Barrel-scraper Grant Shapps is taking us for a ride - May 2022 The Observer - By Stewart Lee - May 1st, 2022

In 2002, I accessed the 3,000-year-old subterranean ceremonial chamber of Pendeen Fogou in north-west Cornwall, by crawling through a 2ft-deep river of liquid cow slurry. Once inside, I was transformed and it was worth it. On Wednesday, I crawled through filth again, as I tried to read the Daily Mail as research for this column.…

I need Boris Johnson to remain in power until the end of August - April 2022 The Observer - By Stewart Lee - April 24th, 2022

Shameless criminals are exploiting the plight of desperate asylum seekers for their own ends. Yes, that’s right. Boris Johnson attempted to distract the public from his own transgressions with his hastily announced and arguably unworkable Rwanda Solution. Did you see what I did there? I’m here all week! Try the cake!! But keep it in…

Why Brexit Britain is turning purple with shame - April 2022 The Observer - By Stewart Lee - April 17th, 2022

Like a bald man masturbating alone into an open pedal bin, Boris Johnson’s Brexit Britain disgusts itself. And yet, despite being observed on the gents’ toilet’s security camera that is the modern world stage, it continues its abasement unabashed. After the second world war, the German volk were described as experiencing kollektivschuld, a national shame.…

Oh! Brother – A Podcast About The Fall - April 2022 April 11th, 2022

Recorded in person before his Snowflake/Tornado show in Salford earlier this year, Steve and Paul speak to legendary comedian, Fall fan and prolific forewordist, Stewart Lee. Topics include a gig at The Elephant Fayre, the art of making oneself a character and the surprising effectiveness of disinformation in Fall books.

Is Nadine Dorries bird-brained or what? - April 2022 The Observer - By Stewart Lee - April 10th, 2022

Like Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost, the culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, apparently has restless thoughts and only finds ease in destroying. Doubtless, Dorries is aware on some level of the epic poem, in her capacity as guardian of the nation’s cultural treasures, and as an author herself, and yet she learns nothing from it. So…

Eat your heart out Will Smith – I certainly did - April 2022 The Observer - By Stewart Lee - April 3rd, 2022

The inspirational Leicester comedy festival awards ceremony, which I attended on Monday in the ballroom of the refurbished Grade II-listed Mercure Leicester Grand, could only have been improved by a multimillionaire performatively punching another multimillionaire in the face. Nonetheless, my once-in-a-lifetime Legend of Comedy statuette win was overshadowed by the violent brawling of the Oscar…