Columnists
Woke up late? Don’t blame your genes
‘Oh, I’m an owl,’ said my friend Nick. ‘You’re probably a lark.’ I raised an eyebrow. He explained. Apparently all…
Put the water cannons on standby and your money on a swift Grexit
‘Will Greece exit the eurozone in 2015?’ Paddy Power was pricing ‘yes’ at 3-to-1 on Tuesday, with 5-to-2 on another…
Woke up late? Don’t blame your genes
‘Oh, I’m an owl,’ said my friend Nick. ‘You’re probably a lark.’ I raised an eyebrow. He explained. Apparently all…
The Lib Dems aren’t scared of this election. But they should be
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/Viewfrom22-19Feb2015.mp3 One of the most remarkable features of this parliament has been the sangfroid of the Liberal Democrats. Nothing…
It’s not Netanyahu’s fault that Jews in Europe are afraid
Have you seen the prices for houses in Israel? Astronomical, mate. You wouldn’t believe it. An arid and perpetually embattled…
Where is the Tories’ secret weapon?
‘You did this,’ David Cameron repeatedly declared to Tory donors as he reeled off a list of the government’s achievements…
Why I may bail out the Guardian
One of the highlights of my week comes on a Saturday morning, when I make myself a cup of fair-trade…
A life-changing lunch with an old acquaintance
God it’s nauseating when an exact university contemporary of yours turns out to have become a hugely successful investor with…
Green must answer for HSBC’s faults — but he’s another victim of big banking’s perils
Stephen Green — the former trade minister Lord Green of Hurstpier-point, who became this week’s political punchbag— was always a…
A life-changing lunch with an old acquaintance
God it’s nauseating when an exact university contemporary of yours turns out to have become a hugely successful investor with…
Where is the Tories’ secret weapon?
‘You did this,’ David Cameron repeatedly declared to Tory donors as he reeled off a list of the government’s achievements…
Why I may bail out the Guardian
One of the highlights of my week comes on a Saturday morning, when I make myself a cup of fair-trade…
How Labour lost Scotland (and could lose the Union)
Just four months ago Scotland was the scene of great cross-party co-operation — unprecedented in peace-time politics. Gordon Brown was…
They want a gender-neutral pronoun? What’s wrong with them?
They want a gender-neutral pronoun? What the hell’s wrong with them?
The NHS needs the politics of envy
‘Let’s make the rich pay more.’ Does that sound so right-wing? To me it has a positively socialist ring. It…
With one push of a button, political interviews have become interesting again
The other night on Channel 4, I watched the best political interview I’ve seen all year. It was with Nick…
Unwanted consequences: will cheap oil lead to a Labour election victory?
BP’s profits are down, and the oil giant is slashing up to $6 billion out of its investment plan for…
With one push of a button, political interviews have become interesting again
The other night on Channel 4, I watched the best political interview I’ve seen all year. It was with Nick…
The NHS needs the politics of envy
‘Let’s make the rich pay more.’ Does that sound so right-wing? To me it has a positively socialist ring. It…
How Labour lost Scotland (and could lose the Union)
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_5_Feb_2015_v4.mp3 Just four months ago Scotland was the scene of great cross-party co-operation — unprecedented in peace-time politics. Gordon…
They want a gender-neutral pronoun? What’s wrong with them?
Isn’t it about time the English language got itself a gender-neutral pronoun? This was the clarion call from the Guardian…
Benedict Cumberbatch and what’s really offensive
How should we refer to non-white people, and foreigners in general, given that of course we do sometimes need to…
Do I care about Liberia? Do you? Does Oxfam?
It’s strange how quickly we all forgot about Ebola. Speak for yourself, you might say — and I will. Until…
The hottest year on which record?
Did you know that 2014 was the hottest year ever recorded in the entire history of the world? Probably you…
Austerity really is a virtue, whatever the Greeks think
The only question I remember from my Oxford moral philosophy paper was ‘What is integrity and is it a virtue?’…
