Columnists
I love my strange, disagreeable tribe
It’s one way to keep in touch with people. Each morning, somewhere between the first coffee of the day and…
The difficult balance of public vs political agony
Fear is the politician’s friend. When terror grips the public, an opportunity arises for those in power to step forward…
Would Churchill have worn a face mask?
The problem with face masks is cutting an opening of the right size to accommodate a cigarette, without the hole…
The communitarian Conservatives
Politics is full of events that are meant to change everything but actually do little. Yet the coronavirus crisis will…
We’re all guilty of recruiting this virus to our cause
There must be a quote from Shakespeare for this, but so far I haven’t found it. It’s the way we…
Globally and locally, we need stronger business models for survival
When I wrote last week about business-to-business pain-sharing for survival, I was naturally thinking first about UK companies. I say…
The Spectator’s Notes
We know, because of the lack of widespread testing, that incidences of Covid-19 are under-reported. What is less well known…
The big success of small shops
From time to time, usually when things are quiet, the government brings on the dancing girls. David Cameron made Carol…
I have herd immunity
I am a type. I don’t like groups. I maintain few memberships. I question and resist authority, especially enforcement of…
There’s nothing equal about this virus
Filthy germ-laden townsfolk were out and about on the footpaths near my home on Easter Sunday, dragging with them their…
This war is the same as any other
‘We don’t talk about the war.’ Yet those of my generation and older reference it daily. The coronavirus is an…
The Spectator’s Notes
It is good of President Trump to offer Boris Johnson his best wishes and the best American pharmaceuticals (though no…
A new ‘sharing economy’ offers a path to herd survival
The phrase ‘sharing economy’ was coined a decade or so ago to describe collaborative new business models made possible by…
My only home-schooling success
‘What is the point of learning maths? When do you ever actually need it? How does it ever affect your…
Our flawed species still stands a chance
There was always one key flaw in our species. Which is that someone always shags a monkey. I have expressed…
Leave my cigarettes out of this
The owners of my local grocery shop, a mile or so from my house, very kindly sell me cigarettes in…
There is no end in sight yet
We have never had a moment like this before in our history: a time when the Prime Minister is, in…
Labour’s surprise advantage
First impressions matter in politics. Once the public have made their mind up about a politician, they rarely change it.…
Lockdown’s a treat for curtain-twitchers
Welcome, then, to a country in which the police send drones to humiliate people taking a walk and dried pasta…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘I am a columnist for the Daily Telegraph,’ I began a text message to an NHS executive last week. Due…
We’re anything but safe
Comically, Chinese Communist party officials have speculated that Covid-19 was planted by the US army. Yet a respectable conspiracy theorist…
Lower house prices and cheaper fuel will help recovery
The suspension of the residential property market is disheartening for those who were hoping to buy a first flat or…
The spiritual richness of solitude
A psychiatrist once told me that it takes one’s subconscious about three weeks to catch up with a significant life…
Don’t let anyone tell you there’s a war on
‘Shut up — don’t you know there’s a war on?’ Strong hints of that attitude have emerged in recent weeks,…
Top salary sacrifices now might avert a backlash later
The CBI’s guidelines on ‘best practice for business’ during the pandemic tell the 1,500 larger companies that make up the…
