The Spectator’s Notes
‘The British Museum stands in solidarity with the British Black community, with the African American community, with the Black community…
Without Black Wednesday there would have been no Brexit
Last Sunday, BBC Radio 4’s The Reunion devoted 40 minutes to ‘Black Wednesday’, as our exit from the ERM was…
The Spectator’s Notes
Amid all the puzzlement and recrimination about why the government got into this mess about A-level and GCSE results, one…
Coronavirus and the BBC’s anti-American bias
One keeps hearing, particularly on the BBC, that the United States is ‘the worst in the world’ for coronavirus, stated…
The Spectator’s notes
Chris Packham is widely seen as the most extreme of well-known animal rights activists. His obsessions against hunting and shooting…
Will HSBC protect its pro-democracy staff in Hong Kong?
Noel Quinn, the chief executive of HSBC, declines to say whether his bank will disown pro-democracy staff who fall foul…
The Spectator’s Notes
Juan Carlos, ex-King of Spain, behaved foolishly in relation to money and sex, and so his decision to leave Spain…
The Spectator’s Notes
Although Stephen Toope, vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, is committed to openness, it is a struggle to get information out of…
The Spectator’s notes
I think Anne Applebaum is a friend of mine. I certainly hope so, since I have always admired her writing,…
The ruthlessness of Huawei
Huawei’s 5G path is blocked. In a few months’ time, Huawei may no longer see the point of paying six-figure…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘Just rejoice’, as Mrs Thatcher once said about something else. The government’s decision to debug our national security by getting…
Will Cambridge stand up for free speech in China?
Last month, Dr Priyamvada Gopal, of Churchill College, Cambridge University, tweeted ‘White Lives Don’t Matter’. She was abused online and…
The Spectator’s Notes
There are far more Chinese students in British universities than there are from the entire Commonwealth. Many universities have been…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘White Lives Matter Burnley’ said the plane’s banner as it circled the club’s stadium just after the teams had ‘taken…
The Spectator’s Notes
Why is it wrong, some ask, for senior British businessmen, former civil servants etc to work for Huawei UK? After…
The Spectator’s Notes
The government’s promised ‘pathway to citizenship’ to Hong Kong people is wonderful, but has the Foreign Office arranged a get-out…
What is it about Chinese totalitarianism that makes clever people so silly?
There is something about Chinese totalitarianism which brings out the silliness of many clever people. I suspect it is to…
The Spectator’s notes
This week in 1989, the Chinese authorities massacred protestors in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. I was editing this paper. It struck…
The Spectator’s notes
At Dominic Cummings’s press conference on Monday, reporters tried two lines of attack. One was to behave like local detectives,…
The Spectator’s Notes
Last month, writing elsewhere, I quoted the website of the China Centre at Jesus College, Cambridge: ‘Under the leadership of…
The Spectator’s Notes
A friend, a senior retired mandarin, emails. He complains that rural lockdown means that he and his wife have ‘got…
We should heed the world’s warnings about China
Mathias Döpfner is that still rare thing — an outspoken German. I have known him slightly for many years and…
The Spectator’s notes
Mathias Döpfner is that still rare thing — an outspoken German. I have known him slightly for many years and…
The Spectator’s Notes
During the second world war, the collection of the National Gallery had to be hidden in a mountain in Wales…
The Spectator’s notes
Although I once edited this paper, and have written for it for almost 40 years, I did not know that…
