Who volunteers to be lectured by children?
The screenwriter Russell T. Davies has said that only gay actors should be cast in gay parts, believing this leads…
The age of de-enlightenment
Depictions of Thomas Carlyle and David Hume in the Scottish Portrait Gallery will be altered to make it clear they…
The year of living obediently
I wonder if British universities will follow Cornell’s innovative approach to ensuring students are protected from wretched viruses? The American…
Soft-centred satire
There was an acidic bravura and beauty in P.J. O’Rourke’s early journalism and a gleefulness in the ease with which…
Yes man
Rod Liddle talks to Rick Wakeman about lockdown, the Sex Pistols, and how you can’t have opinions any more
In defence of Millwall fans
It is an enormous shame that the Millwall fans who booed their players for ‘taking a knee’ in support of…
The Tavistock is a national scandal
How noble of the British Library to have apologised to the family of the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes for…
AC/DC: Power Up
Grade: C The fear is this: you’re wearing a leather jacket and hipster jeans and think you look cool, but…
The public sector delusion
I wonder how much more money we will have to bung the teachers in order to inculcate within them an…
The march of the fascist mushrooms
It has been too long coming. While conscientious and decent liberals have tried to explain why, to their horror, millions…
Disco: Kylie Minogue
Grade: B– Uh-oh. Might have to be careful here, pull my punches a little bit. The editor is a big…
Voters have lost their nerve
Elections teach us nothing. Instead, each tribe dredges succour from the minutiae, proving that they had been right all along.…
Quince
I recently bought some quinces in our local farmshop as part of my new policy of investing heavily in right-wing…
There is no Santa Claus, Sir Patrick
It seems, then, that this latest lockdown has been instigated simply to protect two very questionable institutions — the National…
The morality of free school meals
The main problem with the government giving in over free school meals during the holidays — other than that it…
The BBC needs a reality check
One of my favourite moments of viewing in this strange and dark year was the outgoing director-general of the BBC, Tony…
Does anyone recognise David Hare’s Britain?
Having not watched television for nine months and already growing bored of the 1,000-piece jigsaw of General Alfredo Stroessner (part…
What I got wrong about lockdown
The news that residents of Liverpool are not allowed to visit any other cities in the UK is a hammer…
My pick for BBC chairman
There are two striking things about the new book, 100 Great Black Britons, which was compiled to celebrate the achievements…
A.G. Cook: Apple
Grade: A The future, then. The sound of pop eating itself, throwing up into a bag and then getting a…
Yusuf/Cat Stevens: Tea for the Tillerman 2
Grade: B– Time has been kind to Cat Stevens’s reputation — his estrangement from the music business and rad BAME…
Time for me to be more assertive
In the light of recent articles in The Spectator, I think it is vital I should point out here and…
J.K. Rowling’s fundamental mistake
I had my first doubts about Lord Hall, the former director-general of the BBC, when he addressed a group of…
The Pineapple Thief: Versions of the Truth
Grade: B– Of all the various subdivisions in that wheezing and crippled phenomenon that we call rock music, prog has…
Falsehoods are running amok
I don’t know how much of a shock this will come to you as — perhaps none, because you are…
