Features
The gilets jaunes have become a symbol of resistance worn with pride by the downtrodden
I met a friend for lunch in Paris last Sunday. He and his wife had come up from the countryside…
The man I knew as Vishnu: remembering George H.W. Bush
The world knew him as ‘Bush 41’. I knew him by a different name -during the time I worked for…
St Martin-in-the-Fields: the ‘Church of the Ever Open Door’
St Martin’s really did once stand in the fields, just as nearby Haymarket was a market selling hay. But the…
Money is already draining from Britain but because of Corbyn, not Brexit
What’s wrong with UK financial markets? The global economy is recovering, but British stocks and shares are not keeping pace.…
Does Putin intend to go to war with Ukraine?
On Europe’s eastern borderlands, trouble is brewing. Two headstrong leaders — Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko —…
A biographer’s tale: beware of meeting your literary heroes
Germaine Greer described biographers as ‘vultures’. I prefer to think of myself as a version of Philip Marlowe or Sam…
The Italian crisis
For those who believe in the European project, Brexit is a headache. Italy, on the other hand, is a bloody…
Homelessness isn’t a government priority. It should be
King’s Cross station at 10.30 p.m. is not a happy place. Most commuters have long returned to their centrally heated…
![Spilling ink: Lee Child [AXEL DUPEUX]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Sam_Leith_feature.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
Lee Child: How to write – and get revenge
According to which bit of hype you read, there’s a copy of one of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher thrillers sold…
The Isle of Grain
Perched on the edge of the Medway about 15 miles from Rochester is the Isle of Grain, a mass of…
May’s legacy: her Brexit deal could crush the Tories
At David Cameron’s final Prime Minister’s Questions, a Labour MP asked him how his plan to get the Tories to…
Anger? Yes. But in another country, leaving the EU would mean bloodshed
Did any of us, whatever our opinions, expect the level of blustering indignation that has emerged since the 2016 referendum?…
The Democrats’ obsession with Beto O’Rourke is a sign they’re in trouble
Washington, DC Ever since America elected Donald Trump, Democrats have fantasised about removing him from power. They’ve dreamed of…
Leo Varadkar has done his absolute best to damage Brexit
How did we get into this Brexit mess? Why is it proving so difficult to leave the EU? Was it…
Why are the middle classes so obsessed with schools?
One thing I love about my adopted country is the widespread cultural contempt for dullness. Unlike North Americans, intelligent British…
May’s Brexit deal: the legal verdict
The most important point about the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement is that, once it is ratified, the United Kingdom will…
In defence of Patricia Highsmith
A new play, Switzerland, which opened in the West End this month, seems to have demonised Patricia Highsmith once again.…
In China’s new surveillance state, everyone will be watched, reviewed and rated
The bullet train from Beijing to Shanghai is the fastest in the world. It takes just over four hours to…
Social credit is just one part of China’s new state control
Chairman Mao talked of ‘three magic weapons’ for seizing power: the united front, the armed struggle and construction of the…
My one-night stand-up hell
At 8.45 p.m. I was back in the toilets again feeling pure terror. In front of me was a narrow…
How BlackRock became a sanctuary for clean-cut bankers and dormant politicians
A few months ago, an aggressive US pressure group called the Campaign for Accountability declared that it had a new…
The Ivy League’s dirty secret
New York There comes a point in a New York expat’s life when you suddenly realise that the liberal elites…
When does a murderer become a madman?
There was no reason for Edward Drummond to believe this January day was going to be different to any other…
The Roman road that came to define Britain
All roads lead to Rome, the saying goes. Well, all roads except for the Roman road of Watling Street, which…
Brexit is served – and neither option is palatable
When the Lisbon Treaty was signed in 2007, the inclusion of Article 50 was hailed as a concession to British…
