Features
How The Spectator shaped John Buchan
Amid the hullabaloo attending the 150th anniversary of the birth of John Buchan on 26 August – the walks and…
The Liberal MP who put the ‘bank’ in bank holiday
Why are you enjoying a bank holiday this month, as opposed to a ‘general’ or ‘national’ holiday? It’s because the…
Could you fall in love with a chatbot?
Jason, 45, has been divorced twice. He’d always struggled with relationships. In despair, he consulted ChatGPT. At first, it was…
Owning an Airbnb is hell
I know it can be difficult to have sympathy for anybody who owns a holiday let, but for me and…
There are glimmers of hope for Iraq’s Christians
It is 43˚C in Erbil, which a friend here describes as ‘cool’. Unlike my first visit in 2015, when Isis…
Why your weight loss jab is ballooning in price
‘A friend of mine who’s slightly overweight, to put it mildly, went to a drug store in London,’ Donald Trump…
Trump has given Zelensky cause for hope
On Volodymyr Zelensky’s last visit to the White House, he brought a gift: a championship belt from one of Ukraine’s…
Putin’s trap: how Russia plans to split the western alliance
Though you wouldn’t know from the smiles around the table at the White House this week, a trap has been…
Keep algorithms out of care homes
I manage a small, not-for-profit care home in Norfolk. We have tea rounds, hymn singing, hand-holding and staff who know…
Labour’s new ‘dark arts’ strategy
Senior Labour figures have given up hope of beating Nigel Farage in 2029. There are two causes for this pessimism.…
Can Reform beat the blob?
Shortly after he was elected as Britain’s youngest council leader last month, 19-year-old George Finch of Reform UK had a…
Why do so many of us want to be alone?
When was the last time you had a truly classic racist cab driver? Mine was a few years ago, coming…
Why is sport so obsessed with Goats?
It was late at night in rural France and Martin wanted to discuss Goats. And he didn’t mean livestock. ‘You…
Europe is giving up on free movement
Ten years ago on 31 August 2015, Angela Merkel told the German press what she was going to do about…
How Princess Anne is celebrating her 75th birthday
When a previous milestone was looming in the life of Princess Anne, her 21st birthday, the late Queen asked her…
Down with exclamation marks!
Punctuation is a gendered thing. I’ve been trying to stop myself overusing exclamation marks and it’s been difficult. Exclamation marks…
The real reason Trump’s Alaska summit matters
Donald Trump has never lacked confidence. ‘I’m here to get the thing over with,’ he said last week when announcing…
Trump’s Alaska meeting is a gift for Putin
From the Kremlin’s point of view, holding a US-Russia summit in Anchorage, Alaska is an idea of fiendish brilliance. The…
Will Ben Stokes be fit for the Ashes?
What a marvellous summer this has been for Test cricket, which is sadly at risk of becoming an endangered species.…
How my family loved – and lost – the Telegraph
As the Telegraph moves slowly towards Arab ownership – 15 per cent to start, and who knows what in the…
Dinner party talk won’t help Gaza
I’m one of the Silent People who sit on the sidelines of the great political events and debates of the…
Inside the Mohammed Hijab trial
Mohammed Hijab sat at the back of the courtroom and ate doughnuts while his lawyer, Mark Henderson, delivered his closing…
Motherland: how Farage is winning over women
On the campaign trail in the Midlands ahead of May’s local elections, a journalist asked Nigel Farage: ‘Do you have…
Britain is hooked on car finance
It’s unnerving to think how close Britain came to financial disaster last Friday, ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on…
I’m learning to swim – at 37
It’s humiliating to admit that at 37, I can’t swim. I’ve spent most of my life embarrassed about not having…
