Samuel Earle
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Tory Nation (S&S), out now
Articles by Samuel Earle
Is This Quirky British Man the Future of Trumpism?
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Steve Hilton, a MAGA-aligned Republican, wants to be the next governor of California. The main obstacle in his path may be President Trump. Mr. Hilton spent much of the primary courting Mr. Trump, rebuffing questions about the 2020 election result and lauding his presidential swagger.
Britain's visceral dislike of Keir Starmer illuminates a problem for his successor
It might be that Keir Starmer, not known for his rhetorical skills, expresses himself most clearly through his furrowed brow. It has a way of telling the public that none of this is easy and that difficult decisions must be made. It says that although Starmer wishes it were otherwise, things will get worse before they get better, if they do indeed get better; that there are no good options, only difficult decisions.
The Sage of Washington
In July 1914 the twenty-four-year-old Walter Lippmann was traveling in Europe to celebrate the completion of his second book, Drift and Mastery, to recruit British writers for the magazine he was cofounding, The New Republic, and to spend two weeks walking through the Swiss Alps. But when Austria declared war on Serbia, his hopes for a hike, at least, were curtailed. He returned to London as the continent descended into conflict.
Democrats Should Pay Attention to Keir Starmer’s Fall
Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters In Democratic primaries across America, a familiar debate is playing out. Is it the time for a moderate or a maverick? Should the party be looking for someone to heal and stabilize a troubled country or someone to energize supporters, antagonize opponents — Republicans, big business, maybe even the Democratic establishment itself — and promise sweeping change? Until recently, Britain seemed to offer moderate Democrats a clinching case.
Democrats, Britain’s Prime Minister Is a Warning Original
Democrats, Britain’s Prime Minister Is a Warning May 5, 2026, 1:00 a.m. ET Credit...Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters Mr. Earle is the author of “Tory Nation: The Dark Legacy of the World’s Most Successful Political Party.” He wrote from New York. In Democratic primaries across America, a familiar debate is playing out. Is it the time for a moderate or a maverick?
At Zohran Mamdani's block party, I observed a simple truth: people want more politics, not less
Samuel Earle On 1 January, to mark his inauguration as mayor of New York , Zohran Mamdani threw a block party . As he was sworn in outside city hall in front of a crowd of a few thousand of us, a nearby street in Manhattan was closed to traffic so that tens of thousands more could gather to watch the historic moment live on enormous screens. The weather – a cloudless blue sky and arctic winds – felt somehow fitting: a licence to dream and a warning against complacency.
Will Farage’s Trumpian strategy work against him? He has good reason to believe it won’t
Nigel Farage addresses a Reform UK rally in Falkirk, Scotland, 6 December 2025. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian As the allegations of Nigel Farage’s racist and antisemitic school bullying multiplied, it was hard to keep up with his shifting array of responses. At times, in his evasiveness and discomfort, he has looked like that most un-Farage of things: a nervous politician, anxious not to say the wrong word.
Extreemrechts aan kop in Britse peilingen: waarom Nigel Farage als toekomstig premier wordt gezien
Extreemrechts is opnieuw in opmars in Groot-Brittannië en de initialen van Nigel Farage zijn overal zichtbaar. Sinds hij vorig jaar eindelijk een zetel veroverde is Westminister zijn speeltuin en heeft hij zijn partij, Reform UK, naar de top van de opiniepeilingen geleid. Zijn invloed is onontkoombaar, zijn gezicht overal te zien: op de voorpagina’s van kranten, op televisie en op sociale media.
De verraderlijke jovialiteit van Nigel Farage
Extreemrechts is opnieuw in opmars in Groot-Brittannië en de initialen van Nigel Farage zijn overal zichtbaar. Sinds hij vorig jaar eindelijk een zetel veroverde is Westminister zijn speeltuin en heeft hij zijn partij, Reform UK, naar de top van de opiniepeilingen geleid. Zijn invloed is onontkoombaar, zijn gezicht overal te zien: op de voorpagina’s van kranten, op televisie en op sociale media.
Could This Unserious, Mischievous, Frightening Man Be Britain’s Next Prime Minister?
Nigel Farage has always been a master of political innuendo. As a schoolboy in South London in the early 1980s, when neofascists and racists rioted across Britain, Mr. Farage’s favorite prank was to scrawl “NF” on the classroom chalkboards. The joke was that these were his initials and those of the National Front, the leading neofascist group at the time. The splendor of Mr. Farage’s school, Dulwich College, added to the transgression.
Opinion | The Insidious Joviality of Nigel Farage Original
Opinion|The Insidious Joviality of Nigel Farage https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/opinion/nigel-farage-britain-reform.html Guest Essay Oct. 27, 2025, 5:01 a.m. ET Credit...Thomas Krych/Associated Press Listen to this article · 16:34 min Learn more Nigel Farage has always been a master of political innuendo. As a schoolboy in South London in the early 1980s, when neofascists and racists rioted across Britain, Mr. Farage’s favorite prank was to scrawl “NF” on the classroom chalkboards.
Will Nigel Farage’s attempt to copy and paste Trump’s policies work in the UK?
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Will Nigel Farage’s attempt to copy and paste Trump’s policies work in the UK?
Nigel Farage on the campaign trail with Donald Trump in Phoenix, Arizona, on 28 October 2020. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images A popular maxim on the American right is that politics is downstream from culture. In the UK, it increasingly feels like politics is simply downstream from the US.
Ready to ‘enjoy a few beers’ with Nigel Farage, leftwing hero? This is what Labour has left us with
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
The Problems With Polls
The Problems With Polls Published October 17, 2024 The twenty-first century was supposed to be a new golden age for political polling. In 2008 Nate Silver, a thirty-year-old sports journalist, became an overnight celebrity after predicting Barack Obama’s election victory with uncanny accuracy, calling forty-nine of fifty states correctly on his personal website, FiveThirtyEight.
The Problems with Polls | Samuel Earle
The twenty-first century was supposed to be a new golden age for political polling. In 2008 Nate Silver, a thirty-year-old sports journalist, became an overnight celebrity after predicting Barack Obama’s election victory with uncanny accuracy, calling forty-nine of fifty states correctly on his personal website, FiveThirtyEight.
OPINION EXCHANGE | There's a twisted logic to Trump's obsession with Al Capone
Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. ••• In recent months, Donald Trump has been trying out a new routine. At rallies and town halls across the country, he compares himself to Al Capone. "He was seriously tough, right?" Trump told a rally in Iowa in October, in an early rendition of the act.
There is a twisted logic to Trump's obsession with Al Capone
In recent months, Donald Trump has been trying out a new routine. At rallies and town halls across the country, he compares himself to Al Capone. "He was seriously tough, right?" Mr. Trump told a rally in Iowa in October, in an early rendition of the act. But "he was only indicted one time; I've been indicted four times." (Capone was, in fact, indicted at least six times.) The implication is not just that Mr. Trump is being unfairly persecuted but also that he is four times as tough as Capone.
Loud and uncowed: how UnHerd owner Paul Marshall became Britain’s newest media mogul
By Samuel Earle, 27 minutes ago In July 2017, British Conservative commentator Tim Montgomerie announced a new media venture, to widespread derision. UnHerd’s kitsch name and cow logo provoked ridicule and confusion. “Today I’m unveiling the icon that will top [the site] – a cow, who like our target readers, tends to avoid herds and behaves in unmissable ways as a result,” Montgomerie, UnHerd’s founding editor, announced.
They call it ‘projection’ but it’s a grand deception. And it’s Sunak’s only hope of staying in power
The Tories and their entourage, buoyed by four general election wins in a row but looking ever more nervously towards the next one, have found a new way to dodge blame for Britain’s ailing state: pretending they’re not in power. “Why is the left in the driving seat of government after 13 years of Tory rule,” the journalist Charles Moore asked in the Daily Telegraph last month.
They Wrecked Britain, and They're Not Going Anywhere
LONDON - As Britain prepares for the coronation of its new king, an end-of-days feeling is sweeping the nation. In an atmosphere of social unrest, economic dysfunction and government corruption, deep political disillusionment has set in. The Conservative Party is polling 15 points behind the opposition, and the popularity of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives' fifth leader in seven years, remains obstinately low.
Opinion | They Wrecked Britain, and They’re Not Going Anywhere
Guest Essay April 27, 2023, 1:00 a.m. ET Credit...Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. By Samuel Earle Mr. Earle is the author of “Tory Nation: How One Party Conquered Britain,” from which this essay is adapted. Sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter Get expert analysis of the news and a guide to the big ideas shaping the world every weekday morning.
Opinion | They Wrecked Britain, and They’re Not Going Anywhere
Guest Essay Credit...Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. By Samuel Earle Mr. Earle is the author of “Tory Nation: How One Party Conquered Britain,” from which this essay is adapted. Sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter Get expert analysis of the news and a guide to the big ideas shaping the world every weekday morning.
Tory Nation
‘A witty, lucid investigation into one of the great political mysteries of our time: the enduring love felt by the British people for the party which regularly manages to persuade them, against all the evidence, that it has their best interests at heart’ JONATHAN COE, author of Bournville _________________________________________________________________________________ The story of the most successful political party in the world, and a nation made in its image.
Tory Nation : How one party took over
'A witty, lucid investigation into one of the great political mysteries of our time: the enduring love felt by the British people for the party which regularly manages to persuade them, against all the evidence, that it has their best interests at heart' JONATHAN COE, author of Bournville _________________________________________________________________________________The story of the most successful political party in the world, and a nation made in its image.
Goodbye, Boris Johnson
Photo: Martyn Wheatley/Parsons Media/eyevine/REDUX/Parsons Media / eyevine/Redux “I tell you that the prime minister will not go early — because it is simply not in his nature,” then-columnist Boris Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph in 2006. “It is a wonderful and necessary fact of political biology that we never know when our time is up.
Opinion | It Feels as if Boris Johnson’s Britain Is Finally ‘Sinking Giggling Into the Sea’
Opinion|It Feels as if Boris Johnson’s Britain Is Finally ‘Sinking Giggling Into the Sea’ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/opinion/boris-johnson-britain-elections.html Guest Essay June 22, 2022 Credit...Oli Scarff/Agence France-Presse, via Getty Images By Samuel Earle Mr. Earle is a British journalist who writes about politics and culture. LONDON — For Boris Johnson, Britain’s embattled and scandal-ridden prime minister, nowhere is safe. On Thursday, that may become inescapably clear.
Boris Johnson’s Empire Strikes Back
Photo: Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock Photo: Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock “Teflon Johnson.” “Houdini.” “The greased albino piglet.” The unique ability of Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson to survive career-ending controversies with his reputation intact has earned him a variety of nicknames, not all flattering.
‘Matrix’ representa el optimismo por un internet libre. Silicon Valley tiene otros planes
Ensayo invitado 2 de enero de 2022 a las 06:00 ET Credit...The New York Times Por Samuel Earle Es un periodista británico que escribe sobre política y cultura. Cuando se estrenó Matrix en 1999, la expectativa sobre internet había llegado a un frenesí. La revista Time había nombrado a un joven Jeff Bezos como la Persona del Año, por personificar los dos grandes temas del momento: “el comercio electrónico y la manía de las puntocoms”. La BBC lo declaró “el año de internet”.
Opinión: La línea de tiempo en la que estamos es más oscura de lo que 'Matrix' imaginó
LA TRILOGÍA ORIGINAL DE “MATRIX” IMAGINÓ UN FUTURO MÁS ESPERANZADOR QUE EL CONCEBIDO EN LA ACTUALIDAD POR SILICON VALLEY. Cuando se estrenó “Matrix” en 1999, la expectativa sobre el internet había llegado a un frenesí. La revista Time había nombrado a un joven Jeff Bezos como la Persona del Año, por personificar los dos grandes temas del año: “el comercio electrónico y la manía de las puntocoms”. La BBC lo declaró “el año del internet”.
'The Matrix Resurrections' and the Dark Timeline Humanity Is On - The New York Times
Guest Essay Dec. 22, 2021 Credit...The New York Times By Samuel Earle Mr. Earle is a British journalist who writes on politics and culture. When “The Matrix”was released in 1999, hype about the internet had reached a frenzy.
Britain’s Fuel Shortages Are Just the Start - The New York Times
Guest Essay Oct. 1, 2021, 1:00 a.m. ET By Samuel Earle Mr. Earle is a journalist who writes often about Britain’s politics and culture. LONDON — Long lines outside gas stations. Panicked drivers fighting one another as the pumps run dry. Soldiers deployed to distribute fuel across the country. And in the background, the pandemic stretching on, food rotting in fields and families sinking into poverty. This is Britain in 2021.
Against Common Sense
On 11 May 2020, as Britain reeled from the first wave of the pandemic, Boris Johnson urged the public to use ‘good, solid British common sense’ to navigate the risks posed by Covid-19. One year and 120,000 deaths later, the prime minister’s advice to the nation was the same. ‘It’s about basic common sense,’ he said on 11 May 2021.
Hancock’s Resignation Shows Just How Much Johnson’s Government Can Get Away With
At this point, the Conservatives seem to be playing a game of seeing just how much they can get away with. Each week brings fresh revelations of the party’s incompetence, corruption and deception – and so too a new affirmation of their emphatic lead in the polls. It’s as if the Conservatives’ popularity existed in reverse correlation to their aptitude for power. Ministers blunder on with impunity, revelling in a level of job security most workers could only dream of.
Opinion | Boris Johnson Is a Terrible Leader. It Doesn’t Matter.
Guest Essay June 11, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and President Biden in Cornwall, England, on Thursday. Despite all the havoc Mr. Johnson’s Conservatives have caused, the party is in a stronger position than ever.Credit...Pool photo by Toby Melville By Samuel Earle Mr. Earle is a journalist who writes often about Britain’s politics and culture. LONDON — Boris Johnson, Britain’s freewheeling, clownish prime minister, is about to play host.
It’s the Housing Market, Stupid: How Property Became the Battle Line of British Politics
According to a prominent, post-Brexit narrative, what drives British politics is no longer economics but culture and values. The Labour party, in this telling, has lost touch with the people it purports to represent.
The ‘culture wars’ are a symptom, not the cause, of Britain’s malaise
Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian It’s often said that Conservatives and the rightwing press are good at stoking divisions.
Johnson’s Government is Rotten to the Core – But Does It Even Matter? | Novara Media
It says something profound about our prime minister – and indeed the nation that elected him – that, even as a schoolboy in the gilded corridors of Eton, Boris Johnson’s sense of entitlement stood out.
By Stoking Britain’s Culture War, Boris Johnson is Playing the Long Game
When the Conservative party returned to power in 2010 after 13 years of Labour rule, there was a deep anxiety amongst Tories that winning elections wasn’t enough. Labour had supposedly conquered Britain’s cultural citadels as well – from schools and universities to the broadcast media and the civil service – and so needed to be purged beyond parliament. “The Tories must be prepared to launch a reverse march through the institutions,” The Spectator’s James Forsyth cautioned in 2009.
Being an Opportunist Has Worked Well for Johnson. Why Not for Starmer?
Keir Starmer was elected as Labour leader on a wave of sober, grown-up excitement. According to popular opinion, he was Boris Johnson’s antithesis: serious, meticulous, well-groomed – an honest and principled leader who would reveal the Tory prime minister for the bumbling clown he is. A pandemic would provide a grimly ideal setting, making the sharp contrast in character between the two leaders all the more clear.
Even Without the ‘Vaccine Bounce’, Boris Johnson Would Still Be Winning
In January 2016, at a campaign rally in Iowa during the Republican primaries, Donald Trump made a now infamous boast about how strong his support base was. “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” he declared. The claim was dark and outlandish, and fortunately remained untested. But as Trump went on to win not just the Republican candidacy but the US presidency, it hung awkwardly in the air.
Πανδημία: Πώς ο Τζόνσον κατάφερε να ανατρέψει τα δεδομένα στη Βρετανία
Γράφει ο Samuel Earle Μετά τον πλέον ερεβώδη χειμώνα, το κλίμα στη Βρετανία επιτέλους αλλάζει. Στις 22 Φεβρουαρίου, ο πρωθυπουργός Μπόρις Τζόνσον ανακοίνωσε έναν "οδικό χάρτη" εξόδου από το τρίτο και πλέον μακρύ lockdown. "Ο βλαστός της ελπίδας σπάει τον πάγο και η άνοιξη καταφθάνει", είπε ο κ. Τζόνσον σε συνέντευξη Τύπου από την Ντάουνινγκ Στριτ, με το χαρακτηριστικό, ελαφρώς πομπώδες ύφος του. Οι Βρετανοί δεν έχουν άδικο να αντιμετωπίζουν τα παραπάνω με σκεπτικισμό.
Πανδημία: Πώς ο Τζόνσον κατάφερε να ανατρέψει τα δεδομένα στη Βρετανία
Γράφει ο Samuel Earle Μετά τον πλέον ερεβώδη χειμώνα, το κλίμα στη Βρετανία επιτέλους αλλάζει. Στις 22 Φεβρουαρίου, ο πρωθυπουργός Μπόρις Τζόνσον ανακοίνωσε έναν "οδικό χάρτη" εξόδου από το τρίτο και πλέον μακρύ lockdown. "Ο βλαστός της ελπίδας σπάει τον πάγο και η άνοιξη καταφθάνει", είπε ο κ. Τζόνσον σε συνέντευξη Τύπου από την Ντάουνινγκ Στριτ, με το χαρακτηριστικό, ελαφρώς πομπώδες ύφος του. Οι Βρετανοί δεν έχουν άδικο να αντιμετωπίζουν τα παραπάνω με σκεπτικισμό.
¿Cómo fue que Boris Johnson acertó tanto con las vacunas contra la COVID?
El premier Boris Johnson (Reuters) Después del invierno más oscuro, por fin está mejorando el ánimo en el Reino Unido. El 22 de febrero, el primer ministro Boris Johnson anunció una ruta tentativa para sacar a la nación de su tercer y más largo cierre de emergencia. “El azafrán de la esperanza está perforando la escarcha y la primavera está a la vuelta de la esquina”, comentó Johnson en una conferencia de prensa desde Downing Street, con su característica pomposidad.
The Cult of the Thuggish Democratic Politician
Less than a decade ago, it wouldn’t have taken much to imagine either Andrew Cuomo or Rahm Emanuel in the Oval Office as president about now. Cuomo, elected New York governor in 2010, and Emanuel, who became Chicago mayor in 2011, had always radiated a lean and hungry look. Their raging ambitions and their tough-guy personas suggested that they could get big things done—no matter how many aides and politicians they threatened and broke in the process.
The U.K. Got Covid Vaccines Right. How? - The New York Times
Just a few weeks ago, Britain looked sickly and alone. Then things started to go very well indeed. By Samuel Earle Mr. Earle is a British journalist. March 4, 2021, 1:00 a.m. ET “The crocus of hope is poking through the frost and spring is on the way,” Mr. Johnson said at a news conference from Downing Street.Credit...Pool photo by Jeremy Selwyn LONDON — After the darkest of winters, the mood in Britain is finally lifting. On Feb.
Wikipedia’s Sprawling, Awe-Inspiring Coverage of the Pandemic
Skip Navigation TNR_brand monogram_blackCritical Mass_wordmark_blackCritical Mass_wordmark alternate_black The Wikipedia article for the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t exist until January 2020. By June, it was one of the site’s most visited entries of all time.
The Unholy Alliance That Fuels American Nativism
Skip Navigation TNR_brand monogram_blackCritical Mass_wordmark_blackCritical Mass_wordmark alternate_black In early December, conservative commentators tried to drum up social media controversy over a sweatshirt. The shirt, merchandise for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional campaign, read simply “Tax the rich” and was branded with the initials “AOC.” It sold for $58.
Facebook Just Successfully Bullied the Sovereign Nation of Australia
Last week, Facebook went nuclear. As Australia considered legislation to force tech giants to compensate media outlets, the social-media company cut off access to news for Australian users and globally banned sharing of Australian news sources. It was a unilateral act of info-suppression against 11 million Facebook users down under, and it had reverberating consequences well beyond journalism (healthcare facilities and emergency services found their pages disabled).
Locking Down with Kafka
In “A Report to an Academy”, a short story published by Franz Kafka in 1919, an ape named Red Peter gives a lecture to a scientific conference, recalling how he was hunted in the jungle and then awoke one day in a cage, unable to return to the old way of life he had loved. “For the first time in my life I could see no way out,” the ape says of his captivity.
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