Diary
Putin should fear those closest to him
I was interested to see that amid the Byzantine intrigues of embattled Conservative panjandrums, two Spice Girls have criticised the…
I feel sorry for Kwasi Kwarteng
In Singapore last week, I was asked: do ministers just come in, reach for the dumbest available policy and go…
War has come home to Russia
Moscow A week of somewhat mixed messages from the Kremlin. One day Vladimir Putin opened Europe’s largest Ferris wheel…
Volodymyr Zelensky is a hero of our time
When the Queen died, I was on my way to Kyiv. My mind focused on the war in Ukraine, I…
Memories of Princess Elizabeth
I am completely and utterly devastated by the passing of our wonderful, inspirational Queen, as I’m sure are so many…
Kwasi Kwarteng is a politician from a different age
Liz Truss doesn’t waste energy on unnecessary emotion. At the announcement of her victory at the QE2 Centre, she ditched…
My Ibiza diary
You wait 11 years for a Tory leadership election and then three come along in quick succession. The first in…
Why political interviews matter
She’ll never do it. She’d have to be mad. Why take the risk? That’s what everyone said when I announced…
When did everyone get so angry?
I love Suffolk, not just for its beauty but for the stories to be found all around me. Every day…
What’s the point of the NHS if it doesn’t work?
We left prepared. Bottles of water, protein snacks, phone chargers, portable Scrabble (even the teenagers can look at the internet…
They do things differently in the Cotswolds
The Season has ended and – apart from The Spectator’s summer bash of course – the two bang-up parties of…
Why Liz Truss shouldn’t be PM
Two and a half years ago I joined the Tory party to vote for Boris, then unjoined as soon as…
My life as a political spouse
When I was a teenage Tory activist in the mid-1990s, I hoped one day I’d be part of a leadership…
Boris’s final days in No. 10
‘So what did he say?’ I asked the ministerial friend who went to tell Boris last week he had to…
Boris, Sherwood and the politics of the past
It feels like the end, but we’ve been here before. The past months of Boris Johnson’s teetering administration have felt…
What Starmer can learn from Scholz
I made it through the airport crush to Berlin at the beginning of last week to see how Germany is…
How McCartney and I helped put pop on the map
In 1977, when I set up the South Bank Show for ITV, I wanted Paul McCartney to be on the…
My advice for the Bank of England
To Windsor for Garter Day, the first since 2019. With a strong voice and smiles for us all, the Queen…
Don’t write off Piers Morgan yet
I wish I could persuade certain cabinet ministers to put their money where their mouths are. Several times last month…
I hope my son will inherit the Queen’s kindness
When I was asked by an old friend to write this diary, I did my usual thing of: ‘Yeah I’d…
I’ve written the perfect book
I met a Canadian couple for lunch in Edinburgh. They were from Vancouver – he a judge, she an opera…
Lviv diary: ballet, bomb shelters – and everyone loves Boris
It is a glorious spring evening in Lviv and what could be better than a ballet gala at one of…
The fire and fury of America’s abortion debate
I wonder at times how some of my fellow hacks in America get out of bed in the morning. The…
It takes courage to be vulnerable like me
It has been wonderful to welcome seven refugees – and their four dogs – to my home in Suffolk. I’ve…
How can James Bond survive?
I have just got back from Cannes, where I was the president of a jury, judging TV dramas. I’ve never…
