Columnists
The Spectator’s Notes
Last week, I wrote about ‘Frost & Lewis’ (David and Oliver), leaders of our country’s team at the Brexit negotiations,…
The public sector delusion
I wonder how much more money we will have to bung the teachers in order to inculcate within them an…
We need a dose of vaccine realism
One of my geniuses as both a commentator and a character is to confront what for most normal people amounts…
The soggification of the Liberal Democrats
I was never afraid of Jeremy Corbyn, never afraid of Momentum. I’ve never really feared Britain’s hard left at all.…
Here comes President Joebama
‘So you’re seeing a team develop that I have great confidence in,’ said former president Barack Obama this week when…
Truth is in the eye of the beholder
Ever since I saw him in Pensacola, Florida the other week, Donald J. Trump will not leave me alone. Each…
How to keep the UK united
Tory MPs are already starting to talk about May’s various elections. Boris Johnson’s first post-Covid electoral test will take place…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘Frost & Lewis’. It sounds like a programme amalgamating two of the most famous TV detectives. The former diplomat, Lord…
Liberty or death?
Well thank goodness for that, eh? Just as we reached our darkest hour and resigned ourselves to an endless series…
If taxes must rise, Sunak should pick on private equity
It’s not axiomatic that taxes must rise to pay for the pandemic, if you seriously believe the surge in growth,…
The march of the fascist mushrooms
It has been too long coming. While conscientious and decent liberals have tried to explain why, to their horror, millions…
Beyond the new euphoria, the Irish question still looms
FTSE indices soared as the Biden Bounce met vaccine euphoria, underpinned by the Bank of England’s announcement of another £150…
What Trump supporters really want
As Democrats’ colossal collective sigh of relief drives wind turbines even over in Britain, let’s not lose sight of the…
The Spectator’s Notes
Having only recently entered the House of Lords, I must tread with caution, but I had always understood that it…
Voters have lost their nerve
Elections teach us nothing. Instead, each tribe dredges succour from the minutiae, proving that they had been right all along.…
Boris’s booster shot
The first full week of the new national lockdown had the potential to be very difficult for Boris Johnson. Although…
It’s shameful how we have treated our elderly
There’s a lot I don’t know about care home visits during this pandemic. I don’t know how straightforward it would…
Nous sommes tous Emily in Paris – why can’t we admit it?
A frothy new drama called Emily in Paris arrived on Netflix last month. Starring Lily Collins — daughter of Phil…
Searching for points of light in the darkest of weeks
Aviation, nuclear power and public transport — along with good restaurants, golden retrievers and hand-knitted bed socks — are, as…
The Spectator’s Notes
Monday night’s murderous gunman in Vienna is officially described as ‘Islamist’. Brahim Aioussaoi, the man accused of murdering worshippers in…
This lockdown is much riskier
Keir Starmer has his first attack line of the next general election campaign. He will say that England’s second lockdown…
There is no Santa Claus, Sir Patrick
It seems, then, that this latest lockdown has been instigated simply to protect two very questionable institutions — the National…
America sails into the unknown
Washington, DC On election day in the capital there is no thrill in the air, but there is a sound:…
Why I’m ducking the Rashford debate
Moments arrive when it becomes clear you’re losing the zeitgeist. Whatever might be the spirit of the era, you don’t…
The Spectator’s Notes
As time passes, there is — blessedly — ever less need to pay attention to ‘untold’ stories about Diana, Princess…
