Columnists
Could you afford to become an MP?
Mark Simmonds has been in politics long enough to know not to expect much sympathy from his constituents. He resigned…
What you can’t say about anti-Semitic attacks
I was attacked by a swan the other day, as I walked along the bank of the River Stour in…
You’re never too old, they say. But I am
For my 49th birthday treat, I went to see Shakespeare in Love at the Noël Coward theatre in London. Expensive…
My summer advice for graduate job-seekers: try the City last, and steer well clear of PR
August is the season for conversation about career choices. Every holiday party seems to include new graduates or next year’s…
You’re never too old, they say. But I am
For my 49th birthday treat, I went to see Shakespeare in Love at the Noël Coward theatre in London. Expensive…
The Spectator’s Notes
At the impressive Westminster Abbey vigil to mark the centenary of the first world war on Monday night, there was…
Tread carefully: your garden’s saturated with race
Is your life saturated with racial meaning? The most common answer to this question, when I ask friends and acquaintances,…
I found my inner fascist in a letterbox
There’s a little bit of a fascist in all of us. For some, the tragedy of human want may provoke…
A challenge for Centrica’s new boss: persuade the public we need to get fracking
Iain Conn, who will succeed Sam Laidlaw as chief executive of Centrica, would have been a dead cert for the…
Why don’t any of my friends own holiday homes?
This is to be one of those columns that makes the writer faintly wish there wasn’t an internet. It would…
I found my inner fascist in a letterbox
There’s a little bit of a fascist in all of us. For some, the tragedy of human want may provoke…
The Spectator’s Notes
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_07_August_2014_v4.mp3 At the impressive Westminster Abbey vigil to mark the centenary of the first world war on Monday night,…
One last sleepy summer, then the fighting starts
At this time of year, whenever you see a British politician looking particularly busy, you can take it as a…
The Spectator’s Notes
This week’s issue is dated 2 August. On that date 100 years ago, my great-grandfather, Norman Moore (always known as…
Take it from an ex-slut: this is PC lunacy
Is it ever appropriate to use the word ‘slut’? I always take my lead from the Prime Minister and he…
The eternal beauty of John Clare
This has been a terrible year for horseflies. It’s bad enough if you’re human: often by the time you swat…
Sanctions rarely work, but they might make oligarchs whisper in Putin’s ear
‘Sanctions,’ said Kofi Annan, ‘are a necessary middle ground between war and words.’ Neither the EU nor the US will…
The eternal beauty of John Clare
This has been a terrible year for horseflies. It’s bad enough if you’re human: often by the time you swat…
The Spectator’s Notes
This week’s issue is dated 2 August. On that date 100 years ago, my great-grandfather, Norman Moore (always known as…
We need better MPs, not younger ones
The House of Commons is off for the summer. But few MPs and ministers expect to make it through to…
The Spectator’s notes
Peter Clarke’s powerful report on the Trojan Horse affair in Birmingham schools is confirmation of the weakness of David Cameron…
Not even Turing deserves a posthumous pardon
Ross Clark is a columnist I try to read because he is never trite. So I was sorry to miss…
The freedom of the heat
Those of us who have been struggling to endure the recent heat should turn to L.P. Hartley’s classic coming-of-age novel The…
I’m celebrating Glasgow’s Games as my forecast comes true at last
‘Perhaps I should shift my prediction to 23 July 2014,’ I wrote in April 2012. ‘That’s the opening of the…
Why don’t any of my friends own holiday homes?
Hugo Rifkind 9 August 2014 9:00 am
This is to be one of those columns that makes the writer faintly wish there wasn’t an internet. It would…