What Shakespeare can teach us about cancel culture
The following is an edited excerpt from Douglas Murray’s lecture at the Sheldonian Theatre earlier tonight, in honour of Sir…
Israel’s darkest hour
What happens now?
‘You are not alone’: A message to the Jewish people
I’m not Jewish myself, but most of my best friends are Jews. The reason I mention this is that, all my adult life,…
Do I have a ‘work addiction’?
What follows may suggest that I require an ‘intervention’. Readers might even interpret this column as a cry for help.…
At least Britain isn’t that corrupt
Long-time readers may recall that I take a special interest in the art of corruption. And this week America has…
Lessons from Lampedusa
It is eight years now since The Spectator sent me to Lampedusa to see the boats coming in. That was…
Secrets for sale
Like all hacks, I sometimes wonder whether I should just screw my self-esteem, do a Jonathan Freedland and start writing…
Silicon Valley stuck in the mud
If any readers are having those September, back-to-work blues perhaps I might offer them a sure-fire palliative? Just go online…
George Osborne’s midlife crisis
There should be a term in anthropology for what happens to a certain type of Tory male in middle age.…
What’s the point in being a 1 percent presidential candidate?
Who is Perry Johnson? It is a question not many American voters can answer. He has a grand total of…
The hope of the no-hopers
Who is Perry Johnson? It is a question not many American voters can answer. He has a grand total of…
Poor Prince Charming is on the scrap heap
The only strikes I really enjoy are actors’ strikes. Teachers’ strikes leave me cold. Train strikes get me into a…
Another beautiful layer of bureaucracy
‘Only boring people get bored’ is what we were all told as children. What we were not warned about was…
Cooking up a storm
I don’t always watch ‘Strongest Viking’ competitions on cable. But the other day I was channel-hopping and became mesmerised by…
Was I right about Iraq?
Back in March there was a glut of pieces about the 2003 Iraq war. The 20th anniversary seemed to much…
Canada’s lovely, liberal solution
My favourite Martin Amis novel was his 1991 book Time’s Arrow. It is a pyrotechnically brilliant work in which all…
The high price of public service
The news has been coming so thick and fast of late that every week there are dozens of stories we…
French racism is not the problem
Last week we learned that a woman in a park in Skegness was dragged into the bushes and raped by…
No country for young men
One of the most reliable standards in international comedy has long been the outstanding ineloquence of American politicians. In this…
The diversity trap
If anyone reading this ever bought shares in the diversity racket, then I would suggest you start dumping them now.…
It’s been a bad week for former political leaders
The week of the three downfalls has been an interesting one. Boris Johnson resigning from parliament, Donald Trump going to…
How to dismantle history
It is 18 years since the last Colditz drama on British television, which apparently means we need a new one.…
Is that enough about Phillip Schofield?
As I have noted before, there is always another circle. I thought that last week’s scandal (originally entitled ‘Suellagate’ or…
There is such thing as a stupid question
Some people seem to make a career of being ashamed (or at least claiming to be ashamed) of their country.…
Fake it till you make it
Not to sound too much like Kamala Harris during one of her peregrinations on the nature of time, but the…
