Status anxiety
Keeping up appearances
Shortly after I started working at Vanity Fair in the mid-1990s, I suggested to my boss Graydon Carter that I…
Defenders of a free press should throw in the towel
It looks as though Hacked Off has finally won its three-year battle for tighter regulation of the press. Why do…
Death does not become us
Shortly after Bob Crow’s death was announced on Tuesday, Nigel Farage sent the following tweet: ‘Sad at the death of…
You gotta have faith
An email popped into my inbox on Tuesday morning urging me to join a ‘fair admissions campaign’ that’s been launched…
What’s happened to Harriet Harman?
Watching Harriet Harman being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg on Newsnight earlier this week was a strange experience. I felt as…
A question of authority
A new book by a Swedish psychiatrist has just come out that I like the sound of. It’s called How…
I’m failing as a parent, and that’s OK
Two new books have been published recently on the thorny issue of social mobility, one optimistic, suggesting various things parents…
How to deal with the Blob
Michael Gove has been under fire this week for ‘sacking’ Sally Morgan as chair of Ofsted. You’d think he’d be…
More lessons from Sweden
This Saturday night I’ll be staying in to watch the final two episodes of The Bridge, the Scandinavian detective series…
The class that’s too snobbish to speak its name
Last week, YouGov conducted a poll in which people were asked to judge how middle class the party leaders are.…
Want the next Mark Zuckerburg? Teach Latin!
I was disappointed to read an article in the Times about a new free school in Hammersmith being proposed by…
Giving it all up
I’ve gone completely overboard with New Year’s Resolutions this year. I’ve sworn off three illicit substances — alcohol, chocolate and…
Join my campaign to save the country
This is going to be the year I do my Flash Gordon routine and launch a campaign to save the…
The hopes and fears of all the years
When I first suggested to my closest male friends that we have a boys’ Christmas lunch, it didn’t occur to…
How I lost the battle of the cards
I’ve just had a massive row with Caroline about Christmas cards. We usually send about 120 and this year we’ve…
The path not taken
Damn and blast. I was quite keen on becoming the Conservative candidate for Hammersmith, but the timing isn’t going to…
My life as a litter monitor
The think tank Policy Exchange has just published an excellent report on Britain’s urban green spaces called ‘Park Land’. The…
Hunt saboteurs
I love The Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the Year Awards. On the face of it, they’re a great advertisement for just…
Fighting dirty
Why is local politics so much dirtier than national politics? Is it because the players are fighting over relatively trivial…
Waiting for Waitrose
Five years ago I joined forces with some local worthies to object to the opening of a strip joint on…
Family matters
The first sign that something was wrong with Ludo was when he complained of a tummy ache. This was after…
Am I in denial about turning 50?
By the time you read this I’ll be 50. A couple of years ago, when President Obama passed this milestone,…
Have I gone to the wrong party?
I’m still weighing up whether to run for Parliament, but after this week’s reshuffle I’ve concluded I’m in the wrong…
Miliband’s empty outrage
I’m writing this from the Conservative party conference in Manchester, but it’s Ed Miliband I want to discuss. In particular,…
Welcome to fishmageddon
I should never have agreed to buy Sasha fish for her tenth birthday. But it seemed like such a modest…
