Leading article
China is winning the new scramble for Africa. Brexit could change that
On her tour of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, Theresa May finally made a positive case for Brexit. For too…
If the UK economy is a wreck, why are jobs and exports booming?
Economies run on confidence — as Franklin D. Roosevelt observed when he told Americans, in his first inaugural address during…
Terrorism isn’t ‘losing’. It has already lost
By now, the routine is familiar: a lone wolf strikes, roads are sealed off, buildings locked down and a biographical…
Boris wars
Ever since Boris Johnson resigned as foreign secretary, it was generally assumed that there would — in time — be…
Now May’s talking tough over Brexit, we might actually get somewhere
Ever since Theresa May declared that ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’ she has seemed to be drifting…
We need to turn the tide on poor water planning
The year 1976 rises like a spectre whenever the sun shines for more than a few days. That long, dry,…
May’s Brexit plan has failed. She needs a new one – and fast
Handling Brexit was never going to be easy for Theresa May, given that the Tories have been fighting a civil…
What Britain needs is a disruptor-in-chief like Donald Trump
It is appropriate that the 45th President of the United States has come to Britain this week on a working…
The Spectator stood for humour and civilised debate 190 years ago. It still does
In the basement of The Spectator office, there is a 12-volume version of the paper in its original incarnation. That…
The NHS is 70 – but it’s an unhappy birthday
When Nye Bevan launched the NHS on 5 July 1948, most of the British population could not expect to celebrate…
Turning back boats may be the most humane response to the migrant crisis
The photographs of children in cages at US migration centres, apparently separated from the parents with whom they illegally entered…
There’s no going back on Brexit. But liberal policies are the way forward
This week Brexit reached its Somme. The government has been bogged down in votes on amendments inserted into its Brexit…
Enough of the political fury: now for the full facts about Grenfell
The opening of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is good news. It will now become harder for politicians and campaigners to…
It’s not for Westminster to decide Northern Ireland’s abortion law
Predictably enough, there have been no calls this week for the Irish referendum on abortion to be re-run, no complaint…
It’s time for Mark Carney to stop fighting the Brexit referendum
Soon after he became his party’s leader, David Cameron spoke dismissively of Conservatives who ‘bang on about Europe’. He had…
The choice for MPs is clear: support a free press or side with despots like Orban
That the House of Lords has survived as an unelected chamber is largely down to the Salisbury Convention, which holds…
Who’s afraid of cryptocurrency? It could be the answer to our ills
Since its inception, cryptocurrency has been regarded as technically fascinating but fundamentally unreliable. Those who invested £10 in Bitcoin eight…
The power of Momentum: the right have underestimated the power behind Corbyn
The local elections have thrown up a paradox. In theory, Britain has never had more devolution: we have assemblies in…
Kim Jong-un could play Trump like a $10 fiddle. Here’s how
Last year, Donald Trump called Kim Jong-un a ‘little rocket man’ and tweeted a photo boasting that his own nuclear…
A home truth for the Tories: fix the housing crisis or lose power for ever
Much rot is spoken about how the young have it so bad. In fact, this generation is healthier, richer and…
The Commonwealth’s survival is all down to the Queen
Next week, 53 world leaders arrive in London for the Commonwealth summit. It is hard to imagine a better network…
Why London’s soaring murder rate is everyone’s problem
Any notion that the surge in killings in London was a problem confined to gang members has been dispelled by…
Theresa May has shown Putin that the West can still unite
After Britain voted to leave the European Union, there was much mistaken talk about how it might also move away…
Britain has lost control of the Brexit talks
If Brexit was going to be as easy as some of its advocates had believed, we would not have had…
A dangerous silence over Telford
Whenever a Hollywood actress complains about some lecherous man, there’s blanket coverage. Even our MPs feel the need to tut.…
