Columnists
The bookshop and the bump
‘You are like my cat.’ So I was told when eight-and-a-half months pregnant, just before going on maternity leave from…
Why are Labour’s Scots so reluctant to take the high road?
There should, by rights, have been a stampede of candidates to replace Johann Lamont as the leader of the Scottish…
My top ten most fatuous phrases
An apology. A few weeks back, in my blog, I promised a regular series called ‘Fatuous Phrase of the Week’.…
Why I intend to become an addict
When the White Queen told Alice she had sometimes believed as many as six contradictory things before breakfast, she spoke…
Six weeks after numberplategate, and Argentina’s still going on about it
Perhaps it’s a glaring and personal flaw in my observational skills, but if somebody tried to insult me via a…
Italy takes the stress-test booby prize as the old Spanish fox emerges the winner
Continuing last week’s theme, it was the Italian banks — with nine fails, four still requiring capital injections — that…
Six weeks after numberplategate, and Argentina’s still going on about it
Perhaps it’s a glaring and personal flaw in my observational skills, but if somebody tried to insult me via a…
Why I intend to become an addict
When the White Queen told Alice she had sometimes believed as many as six contradictory things before breakfast, she spoke…
Why are Labour’s Scots so reluctant to take the high road?
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_30_Oct_2014_v4.mp3 There should, by rights, have been a stampede of candidates to replace Johann Lamont as the leader of…
It’s not just Ukip that’s changing Cameron’s mind about immigration
It is easy to mock David Cameron on immigration. Under pressure from the public and from Ukip, he’s having to…
I don’t care what you wear. I care what you believe
What sort of clothing do you wear when you go to the opera? I assume some of you do go…
Why are kids making posters for their GCSEs?
My niece, Lara, 15, has a mind like a surgical blade. On any subject, from calculus to The X Factor,…
I’ve got a new passion – and I’m in far too deep
I have fallen in love with an unsuitable male. My wife isn’t totally happy about this relationship because she recognises…
Remember the Negroni Index? At last I’ve found a market that never stops rising
This dispatch comes to you from Venice — where I arrived at sunset on the Orient Express. More of that…
I’ve got a new passion – and I’m in far too deep
I have fallen in love with an unsuitable male. My wife isn’t totally happy about this relationship because she recognises…
Why are kids making posters for their GCSEs?
My niece, Lara, 15, has a mind like a surgical blade. On any subject, from calculus to The X Factor,…
If Labour wins the general election, Ukip’s rise will be unstoppable
British politics is rather like one of those playground games of football where one match is being played lengthways and…
We should worry about Ebola in Africa, not here
Got Ebola yet? Early symptoms are very difficult to distinguish from either winter flu or, indeed, a particularly bad hangover.…
Ukip has turned itself into a confidence trick
I think I’ve cracked it. If you want to springboard your minor political party into the mainstream and take British…
Stormy October: Germany stumbles, shares fall and bankers take another bashing
October is always a turbulent month, and I’m feeling uneasy about this one. The FTSE100 index, which looked set to…
Ukip has turned itself into a confidence trick
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_16_Oct_2014_v4.mp3 I think I’ve cracked it. If you want to springboard your minor political party into the mainstream and…
Online comments help me understand the Nazis
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_16_Oct_2014_v4.mp3 Like many, I’ve always been a bit baffled by the story of the rise of Nazism. The Germans…
Why are the Lib Dems duffing up the Tories? To ensure another coalition
The last Liberal Democrat conference before the general election has been dominated by denunciations of the ‘nasty’ Tories. Lib Dems…
Mondeo Man votes Ukip now
An opinion poll to be published next week will reveal that Labour leader Ed Miliband is slightly less popular with…
Online comments help me understand the Nazis
Matthew Parris 18 October 2014 9:00 am
Like many, I’ve always been a bit baffled by the story of the rise of Nazism. The Germans I’ve met…