Columns
Don’t ambush parents with activism
As we sat down at the Royal Opera House to watch one of the Royal Ballet’s soloists perform Letter to Tchaikovsky,…
Why didn’t I read the comments sooner?
I adhere to a pretty iron-clad rule: not only do I avoid the bumper cars of social media, but I…
The column you don’t want to read
Curiously unobserved about last month’s US election: how astonishing it was that the candidates’ policy positions during the pandemic played…
Can Labour’s reset see off Reform?
Arriving on stage to accept ‘Newcomer of the Year’ at The Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the Year awards, Nigel Farage gave…
The BBC vs Gregg Wallace
The last time I took my wife to watch Millwall play a home game, a gentleman a few rows in…
Beware the Qataris
I feel some sympathy for the British royal family because of the ghastly people they are forced to meet. The…
In defence of first past the post
Here comes a new law in political science: Joe’s Law. As I write, the Republic of Ireland is still working…
I hope you didn’t sign that petition
Did you sign it, then? And if so, what were your expectations? That Sir Keir Starmer would look at the…
What Scott Bessent’s appointment means for Trump 2.0
How rare it is to be given a second chance. That’s what the American people have handed Donald Trump. His…
How to get on the housing ladder
It is always interesting to watch the debates that roil a nation. So far as I can see, the current…
Why Reform has Wales in its sights
A spectre is haunting Wales. Fresh from Reform’s election victories in Westminster, Nigel Farage is turning his attention westwards, to…
Am I alone in thinking?
‘Et remarquant que cette vérité, je pense, donc je suis, était si ferme et si assurée, que toutes les plus…
Musical chairs at Mar-a-Lago
Welcome to the United States of Disruption. From his ‘Winter White House’ in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Donald Trump has been busy…
Labour’s Chinese takeaway
I was thrilled to learn that our government intends to enjoy an ‘open’ relationship with China – one of my…
The true meaning of free speech
Right after Donald Trump’s landslide, I opined on YouTube that this turning point could sound the death knell for Woke…
Britain’s failing statecraft
I mentioned some weeks ago that one of the great points of interest – not to say enjoyment – in…
Assisted dying is becoming Starmer’s mess
In the months before the general election, the Labour party had an internal debate about starting a ‘national conversation’ on…
Europe’s blind spot over anti-Semitism
You would think that we Europeans might have learned a thing or two about anti-Semitism over the past century or…
How to process your Trump trauma (with orange soup)
It’s amazing how many people have responded to what they think of as the shattering catastrophe of Donald Trump’s victory…
The problem with Dawn Butler
We hear a lot about white supremacy these days. But for some reason we rarely hear about black supremacy. I…
Does being right-wing make you violent?
I notice that the police are not treating the killings of those children in Southport as a terrorist attack. While…
Inside Kemi Badenoch’s first shadow cabinet
At her first shadow cabinet as Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch walked into the room and declared that there were ‘still…
The real test for the republic
It’s always intimidating to write for a readership more clued up than you are. I file this on the very…
In defence of the liberal elite
You can hear it already. Rising from the tents of the dejected Democrat camp comes the whimper of self-reproach. It’s…
