Columnists
The game is changing. Whitehall must change too
This is a unique moment in British politics. All three major parties have a realistic prospect of being in power…
The Spectator’s Notes
The Daily Telegraph’s revelation last Friday that the Financial Conduct Authority was going to arraign companies for 30 years of…
I think in my attitude towards breastfeeding, I’ve found the perfect middle ground
What attitude should we take towards women who wish to breastfeed their babies in public? Older, more conservative readers may…
King Juan Carlos must save Spain – again
Might there ever be in this century, anywhere in Europe, a case for serious political interference by an hereditary monarch?…
University tuition fees are a tax. Accept that, and maybe we can make them work
Regardless of how many brains David Willetts has got, it’s not surprising that tuition fees are a mess. They’re a…
Is full employment another of Osborne’s political squibs or an achievable target?
‘Full employment’ usually means the lowest achievable rate of unemployment — somewhere south of 5 per cent compared with 7.2 per…
University tuition fees are a tax. Accept that, and maybe we can make them work
Regardless of how many brains David Willetts has got, it’s not surprising that tuition fees are a mess. They’re a…
King Juan Carlos must save Spain – again
Might there ever be in this century, anywhere in Europe, a case for serious political interference by an hereditary monarch?…
Has Ed Miliband’s luck finally run out?
Ask anyone in Westminster about the obstacles to a Tory victory in next year’s election and you’ll hear a well-rehearsed…
The Spectator’s notes
Everyone can see that the West has no idea what to do about Russian power in the Ukraine. Britain, in…
The occasional ex-fascist is the least of the BBC’s problems
Duncan Weldon’s past – as a Labour adviser and elsewhere – doesn’t affect his ability to do the job
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…
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…
Why I’ll be joining the silver stampede to cash in my stakeholder pension
At the beginning of the last decade, a young man who claimed to be my ‘premier banker’ paid me a…
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…
