The Spectator’s Notes
In defence of unicorns
The scale of the government’s defeat on Mrs May’s deal is, as everyone keeps saying, amazing — yet also not.…
Behind the story of Anna Soubry being called a Nazi lies a classic Brexit sequence of events
Behind the incident of Anna Soubry being called a Nazi by a small group of Leave yobs beside College Green…
When it comes to champagne, the English are on the French’s coattails
Earlier this month, the Quorn and Cottesmore hunts took separate votes on merging. The Quorn voted for, the Cottesmore against.…
If May’s deal falls, there may be enough Labour MPs to gain a majority for ‘Norway plus’
Inside the Dominic Grieve amendment carried on Tuesday is the embryo of a new political party. Any parliamentary majority for what…
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…
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…
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…
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…
George Orwell’s legacy has been monopolised by the left
Mrs May says she is taking her stand on the issue of Northern Ireland and the integrity of the United…
The civil service’s anti-Brexit bias
Can you think of a serious crime which does not involve hate or, at the very least, contempt? You must…
Why I wanted to be called C.H. Moore
There are, one must admit, things to be said against Boris Johnson, but his leading critics do not understand that…
Why do we support the Iran regime when it is bitterly hostile to our way of life?
President Trump has ended US participation in the Iran deal and imposed sanctions. No doubt this is annoying to the…
The attempt to deselect Frank Field tells you all you need to know about Corbyn’s Labour
Early in his career — and mine — I got to know Frank Field. Then, as now, he was being…
Is it unchristian to support Brexit?
At a speaker luncheon last week, someone I didn’t know passed me a note asking ‘Have you stopped supporting capital…
The sense of betrayal feeds the demand for a no-deal Brexit. Watch this space
The collapse of Mrs May’s Chequers plan, followed by Tuesday’s failure of the Tory Remainers to defeat the government, creates…
Why did Theresa May ‘clear’ the EU deal with Merkel before consulting her colleagues?
Why do the British turn to the Germans in their moments of European trouble? It never works. When Jacques Delors…
Does anyone know how we can entice our house martins back?
Newsmax, the magazine of the eponymous US conservative multiplatform network, carries a full page advertisement for ‘The Presidential 1911 Pistol’,…
The internal logic of the NHS makes it ruthlessly cold-hearted
Gordon Brown, echoing Aneurin Bevan, says that the greatest gift that the NHS brings to people is ‘serenity’. He is…
The government’s pledge to increase NHS spending is disgusting
Seen from almost any point of view, the government’s decision to increase spending on the NHS is disgusting. It is…
Justin Trudeau is far more pointless than Donald Trump
‘Trudeau or Trump?’ was a choice which Theresa May, with unusually ready wit, evaded in Parliament on Monday. No doubt…
This period of British history is like the first months of the second world war
A distinguished retired EU diplomat from a small EU member state sends me a thoughtful letter. He complains that Brexit…
The EU should go the way of the British Empire
To understand how the European Union works, and how it doesn’t, it helps to think of it as an empire.…
Michael Gove’s stove ban is a direct attack on country life
Michael Gove wants to punish those who use wood-burning stoves and possibly even open fires. It would be hard to…
The royals who do best are those who restrain their personalities
The last time we had a royal wedding of comparable dynastic importance (i.e. only a bit important), Prince Andrew married…
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