It is the Europhiles who are the head-bangers now
For almost as long as I can remember, Eurosceptic Tory MPs have been defined by the media as ‘head-bangers’. As…
Let’s find the most idiotic Brexit headlines
Gimson’s Prime Ministers, out this week, is a crisp and stylish account of every one of them. I happened to…
The truth about Max Mosley and that leaflet
Almost eight million people have now watched Cathy Newman’s Channel 4 News interview with Jordan Peterson. This figure must be…
Tories who side with Labour on the customs union will be rebelling over a fantasy
Jeremy Corbyn wants Britain to ‘stay in a customs union’, according to the BBC. The phrase does not make sense.…
This Traveller funeral was the most emotional send-off I’ve ever been to
Bev died, aged 61. She was the wife of ‘Foxy’ John, kennel huntsman of our local hunt. Bev was the…
Oxfam is the Harvey Weinstein of aid
The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is headquartered in London, in the splendour of Marlborough House. The…
Women’s suffrage was just part of a huge shift in the idea of who should vote
A reader writes: ‘In my last letter, I called you a numbskull. However I should have qualified this with “sometimes you…
Conservatives gave women the vote – but you won’t be reminded of this
A hundred years ago on Tuesday, King George V assented to the Representation of the People Act. Women got the…
The 300-year-old poem that perfectly sums up our drifting government
‘Dignity lost half its value yesterday’ began a news story in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph. As I read on, it turned…
Why I won’t see The Darkest Hour
The BBC programme The Coronation, on Sunday evening, was extremely interesting, principally, of course, because of the Queen’s appearance on…
Remembering Gavin Stamp, former architecture writer of The Spectator
Gavin Stamp, who died just before the year’s end, will be mourned by many Spectator readers. For years, particularly in…
Are we morally better people than our ancestors?
The doctrine of progress implies that things get better. This is clearly true in terms of scientific knowledge, though not…
The DUP is quite likely to cave in over ‘regulatory alignment’. Here’s why they should not
I’m afraid I have a deep faith in the Democratic Unionist Party’s capacity to cede an issue of principle in…
Meghan Markle ticks almost every modern box. Let’s not pretend she’s a tough sell
We are congratulating ourselves and the royal family on overcoming prejudice by welcoming Meghan Markle’s engagement to Prince Harry. But…
The Queen and Prince Philip’s 70th anniversary party sounds glorious
Windsor Castle on Monday night sounds like a children’s party magnified. The rooms were filled with golden-leaved trees. A giant…
Let’s hear more of Parliament and less of pundits
Although we all see rather too much of the present Mr Speaker, it was a good innovation that he and…
If the Duchy of Lancaster has been so bad, why didn’t Labour notice before?
Let us assume — which we shouldn’t — that it is automatically wrong for the Queen to benefit financially from…
Women used to forgive men their defects, but the quality of mercy is under strain
Poor Gordon Brown. He embodies the problem traditionally associated with being male, which is that our sex finds it difficult…
The Spectator’s notes
Theresa May’s style of negotiating with the European Union is coming spookily to resemble David Cameron’s. She is in the…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘Persecuted and Forgotten?’ is the name of the latest report by Aid to the Church in Need. Unfortunately, there is…
The Spectator’s notes
The Catalan nationalists surely chose this October deliberately for their attempt, now faltering, at UDI. It is the centenary of…
The Spectator’s Notes
However much we try — and lots of us don’t — we fall for the power of the photo-image. So…
The Spectator’s Notes
You can see why Theresa May said in Florence that the British wished the European Union well in its plans…
The Spectator’s notes
Sir David Norgrove, the chairman of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), is an honourable man. When he publicly rebuked Boris…
The Spectator’s notes
Apologies for my absence from this column. My editors kindly let me get on with the final volume of my…
