Columnists
How I learned to stop worrying and love the Bomb
Just as every child now thinks he’s going to die of global warming, so those of us who grew up…
In defence of self-deprecation
I think the ancient English art of self–deprecation may be dying. I don’t mean self-deprecation in its distorted and most…
Osborne sticks to his guns
The old Budget traditions are dying off. No Chancellor has observed Budget purdah, the tradition of not speaking about the…
The Spectator’s Notes
Thirty years ago this Saturday, I became editor of this magazine. In the same month, the miners’ strike began, Anthony…
Damn. I should have seized my chance to appear on BBC3
Are there enough black and minority ethnic people on our television screens? The comedian Lenny Henry thinks not and has…
Why it’s right to criticise the newly dead
I could start by remarking that we should not speak ill of the dead, quoting the pertinent Latin phrase: de…
Must every quality TV show begin with a young woman’s corpse?
It was Shetland that tipped me over the edge. Not the place, but the TV series. Although that’s set in…
Man vs machine
What does it mean these days to beat the bookie? Many of us like to imagine that winning a bet…
Lines on the map are easy to rub out: HS2’s boss is right to push for progress
I’m sure HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins is right to argue that if we’re serious about building a new north-south…
Must every quality TV show begin with a young woman’s corpse?
It was Shetland that tipped me over the edge. Not the place, but the TV series. Although that’s set in…
Why it’s right to criticise the newly dead
I could start by remarking that we should not speak ill of the dead, quoting the pertinent Latin phrase: de…
Man vs machine
What does it mean these days to beat the bookie? Many of us like to imagine that winning a bet…
Man vs machine
What does it mean these days to beat the bookie? Many of us like to imagine that winning a bet…
Gove’s friends are out to get him
From the moment he took his job, Michael Gove knew that he would make energetic and determined enemies. The teachers’…
Children with a severe case of the excuses
There is a beautiful symmetry to all things, I think, and probably related somehow to the concept of karma. Only…
Kidnaps and killings in Cameron’s happy place
A few days ago I went to a talk about Syria; one of those events for the concerned layman, in…
I’ve seen the future of conservatism– and it doesn’t work
About the coolest guy I saw at CPac this year was this wild-eyed, middle–aged crazy wearing ‘statement’ spectacles, faded Levis…
Turn down those token directorships, girls, and tell them you want to be chairman
Last Saturday was International Women’s Day, but we celebrated early in Helmsley when my Yorkshire home town was featured in…
I’ve seen the future of conservatism– and it doesn’t work
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_13_March_2014_v4.mp3 About the coolest guy I saw at CPac this year was this wild-eyed, middle–aged crazy wearing ‘statement’ spectacles,…
Kidnaps and killings in Cameron’s happy place
A few days ago I went to a talk about Syria; one of those events for the concerned layman, in…
The Spectator’s Notes
People seem bewildered that the National Council for Civil Liberties in the late 1970s gave house-room to the Paedophile Information…
Leave Ukraine to the Russians
‘You can’t always get what you want,’ chorused Mick Jagger, ‘but if you try some time/You just might find/You get…
You shouldn’t lose your children for disagreeing with Boris Johnson
Do your children have a bleak and nihilistic view of the world? It’s hard to tell, really, when they spend…
Why are we turning London into Dubai?
If you’ve ever wondered what it will look like when we colonise Mars, the answer is ‘Dubai’. I was there…
A reminder of the UK energy gap as Putin prepares to put another knot in his pipeline
To have written last month that the headline ‘Kiev in flames’ looked like a black swan on the economic horizon…
