Features
A hard lesson is coming
Private schools have undermined their charitable status by dashing so shamelessly upmarket
Fighting chance
Middle age is OK by me. National Trust membership, a Waitrose loyalty card, lying on the sofa drinking red wine…
The rescue racket
What is happening in the 300-mile stretch of sea between Sicily and Libya, day in and day out — in…
Lost city of fantasy
The new film The Lost City of Z is being advertised as based on the true story of one of…
The friendly alliance
On 29 March 2019 the Queen should have a state dinner and invite the European Union’s 27 heads of state…
Fighting chance
Middle age is OK by me. National Trust membership, a Waitrose loyalty card, lying on the sofa drinking red wine…
There will be a trade deal
Most diplomats in Brussels will tell you that Theresa May has just embarked upon a fool’s errand, that Britain might…
There will be a trade deal
Most diplomats in Brussels will tell you that Theresa May has just embarked upon a fool’s errand, that Britain might…
The rescue racket
What is happening in the 300-mile stretch of sea between Sicily and Libya, day in and day out — in…
Lost city of fantasy
The new film The Lost City of Z is being advertised as based on the true story of one of…
The friendly alliance
On 29 March 2019 the Queen should have a state dinner and invite the European Union’s 27 heads of state…
Cherry blossom
In what I like to think of as The Spectator’s back garden — most people call it St James’s Park…
Pressing back
Washington, DC I hate to admit it, but I think I’m falling in love with Sean Spicer. No doubt…
Lest we forget
I never met Martin McGuinness, but I was certainly affected by him from an early age. His decisions, and those…
The camps don’t work
The civil war in Syria, and the resulting displacement of half the population, has been the tragedy of our times.…
The importance of being trolled
Ever since a Twitter troll was elected 45th President of the United States, the Twitterati has agonised over who to…
Cameron adrift
It can be cruel, the way politics plays out. At the very moment George Osborne was telling the bemused staff…
Double trouble
Theresa May is a cautious politician. She has risen to the top by avoiding unnecessary risks; no one survives 18…
Israel Notebook
On the Israeli side of the Syrian border, near al-Quneitra, you can watch the war. From my vantage point on…
Uncover her face
I was raised as an observant Muslim in a British family. Women, I was taught, determine their own conduct —…
Redemption for the Ripper
In the autumn of 1888 London was in a state of terrified excitement over Jack the Ripper. There had never…
Why Milton still matters
Just 350 years ago, in April 1667, John Milton sold all rights to Paradise Lost to the printer Samuel Simmons…
Little birds, big trouble
A British military base is being used for a multi-million-quid criminal enterprise, possibly involving the Russian mafia — and Britain…
Lawrence of Arabia
The centenary of General Allenby’s capture of Jerusalem falls later this year. On 11 December 1917, the commander-in-chief of Britain’s…
Dumbing down the house
Osterley Park on the western fringes of London is a rare survival. A Robert Adam house, with splendid Adam interiors,…