No sacred cows
My valiant attempt to defend the monarchy in Scotland
One of the drawbacks of being a Tory peer is that when I’m asked to give a talk or participate…
Are you the next Glenda Slagg?
Thirty-five years ago this month, I launched a magazine with Julie Burchill and Cosmo Landesman that, despite going belly up…
The Jason Arday review already knows who to blame
In case you were in any doubt that Cambridge University’s ‘independent review’ into the Jason Arday affair will blame the…
What Zanzibar could teach the C of E about slavery
I have a suggestion for those opposed to Project Spire, the Church of England’s plan to put £100 million into…
Bring back the privileged class
It has become a summer ritual for the Young family to attend the annual tennis tournament in Hunstanton, a Victorian…
The horror of when your own side turns on you
Should I regret writing a satirical piece for this magazine about Jason Arday? Yes, according to those who blame the…
Is it time for a hair transplant?
My father, Michael, who was a sociologist among other things, was once asked by a drug company to do some…
I could never dislike Rod – even when he threatened to punch me
I remember being in The Spectator’s offices on a Tuesday afternoon not long ago when I noticed a group of…
Won’t someone please think of the French wine?
There was something surreal about my visit to La Cité du Vin, Bordeaux’s wine museum, last Saturday. From the top…
The dangers of policing misinformation
When Steve Reed, the now ex-communities secretary, unveiled his social cohesion ‘action plan’ earlier this year, he promised to publish…
I’m sick of ‘plastic’ football fans
Last week I watched a clip of Ian Wright explaining why it meant so much to him, as a black…
Confronting the climate Jeremiahs
The problem with being a well-known climate sceptic is that whenever there’s a heatwave, you get buttonholed by eco-zealots who…
Labour’s mad media protectionism
Just when you think this government cannot get any madder, it publishes a truly mental green paper. Called ‘Watch this…
Farewell to the school I founded
My son Charlie sat his final A-level paper last week and the significance of this has only just sunk in.…
Whoops, I’ve given my children a gambling problem
The problem with my gambling, Caroline has always maintained, is not the fact that I nearly always lose. I only…
Was I too right-wing for MI6?
Like many people, I’ve been bemoaning the woke capture of our security services for some time. In 2024, Sir Richard…
Why does Farage care if he’s on Desert Island Discs?
The big revelation in Lord Ashcroft’s forthcoming biography of Nigel Farage is that he’s been banned from Desert Island Discs.…
Labour is secretly desperate to keep children on social media
I’ve spent the last few days composing a response to the government’s consultation on whether to introduce a statutory minimum…
AI Armageddon has replaced climate change hysteria
How worried should we be about AI? Absolutely petrified, according to a new documentary called Chasing Utopia. Billed as the…
First they came for Mandelson…
At the time of writing, I haven’t seen the King’s Speech, but it’s a safe bet it will include a…
Can our democracy survive the ‘bad chaps’?
What is the greatest threat to British democracy? Zack Polanski’s call for ‘building a society’ that ‘doesn’t include’ people who…
Worried your child is being radicalised? Try this tip
A couple of weeks ago, the Guardian published an article entitled: ‘“I feel like I’m losing her”: the families torn…
The American dream is dying. Good
The American dream is dying, according to the Times. To mark the US’s 250th anniversary, the paper commissioned YouGov to…
Does Jolyon Maugham have any self-doubt?
I was leaving the CNN presidential election night party at dawn in 2016, having celebrated Donald Trump’s victory, when Paul…
The noble work of chairlift diplomacy
In 1956, three British MPs encountered a group of Swiss politicians in the bar of the Hotel Fluela in Davos…
