Jeremy Clarke, 1957-2023
Jeremy Clarke, one of the most loved columnists in the history of The Spectator, died this morning at his home…
When will the Tories face up to Britain’s benefits scandal?
When researching The Spectator cover story last week, we came across a figure so shocking that I felt it had…
Migration nation: Brexit has meant more immigration than ever
Brexit has led to more immigration than ever
In defence of Martin Rowson
Being a cartoonist is a high-risk job nowadays. Your job is to satirise and caricature, to exaggerate bodily features. Every…
Elon Musk is right about BBC funding
The BBC has today been using its various news platforms to protest against being described as ‘government funded’ by Twitter.…
Mental health: an anatomy of a very British crisis
No victory is ever final in politics – and the wrecking-ball of lockdowns seems to have destroyed all of the…
What do Jeremy Hunt’s welfare reforms add up to?
In his Budget speech, Jeremy Hunt made a great play on how Conservatives value work. Tories love talking about this…
Matt Hancock and the politics of fear
‘When do we deploy the variant’, asks Matt Hancock after talking of the need to ‘frighten the pants off everyone…
The public have a right to know about the lockdown files
Having read thousands of Matt Hancock’s messages, I can see why he doesn’t want this discussions to become public. It’s…
The importance of exposing Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages
For a while now, I’ve been buried deep in a vault in the Daily Telegraph going through the Matt Hancock files. Like…
Is faith-based opposition to gay marriage a ‘protected characteristic’?
Kate Forbes’s run for First Minister may be short-lived but it will certainly be interesting. Her challenge: she’s a member…
What happened?
Liz Truss breaks her silence
Do we really have the full story about the Zahawi affair?
Why was Nadhim Zahawi fired? Today’s report by Laurie Magnus, the PM’s adviser on ministerial interests, says it’s a question…
It’s time to make Boris Johnson special envoy to Ukraine
The videos showed a typical summit: Vlodomyr Zelensky next to Ukraine’s flag and Boris Johnson next to the Union Flag.…
Who’s afraid of Keir Starmer?
It’s impossible for the Tories to demonise the Labour leader
Why did Facebook reject The Spectator’s Joe Biden cover?
Earlier this week, I was asked to list the three biggest threats to the media. Aside from the general sales…
Are Rishi Sunak’s five targets real?
In his speech today, the Prime Minister gave five targets: ‘Halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut [NHS] waiting…
Pouria Hadjibagheri and the UK’s abandoned open data revolution
With a new year comes the New Year’s Honours and I’m struck to see an MBE given to Pouria Hadjibagheri. He’s the…
Why should we test all travellers from China?
What’s the point in asking people flying in from China to present a negative Covid test? Rishi Sunak has stepped…
Diversity, nepo-babies and The Spectator
It’s a bit of a late entry for phrase of the year, but the term ‘nepo babies’ has captured attention…
How Britain (narrowly) avoided lockdown last Christmas
Exactly a year ago today, the cabinet met to decide whether or not to lock down to tackle Omicron. At…
The Online Safety Bill is still a censor’s charter
One of Rishi Sunak’s pledges was to remove the ‘legal, but harmful’ censorship clause that Boris Johnson was poised to…
Net migration has surged to 504,000. Why?
Net migration to Britain has passed 500,000 for the first time ever – twice as high as the recently upgraded…
Scottish independence was never a matter for the courts
It is testament to the SNP’s tactics that today’s Supreme Court judgment on a Scottish referendum happened at all. Of…
Bright green: the case for eco-optimism
Of all the world leaders at the Cop27 summit today, I suspect Rishi Sunak will be one of the least…
