Columnists
Britain is making the same mistake it always does in negotiations with Europe
Theresa May, William Hague and others say that the EU will not want to trap Britain in the backstop because…
Sex in church is fine – just keep the Christians out
Nic Roeg’s art-house thriller from 1973 Don’t Look Now was most famous, or infamous, for its lengthy and explicit sex…
Will no one ever take on the Green Blob?
Gosh it hurts when your little corner of paradise is destroyed by a few idiots’ ignorance and greed. This is…
I admit it – I’m a smartphone addict
I am often extremely dismissive of people immersed in their smartphones. I tut at the mole-ish pedestrians who step out…
How a betting business saved Stoke-on-Trent
I wrote last week of my fear that we’ll never ‘take back control of our fish’, as Brexiteers ardently wish,…
Will the Daily Mail’s volte-face on Brexit make the slightest difference?
It will be interesting to see whether the about-face of the Daily Mail on Brexit makes the slightest difference to…
The only thing you’re allowed to hate is hate itself
If we are to ban states of mind, my vote would be for self-righteousness first, followed by sententiousness, with maybe…
What does it mean to be ‘moved’ by something?
Catching a train last week at London’s St Pancras I encountered a man playing a piano. You can do this…
Jazz is dominated by men. So what?
I’d recommend any aspiring writer to marry a jazz drummer. It’s done wonders for my powers of concentration. If I…
Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn was a tall nail. But was he really a bent one?
The arrest of Carlos Ghosn and the move to oust him as chairman of Nissan in Japan has stunned the…
If Corbyn’s PM, expect him to wear a white poppy and Frida Kahlo T-shirt
‘It’s time for Bond — Basildon Bond,’ is the joke among pro-Leave MPs as Theresa May serves up her mess…
The maths probably won’t work for May, however hard she tries
The bad news for Theresa May is that Brexit isn’t over. She might have agreed terms with the European Commission…
The elites will never let us peasants fully revolt
Peasants’ Revolts tend not to work out too well in this country, for the peasants. I suppose that is why…
Why I won’t be turning Catholic just yet
I didn’t get an audience with the Pope when I visited Rome last weekend. But given that he’s a borderline…
Anyone seen Jeff Bezos? I’m here to talk to him about tax
Los Angeles/Seattle US stocks briefly rallied after the midterm results as markets looked favourably on a divided Congress and the…
The lesson of the midterms? Trump’s crudeness works
Washington, DC President Donald J. Trump thinks only in terms of winning and losing. On Tuesday, he won and he…
Why I’ve changed my name
As someone who has recently discovered he is black, I have watched with incredulity the treatment doled out by the…
Is there a moral difference between an NDA and blackmail?
Reader, may I call you John? Now imagine, John, that you are my employer and I know (or claim) that…
Trump is right about many things, which is why he must be stopped
At my lecture in Sheffield last week, the final question in an otherwise temperate Q&A was antagonistic. My last Spectator…
History will judge UK ministers harshly for the Irish backstop
We may or may not hear news soon of a settlement of the Irish border issue that will allow Brexit…
My great-grandfather’s personal remembrance day
The sixth of November 1918 was remembrance day for my great-grandfather, Norman Moore. It was the fourth anniversary of the…
Bring on the next Black Wednesday
At the Brexit-related cabinet last week — as revealed by James Forsyth in these pages — David Lidington made an…
This Budget showed the Tories preparing for defeat, not victory
There’s a spectre haunting the Tories — the spectre of 1997. Tories fear that history could be about to repeat…
How smoking saved my life
I almost got killed this week. I went for a very early morning walk in a New Hampshire forest, in…
In defence of university drinking rituals
When the Fawn saw the selfies Boy had taken in the aftermath of his college football club’s initiation ceremony, first…
