Features
The mysterious life of John R. Bradley
Working at The Spectator brings you into contact with intriguing people. One who stands out is John R. Bradley. He…
Smoking is sexy again
It’s a summer’s day in Suffolk, some time in 1992. My best friend Rebecca and I are both 14 and…
The AfD’s moment has arrived
‘The firewall has fallen!’ Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), posted on X, barely able to…
Right young things: meet the Trumpian twentysomethings taking over Washington
Washington, D.C. ‘What made you open a restaurant?’ I ask Bart Hutchins, the owner of Butterworth’s, a French-style bistro turned…
How art collective Remilia captured the MAGA movement
The MAGA social scene was defined on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration by the Coronation Ball – perhaps the…
Morgan McSweeney is urging Keir Starmer to go for the kill
Morgan McSweeney, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, does not immediately display the demeanour of a disruptor. He speaks softly, picks…
The exquisite vanity of the male sports writer
A good place to catch the highbrow sports journalist in action is the ‘Pseuds Corner’ column of PrivateEye, where he…
What economists don’t get about Trump’s tariffs
We already knew that most economists are quite bad at economic policy. Unfortunately, foreign policy appears not to be much…
Where is the scrutiny over the assisted suicide bill?
Kim Leadbeater has described her assisted suicide bill as ‘potentially one of the most important changes in legislation that we…
What I learned from my meeting with the Education Secretary
Dear Secretary of State, thank you for meeting me and one of my deputies on Monday. You will have noticed…
What makes a good obituary?
My obituaries habit gets ever stronger. I find there’s nothing as inspiring or instructive or entertaining as reading a few…
‘I am the German Donald Trump’: an interview with the AfD’s Maximilian Krah
‘My knife is at your throat,’ says a Turkish barber, wielding a razor blade around Maximilian Krah’s face. Krah, one…
‘The worst echo chamber is your own mind’: the unconventional life of philosopher Agnes Callard
Agnes Callard is a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and she lives with her current husband and…
How Ipso surrendered to the trans lobby
Two months ago, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) upheld a complaint against The Spectator for referring to Juno Dawson,…
Heaven is a Trad Dad
M y husband earns more than me. A lot more. I am, of course, extremely fortunate to be in such…
Why don’t we know how many people are in Britain?
How many people live in Britain? You would think there would be a straightforward answer, but it eludes some of…
Peter Mandelson’s rocky path to Trumpworld
The muddle about who’s to be the next British ambassador in Washington has been only a small part of the…
Can you still afford to eat out?
Many of us will remember, misty-eyed, how things changed around the turn of the century. How Britain ceased to be…
Jew and non-Jew: Unity Mitford and aristocratic anti-Semitism
I was touched but not surprised that, despite his illness, the King attended the 80th anniversary of the ‘liberation’ of…
Britain is far from prepared for the era of AI warfare
How safe will this country be under Labour? The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) is supposed to provide the answers. It…
Gossip is good for you… so I’m told
The Pope hates gossip. In his Christmas message to his Vatican advisers last year, Francis warned that it is ‘an…
My neighbour has kidnapped my beavers
My beavers have been kidnapped. A few months ago there were five of them living on my family’s farm on…
How Pierre Poilievre led Canada’s Conservatives back from the wilderness
Ottawa For the past fortnight, Canada’s parliament has been empty. When Justin Trudeau resigned as Liberal leader, he announced a…
Energy prices are shattering Britain’s remaining potteries
The ceramics industry of Stoke-on-Trent is one of the great survivors of the Victorian era. At its height, some 70,000…
There’s nothing sexy about a sex party
‘Sorry sir, the rules clearly state that all single men must be accompanied by a woman.’ As the frustrated guest…
