Columnists
The Spectator’s notes
In most parts of the world, we have now supped so full of terrorist horrors that the death of 22…
Here’s who should be Mrs May’s cabinet supremo to tackle the housing shortage
Who should be housing supremo in what we all assume will be Mrs May’s new administration? Brandon Lewis and Gavin…
Big money, big data and the dead cat strategy
In his new book Move Fast and Break Things, the American academic Jonathan Taplin makes a decent case that, democratically…
We owe it to hunt staff to repeal the ban
Though I don’t think much of Theresa May’s paternalistic soft-left politics, I do like her no-nonsense style. That Q&A she…
Corbyn is the real heir to Blair
Alastair Campbell once famously punched the Guardian’s Michael White in the face. A commendable thing to do, undoubtedly, as Mr…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘Exclusive invitation: I want to hear from you, Charles’, it said in my inbox. Theresa May wanted me to take…
The economy isn’t all roses, but that’s no reason not to vote for Mrs May
As the election campaign goes into full swing, we hear surprisingly little about the state of the UK economy —…
Why it’s obvious that morality precedes religion
At a beautiful church service recently I encountered again a Gospel parable that left me, again, torn between sympathy and…
Twelve months of May
Normally, the first anniversary of a prime minister taking office is the occasion for a lot of opinion polls and…
The cops should have said: it’s just Stephen Fry, what did you expect?
Coming to a workplace near you, perhaps — masturbation breaks. The policy was first recommended by a psychologist at Nottingham…
The Spectator’s Notes
Jeremy Corbyn wants to put up income tax only for people who earn more than £80,000 a year, he says.…
Why binding shareholder votes on pay should be a manifesto promise
Will executive pay pop up in Theresa May’s manifesto? An objective of her snap election is to secure a larger…
Labour’s election strategy – vote for us and watch us lose
The crapness of Corbyn’s Labour is a phenomenon. It fascinates me. Frankly, it does my head in. For there is…
Thanks, Jamie Oliver – you’ve stolen my childhood
Whenever I want to travel back in time to my 1970s childhood, all I need is a glass of Lucozade.…
Never mind the election – Corbynism isn’t going away
General elections are meant to produce a government and an opposition — ideally, a decent version of both. It is…
Diane’s grey matter and Labour’s sticky votes
I awoke the other morning to hear Diane Abbott’s brains leaking out of her ears and all over the carpet…
The Spectator’s Notes
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s main Brexit negotiator, tweeted on Monday: ‘Any #Brexit deal requires a strong & stable understanding…
Capping prices to win votes is no substitute for a serious energy strategy
Is capping domestic energy prices an equitable way to help the ‘just about managing’, or an electoral gimmick with a…
What would Darwin make of trainspotters?
Why are men so much more likely to be interested in trains than women? I believe this to be a…
Why Tories are talking up Labour
Considering that their party is expected to win by a landslide, the Tory spin doctors sound unusually panicked. They are…
Tim’s a Christian, so he’s not allowed an opinion
Maybe I’m wrong about this, but I don’t remember the BBC running a documentary 100 days into Barack Obama’s first…
The Spectator’s Notes
With Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen through to the final in France, people of a conservative disposition might feel…
What can May say to the Tory Remainers?
I don’t see it. I do not see the anatomy of how it all pans out. Theresa May will be…
Is Trump’s revolution already over?
There were three reasons why I so badly wanted Donald Trump to win the US presidential election. One was that…
Disaster versus chaos for France’s economy? My village neighbours don’t seem bothered
The lovely Dordogne village of St Pompon that is my holiday hide-away has only 350 voters, but is a perfect…
