizens who might … [Read on]