Features
We have a true book-loving Queen – and she is a marvel
Shepherd Market, W1, has many ghosts, some of whom are literary. In the shadow of Patrick Leigh Fermor’s former digs…
The grim rise of the ‘death positivity’ movement
It was the day after The Spectator’s summer party and I was on my way to something called a death…
The unspoken truth about wildfires
Bordeaux and Madrid are threatened by flames. In Sicily, arsonists tied burning rags to the tails of cats to spread…
Andy Burnham cannot solve Labour’s Gaza problem
Prime Ministers usually wait until they have been in office a little while before issuing apologies. Andy Burnham made one…
Make the Royal Navy great again
It’s all very well for Andy Burnham and John Healey to say they want to fund defence, but are they…
There’s no excuse for a plastic plant
Monstera deliciosa, otherwise known as the Swiss cheese plant, is perhaps the most popular houseplant of them all, probably because…
Are you a party bore?
Some years ago, I managed to get an invitation to a very exclusive party. One of the guests was Prince…
The radical left-wing takeover of the Democrats is nearly complete
Tuesday 4 August could prove to be a turning point in American political history. If Democratic primary voters in Michigan…
Not all boorish or lecherous behaviour is sexual assault
In the late 1990s, the rules for unwanted advances in a nightclub were clear. The first line of defence was…
Andy Burnham’s centrist act isn’t fooling anyone
When Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood arrived in Downing Street on Monday afternoon, the image of political rivals arm in…
The dark truth about dating apps and AI
If you want to know what the ninth circle of Hell is like, join a dating site. I didn’t want…
Could the fat jabs wreck your pension?
Fat jabs are perhaps the largest development in healthcare since statins. Weight-loss drugs – or GLP-1s, as they’re properly known…
The madness of crowds is keeping markets afloat
‘I’m done with Trump,’ fumed a normally MAGA-supportive retail trader as he watched an investment that was particularly Hormuz-sensitive collapse.…
Don’t fall for the deodorant con
As summers grow hotter, the one thing that self-appointed experts seem absolutely agreed upon is the need for a blast…
Why some small tradesmen are turning to bartering
Holly, a 25-year-old sign writer and muralist, recently spent a couple of days staying in a shepherd’s hut an hour…
How to make your children rich
‘I was gifted a Premium Bond of £1 for my first birthday from my grandma,’ says Janice. ‘That was in…
We should all find the time to smoke
The old pipe smoker has become a bit of a figure of fun, an idiosyncratic oddity whom the young find…
Andy Burnham can’t afford to please everyone
Andy Burnham thinks his critics need a new joke about him. The old one about a Blairite, a Brownite and…
Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is a triumph
Incredible stories, otherworldly creatures, false identities, a cavalcade of trickery: the original Odyssey is packed with everything you could want…
Social media has saved comedy
In 2022, a 16-year-old called Kane Parsons began to post a web series called ‘Backrooms’ on his YouTube channel, drawing…
Turtle doves and the myth of rewilding
In the latest success story for reintroducing species to the British countryside, turtle doves, reared in captivity and released at…
Are you enjoying a ‘nun girl summer’?
The nuns were wrapping up their night prayer when I entered the chapel at Tyburn Convent. I couldn’t see them…
The Welsh government’s mad decolonisation plans
A teenager in Wales might want to play video games, hang out with their friends or even, dare I suggest…
Shut up about your disability
Britain is crippled. More of us than ever before are disabled. One in four, at the last count. But it…
The ruinous addictiveness of Panini stickers
You could attempt to interest your kids in the World Cup by introducing them to Panini stickers. Or you may…
