Happiness is a warm rifle
Earlier this week, I made my annual pilgrimage to the Cairngorms National Park to go deer stalking, an activity I…
My valiant attempt to defend the monarchy in Scotland
One of the drawbacks of being a Tory peer is that when I’m asked to give a talk or participate…
I’ve found the perfect school for Harry and Meghan
As the author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, I have to acknowledge that I still have some…
Are you the next Glenda Slagg?
Thirty-five years ago this month, I launched a magazine with Julie Burchill and Cosmo Landesman that, despite going belly up…
The Jason Arday review already knows who to blame
In case you were in any doubt that Cambridge University’s ‘independent review’ into the Jason Arday affair will blame the…
What Zanzibar could teach the C of E about slavery
I have a suggestion for those opposed to Project Spire, the Church of England’s plan to put £100 million into…
Bring back the privileged class
It has become a summer ritual for the Young family to attend the annual tennis tournament in Hunstanton, a Victorian…
The horror of when your own side turns on you
Should I regret writing a satirical piece for this magazine about Jason Arday? Yes, according to those who blame the…
Ghent university shouldn’t have suspended Nathan Cofnas
It is ironic that the ‘be kind’ brigade beating their breasts and wailing about the ‘lynching’ and ‘assassination’ of Jason…
Is it time for a hair transplant?
My father, Michael, who was a sociologist among other things, was once asked by a drug company to do some…
I could never dislike Rod – even when he threatened to punch me
I remember being in The Spectator’s offices on a Tuesday afternoon not long ago when I noticed a group of…
Lucy Powell is comically misinformed about education
Lucy Powell was reportedly Andy Burnham’s third choice for Education Secretary after Rachel Reeves and David Miliband turned it down…
Won’t someone please think of the French wine?
There was something surreal about my visit to La Cité du Vin, Bordeaux’s wine museum, last Saturday. From the top…
Professor Arday is the gift that keeps on giving
Are congratulations in order for Sacha Baron Cohen? The more I read about Jason Arday, the Cambridge sociology professor and DEI…
The dangers of policing misinformation
When Steve Reed, the now ex-communities secretary, unveiled his social cohesion ‘action plan’ earlier this year, he promised to publish…
I’m sick of ‘plastic’ football fans
Last week I watched a clip of Ian Wright explaining why it meant so much to him, as a black…
Confronting the climate Jeremiahs
The problem with being a well-known climate sceptic is that whenever there’s a heatwave, you get buttonholed by eco-zealots who…
The World Cup has revived American soft power
Not only were the England fans outnumbered by 30 to one inside the Azteca stadium, but on their way to…
Labour’s mad media protectionism
Just when you think this government cannot get any madder, it publishes a truly mental green paper. Called ‘Watch this…
Farewell to the school I founded
My son Charlie sat his final A-level paper last week and the significance of this has only just sunk in.…
Whoops, I’ve given my children a gambling problem
The problem with my gambling, Caroline has always maintained, is not the fact that I nearly always lose. I only…
Was I too right-wing for MI6?
Like many people, I’ve been bemoaning the woke capture of our security services for some time. In 2024, Sir Richard…
Why does Farage care if he’s on Desert Island Discs?
The big revelation in Lord Ashcroft’s forthcoming biography of Nigel Farage is that he’s been banned from Desert Island Discs.…
Labour is secretly desperate to keep children on social media
I’ve spent the last few days composing a response to the government’s consultation on whether to introduce a statutory minimum…
AI Armageddon has replaced climate change hysteria
How worried should we be about AI? Absolutely petrified, according to a new documentary called Chasing Utopia. Billed as the…
