Contributors

Katherine Bergen is a freelance writer on politics and culture. Katharine Birbalsingh is setting up a free school in south London called the Michaela Community School. Her latest book is To Miss With Love (Penguin). Patrick Bishop’s Target Tirpitz: X-Craft, Agents and Dambusters—The Epic Quest to Destroy Hitler’s Mightiest Warship is published in paperback in July (Harper Press). Michael Burleigh is a historian and winner of the 2012 Nonino prize. Lesley Chamberlain’s new novel Anyone’s Game will be published next month by Harbour Books. German art features in her work-in-progress, A Shoe Story. Nick Cohen is an Observer columnist and author of You Can’t Read This Book: Censorship in an Age of Freedom (Fourth Estate). Tim Congdon is chairman of the Freedom Association. His latest book is Money in a Free Society (Encounter). Mara Delius is a writer and editor for the culture section of Die Welt. Ruth Dudley Edwards is a historian, crimewriter and journalist. She is the author of Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing and the Families’ Pursuit of Justice (Harvill Secker). Stephen Glover is a founder of the Independent and former editor of the Independent on Sunday. He is now a columnist for the Daily Mail. Daniel Hannan is a Conservative MEP for South East England. His latest book is The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America (HarperCollins). Simon Heffer is Editor of Mail Comment Online and a columnist for the Daily Mail. Matthew Hunter is a history teacher at an inner-city secondary school. He blogs at goodbyemisterhunter.wordpress.com Jeremy Jennings is Professor of Political Theory at Queen Mary, University of London. His latest book, Revolution and the Republic: A History of Political Thought in France since the Eighteenth Century, was published last year (OUP). Luke Johnson runs the private equity firm Risk Capital Partners, and is chairman of the Royal Society of Arts. He is the author of Start It Up: Why Running your own Business is Easier than you Think (Penguin). James Kelly is a research fellow at Queen Mary, University of London. Laura Keynes has written for Online Review, the TLS and the Observer. She has a DPhil from Oxford University. Dominic Lawson is a columnist for the Sunday Times and the Independent, and the author of The Inner Game (Hardinge Simpole Publishing). Norman Lebrecht’s latest book is Why Mahler? (Faber). Catesby Leigh writes about art and architecture and his commentary has appeared

Jeremy Jennings Laura Keynes

Lesley Chamberlain

Stephen Glover

Catesby Leigh

Katherine Bergen

Ruth Dudley Edwards

Patrick Bishop

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in the Wall Street Journal and other publications. He is based in Washington. Julian Lewis is the Conservative MP for New Forest East and a former Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office. Noel Malcolm is a Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. His edition of Hobbes’s Leviathan is published this month by OUP. Anne McElvoy is Public Policy Editor of the Economist and presents the arts programme Night Waves on BBC Radio 3. Douglas Murray is the author of Bloody Sunday: Truths, Lies and the Saville Inquiry (Biteback). Emanuele Ottolenghi is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington. Wendy Perriam is the author of 16 novels and seven short story collections, and has contributed to many magazines and poetry anthologies. Her latest publications are Broken Places and “I’m on the train!” and Other Stories (Robert Hale). Michael Pinto-Duschinsky is senior consultant on constitutional affairs to the think tank Policy Exchange. Michael Prodger is a Senior Research Fellow at the Humanities Research Institute, University of Buckingham. Andrew Roberts’s latest book is The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War (Allen Lane). He lives in New York. Hannah Rosefield is a freelance writer and reviewer specialising in the Victorian period. She is a graduate of Oxford and Glasgow. Joshua Rozenberg is an independent legal commentator. He presents Law in Action on BBC Radio 4. Jenny Saville came to prominence as one of the Young British Artists. She lives and works in Oxford. Lionel Shriver’s latest novel The New Republic is published in the UK this month by HarperCollins. Daisy Waugh is a columnist for the Sunday Times. Peter Whittle is director of the New Culture Forum. His new book is Being British: What’s Wrong With It? (Biteback) Jacob Willer is a figurative painter from London. He is writing a book about how to enjoy looking at paintings.

With thanks to Mirren Gidda

Letters Standpoint welcomes letters to the Editor. Write to: Standpoint, 11 Manchester Square, London W1U 3PW or: letters@standpointmag.co.uk June 2012 Issue 43

Manchester Square The West is best, but only for the rest 5

Counterpoints Mothering someday; Dressing down; Dervish whirl away; Faith and hope; Classic pleasure; Latvian love-in 8

Letters Hobbes and Obamacare; Unfair to Iran; Electoral fraud; Slade v Stravinsky 14

Columns Party Lines Daisy Waugh ventures into a multicultural minefield 15 The Outsider’s Diary Douglas Murray is shocked by Shanghai, tormented in Torquay and awed on 5th Ave 17 Free at last Katharine Birbalsingh calls for Her Majesty’s Inspectors to be inspected 18 European Eye Mara Delius laments the European Left’s lazy attitudes towards Israel 19 On the Contrary Lionel Shriver suffers an attack of London roadworks rage 20 Points East & West Emanuele Ottolenghi thinks the voters of Europe must get out of their comfort zone 21 Open Season Luke Johnson still believes in the American dream—and finds the reality in Florida 23 Marketplace Tim Congdon accuses Mervyn King of being economical with the truth 24 Jurisprudence Joshua Rozenberg hears hints that Qatar could be a force for Middle East peace 25 Guest Speaker Julian Lewis says reforming the House of Lords would be a constitutional disaster 26

COVER bymichael daley

The strange case of Monsieur Normal Jeremy Jennings in Paris witnesses the celebrations for President Hollande—but wonders how socialist he will be 34 Lynching the last great newspaperman Stephen Glover defends Rupert Murdoch, the man the Left loves to hate 38 Aman for our season Laura Keynes indicts Hilary Mantel’s whitewashing of Thomas Cromwell 52

Living History Michael Burleigh backs the preparation of a new edition of Mein Kampf 27

Dispatches Andrew Roberts in New York watches President Obama deploy the big guns of the culture war against Mitt Romney 28 Lesley Chamberlain in Worpswede visits the Bloomsbury of German art 30

Features Child-centred education has let my pupils down Matthew Hunter says his comprehensive school history students love traditional teaching methods 40

Don’t go to art school if you want to learn to paint Jacob Willer went to four of them and found them all a complete waste of time 42

Civilisation Critique Catesby Leigh explains why Picasso’s draughtsmanship cannot compare with that of the Old Masters 47

Books Noel Malcolm on God’s Instruments: Political Conduct in the England of Oliver Cromwell by Blair Worden; Patrick Bishop on The Second World War by Antony Beevor and Target London: Under Attack from V-Weapons during WWII by Christy Campbell; Michael Pinto-Duschinsky on Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II by Keith Lowe 52

Text An Open Letter to Günter Grass Daniel Johnson 60

Pauline Maria 1965-2008 Four new poems by Wendy Perriam 66

Critics Music Norman Lebrecht considers sex, lies and Schoenberg 70

Art Michael Prodger maps Munch’s angst-driven use of technology 71

Theatre Anne McElvoy finds Rattigan riveting but Babel incomprehensible 72

Film Peter Whittle is bored by Tim Burton and amused by Sacha Baron Cohen 74

Television Nick Cohen welcomes John Simpson’s admission of culpability 75

Drawing Board Jenny Saville A Young British Artist who loves to paint the human form 76

Overrated/Underrated Zac Goldsmith/David Heathcoat-Amory by Robert Low and Daniel Hannan 78

Chess Dominic Lawson says Napoleon met his Waterloo over the chessboard 80

Wine Saintsbury concludes that on claret Keats lacked clarity 81

Culture & Anarchy Simon Heffer stumbles upon Norman treasures in Herefordshire 82

Lesley Chamberlain on the art of Worpswede, 30

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