Columnists
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?’…
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…
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…
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…
Can the Tories pass George’s 13 tests?
These days George Osborne is rarely seen in public without a hard hat and a hi-vis jacket. But he used…
It’s all kicking off again in the Islamic world
They have been burning churches and murdering Christians again in Niger. You’d think that they’d have more immediately pressing concerns…
Why are volunteers so mean to one another?
I watched the video with some trepidation. Stonewall (the campaigning gay and lesbian equality organisation) had just sent me the…
Let posh people run the arts – if it means they stop running the country
What should we do with James Blunt? This is what I have been asking myself. And I am not looking…
Cuckoo clocks, Chinese dragons and magic needles: the pros and cons of currency pegs
The Swiss National Bank usually ticks away as quietly as one of its nation’s more expensive timepieces, but when the…
Let posh people run the arts – if it means they stop running the country
What should we do with James Blunt? This is what I have been asking myself. And I am not looking…
Why are volunteers so mean to one another?
I watched the video with some trepidation. Stonewall (the campaigning gay and lesbian equality organisation) had just sent me the…
Can the Tories pass George’s 13 tests?
These days George Osborne is rarely seen in public without a hard hat and a hi-vis jacket. But he used…
