Columnists
Why Tesla has to be a better bet than bitcoin
Which is madder, bitcoin at $41,500 — oops, make that $31,000 on Monday — or Tesla shares at $880 apiece?…
The Spectator’s Notes
Even with its 27 amendments, the US Constitution is only 7,591 words. I keep it beside me, and find in…
A new perspective on the Prince of Darkness
Matt Forde, the stand-up comedian and presenter of his regular Political Party Podcast, has hit on an overlooked technique for…
We believe what we want to believe
Following his disgruntled supporters’ rampage through the Capitol, Donald Trump’s fate hangs in the balance. But one artefact of this…
The Spectator’s Notes
Domenica Lawson, daughter of Rosa and Dominic, the former editor of this paper, has Down’s syndrome. She is classified as…
The age of de-enlightenment
Depictions of Thomas Carlyle and David Hume in the Scottish Portrait Gallery will be altered to make it clear they…
I know why Welby is so worn out
Justin Welby is having a holiday and people are unhappy about it. He plans, in May, to take a three-month…
The real Tory opposition leader
A few months ago, Tory aides spotted a suspicious pattern. If they agreed on a new Covid policy to be…
The Brexit deal has left the City to fight for its own future
‘This Article shall not apply with respect to financial services.’ That’s what it says on page 92 of the EU-UK…
History shouldn’t be used against us
Can you feel the fascism yet? You ought to by now, more than a week after Britain leaving the EU.…
The year of living obediently
I wonder if British universities will follow Cornell’s innovative approach to ensuring students are protected from wretched viruses? The American…
My cure for the common cold
You really don’t want to know about my coughs and sneezes, particularly during the festive season, but bear with me…
The Spectator’s Notes
Many ingenious ways of evading Covid-19 have been devised to assist commerce, fewer to assist worship. In our next-door village,…
For many of us charity begins in shops
When everything re-opened after the first lockdown, I didn’t immediately head to a restaurant, bar or hairdresser. I went to…
The female disadvantage
I’ve always been perplexed why anyone lucky enough to be born male would want to swap sexes. But it seems…
What Covid revealed
The most significant and lasting change brought about by Covid is that it has woken the West up to the…
Avoiding the punch at the Governor’s Christmas party
Tidings of comfort as the vaccination programme advances, but shortage of joy. That’s my summary of a season in which…
The importance of giving offence
As dons at Cambridge vote on a new protocol on constraints to free speech, we mark this month the 500th…
The business world has many shades between hero and villain
Separating heroes from villains in the great retail survival struggle is like spotting bent coppers in Line of Duty —…
In defence of Millwall fans
It is an enormous shame that the Millwall fans who booed their players for ‘taking a knee’ in support of…
No one wins in the race race
After the explosion of international self-abasement over George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis, much theatrical soul-searching ensued. So your basic man…
Deal or no deal?
When a deadline is missed for Brexit negotiations, it is tempting to think there will be another chance to keep…
Biden’s speech impediment
Does Joe Biden write his own speeches? Surely not. Yet his campaign says Biden was his own speechwriter for the address he made…
The Tavistock is a national scandal
How noble of the British Library to have apologised to the family of the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes for…
Green will be remembered only as a nasty stain on capitalism
There really isn’t much left to be said about Sir Philip Green as his Arcadia fashion empire collapses into administration,…
