The Week
How many people undergo security vetting?
Balls to that Why are elections called ‘ballots’? — The word ballot comes from the Italian, pallotta, meaning a small…
Portrait of the week: Olly Robbins is sacked, inflation rises and the Strait of Hormuz is (briefly) opened
Home Sir Keir Starmer tried to explain himself to parliament after Sir Olly Robbins was sacked as permanent under-secretary of…
It’s time for Starmer to go
The Book of Common Prayer asks that those who ‘suffer for the sake of conscience’ might be strengthened. Those prayers…
Why is a chatbot deciding what books our children read?
A school in Greater Manchester has stripped 193 books from its library because they are ‘inappropriate’, liable to upset pupils…
How to become a god: a user’s guide
Even the most Magaddicted Maga supporter might have had doubts about Donald Trump depicted as Jesus healing a sick man…
Letters: what vegetarians get wrong
Flat broke Sir: John Power’s article on the property squeeze (‘Flatlined’, 18 April) identifies a symptom of a deeper problem,…
The Spectator won’t give up on Gentleman’s Relish
Last week our cookery writer Olivia Potts scooped the world by revealing that AB World Foods was to cease production…
Why Donald Trump won’t embarrass the royals
Elizabeth II was never particularly enthusiastic about birthdays. They were a good excuse for a parade or an honours list,…
We can’t afford to keep the pension triple lock
When Britons go to the polls next month, the results will likely reveal just how un-United the Kingdom has become.…
Portrait of the week: Trump attacks the Pope, Trump praises the King and Melania goes public
Home Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, the former secretary general of Nato, said: ‘We are under attack. We are not…
Which racecourses have seen the most deaths?
Hero worship Peter Magyar, the new PM of Hungary, has the unique distinction among world leaders of bearing the name…
Space travel, ancient Greek style
Apollo, Artemis and Orion have not been named at random. The first two are brother and sister, and all three…
Letters: No, pensioners don’t ‘‘have it easy’
Same old Sir: In Michael Simmons’s otherwise excellent yet alarming essay on ‘Benefits treats’ (11 April), one sentence spoiled the…
Is sex really better in the countryside?
I can’t resist a courtroom drama. Prince Harry vs the press, for example: journalists I admire on one side, aggrieved…
Portrait of the week: Trump threatens Iran, Kanye is banned and Artemis II heads to the Moon
Home The government withdrew an offer to create 1,000 more training posts for doctors in England after the British Medical…
How many humans have landed on the Moon?
Moonstruck Four astronauts aboard the Artemis II spacecraft achieved the distinction of travelling further from the Earth than any humans…
Trump: the boy who cried war
Did Donald Trump ever intend to obliterate Iranian civilisation? Some will see the past week as one in which the…
What do you do with a captured soldier?
What do you do with a captured soldier? In 255 BC, fighting the Carthaginians, the Roman consul and general Marcus…
Letters: The uncomfortable truth about Gen Z churchgoers
Clerical errors Sir: Glad though I am that The Spectator bucks the trend in its conviction that the C of…
A Ukrainian win is more important than ever
On 3 April we mark 1,500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine; on 11 June, the conflict will have lasted longer…
Portrait of the week: Oil prices surge, Scott Mills is sacked and the Houthis join the war
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: ‘We are working on a viable plan for the Strait of Hormuz.’…
My advice for the new Archbishop of Canterbury
To mark the celebration of the Annunciation (‘Lady Day’, 25 March), a friend sends me an image of her favourite…
The Trumpian appeal of a Trojan horse
Given the tonnage of missiles launched at Iran, it seems remarkable how relatively few Iranians have been killed. But the…
Who trusts their savings with the government?
Working out the Kinks American singer and vegan activist Moby called the Kinks’ song ‘Lola’ ‘transphobic’ and ‘unevolved’. According to…
Letters: Ban PPE graduates from public office
Dark Greens Sir: Both your leading article and Angus Colwell’s cover piece (‘Zacked Off’, 28 March) are bang-on. Although I…
