Features
Taking back control: parliament’s plan for Brexit
Straight after the government’s epic defeat in the House of Commons on Tuesday night, the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, the Business…
Nick Boles’s plan is certainly crazy. But it just might work
At first, it seems fanciful. A backbench MP, Nick Boles, proposes to take power away from the government and place…
The truth about Trump’s shutdown? It’s not as bad as people make out
Washington, DC Washington is supposed to be recession-proof: when times are bad, the government just hires more. But the city…
The dangers of ‘neurodiversity’: why do people want to stop a cure for autism being found?
I’m an American man affected by the disability autism. As a child, I went to special education schools for eight…
If you’ve got taste, you don’t look at Instagram to decorate your home
You can tell something about national character from the way a country clears its cupboards. In the States they have…
Pirates of the Caribbean: How Venezuela’s near collapse is causing a crisis on the seas
Brian Austin, a fisherman from the small village of Cedros in Trinidad, is struggling to describe the men who robbed…
People who don’t live in council houses can’t see the appeal. Let me explain
On turning 50, I realised I’d never own my own home. What bank would agree to give a mortgage to…
In praise of Booths, the north’s answer to Waitrose
If you mention the word ‘Booths’ anywhere south of Knutsford, you will usually be met with a blank expression, followed…
Project Fact: how scared should we really be of a no deal?
Food shortages, diabetics going without insulin, outbreaks of salmonella and swine flu: a no-deal Brexit has become a dystopia of…
How Eddie Davenport rebranded middle-class swingers parties as ‘posh’ orgies
The English love a story of posh people behaving badly, especially one that involves sex, drugs or drink — preferably…
Who poses a greater threat to the West: China or Russia?
At the height of the Cold War, as the West faced off against Red China and the Soviet Union, people…
The middle-class cats that are ditching meat
As I write, my cats and a visitor from the next street are hammering into their food, at nearly £5…
How Britain became the world’s largest expert in medical marijuana
If you were looking for an international drugs empire, Downham Market would not be the first place you’d think of.…
The strange love-in between Michel Houellebecq and Emmanuel Macron
France’s literary event of the year took place this week with the publication of Michel Houellebecq’s new novel, Serotonin. Named…
There were far fewer terror attacks last year. Here’s why
They don’t like to use the ‘Q’ word in counter-terrorism. It’s a bit like blurting out the name of the…
The homesick Brit’s guide to Paris
‘Yes, it’s here!’ says the sign above the English épicerie in Paris. ‘Yes, at last,’ thinks the starved expat wandering…
A populist surge in the May 2019 elections could change the face of the EU forever
There is a strange pre-revolutionary atmosphere in Brussels. At the various receptions and dinners before we broke up for Christmas,…
Europe is a continent in crisis – where lo-vis people now wear high-vis jackets
The ‘yellow vest’ protests against President Emmanuel Macron that swept through Paris and other French cities last month have evoked…
Iran’s boat people — and why they’re coming to Britain
When the migrant crisis started, about three years ago, it was seen as a mainly Syrian affair. Caught in the…
Can men call women ‘girls’?
Talking to someone in her mid-twenties recently, I mentioned someone else of the same age. ‘She’s a really talented girl,’…
The Iolaire was packed with island men who could have sailed her home with ease
The centenaries of the Great War came to a close in November with commemorations of the 1918 Armistice. But one…
‘Brexit unleased something monstrous’: James Graham interviewed
‘I try to interpret the most generous version of somebody’s actions,’ says the dramatist James Graham. This rare ability to…
Booze, cigarettes and Auberon Waugh: Remembering The Spectator’s 1970s revival
‘The Spectator, having quite recently been a very bad magazine, is at present a very good one.’ Those gratifying words…
Tuning up to Linz
You never know who you might meet on a river cruise. It was my 89-year-old father-in-law, Noel, who first recognised…
Beautiful untamed Trieste, aka the Capital of Nowhere
‘Welcome to the free territory of Trieste,’ reads the sign in the shop window. ‘US and UK come back!’ For…
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