Columnists
Folk wisdom gets so much wrong
I was only a boy when I first began protesting against the idiocy of so much of the folk wisdom…
Why I’m leaving the UK
I’m torn between headlining this column ‘Why I’m moving to Portugal’ and ‘Why I’m leaving the UK’. Exhausted, shadowed by…
Do I have a ‘work addiction’?
What follows may suggest that I require an ‘intervention’. Readers might even interpret this column as a cry for help.…
Divide and rule
A long tradition in the Liddle household on a Saturday morning is to read aloud sections from the Guardian Weekend…
Emergency on Planet Biden
‘If aliens attacked Earth, do you think we would be safer under Joe Biden or Donald Trump?’ That’s a question…
How I know I’m an adult
Adulthood was once determined by age, but now we’ve extended childhood far beyond the teenage years. If the government gets its…
At least Britain isn’t that corrupt
Long-time readers may recall that I take a special interest in the art of corruption. And this week America has…
The Minister for Hard Truths
The last time Tory activists and MPs gathered for their annual party conference, it didn’t end well. Liz Truss had…
The Spectator’s Notes
In 2014, Rolf Harris was convicted of sexual offences against girls. I wrote in this space that this would have…
The inequality of sex
As we all shroud ourselves in grief at being unable to watch Russell Brand any more on terrestrial television stations,…
Lessons from Lampedusa
It is eight years now since The Spectator sent me to Lampedusa to see the boats coming in. That was…
The price of honesty
This is my brother’s story and, like many telling stories, it’s small. Tim lives in Iowa, as our mother’s family…
Australia’s disastrous referendum
My partner and I have just returned from the most magical trip. As guests of Western Australia’s tourist board we’ve…
The lesson of Looney: every board should prepare for scandal
Bernard Looney, the fallen BP chief, always had a certain swagger about him. I’ve no idea whether he was unsafe…
A tale of two elections
There were many potential titles for Liz Truss’s memoir: 49 Days that Shook the World, perhaps, or simply What Happened,…
Don’t panic!
How terrified should we be of the new Covid variant nicknamed (on Twitter) ‘Pirola’? Out of our wits? Or should…
Secrets for sale
Like all hacks, I sometimes wonder whether I should just screw my self-esteem, do a Jonathan Freedland and start writing…
Mexico’s progressive hell
Every morning I check to see if Rodrigo Iván Cortés has published the ‘apology’ that the court in Mexico has…
A New Labour restoration
To understand the political journey of Sir Keir Starmer, look to Liz Kendall. This week the Blairite and one-time leadership…
