Leading article
The failure of Britain’s elite universities
Politicians, authors, priests and the occasional Spectator editor have all served as the Oxford Union’s president over its 200-year history.…
Starmer’s survival depends on going against his instincts
Athelstan has long faded from public imagination, despite being the king who, in 927 ad, first united England. But thanks…
The high price of Britain’s misguided energy policy
Britain’s energy policy is a mess. We have the highest energy prices in the developed world, which is damaging competitiveness,…
The risks of Reform
In 1979, XTC sang: ‘We’re only making plans for Nigel/ We only want what’s best for him.’ The song is…
Rachel Reeves’s self-defeating attack on British racing
Few British traditions can claim as long a history as racing. The first races thought to have taken place in…
Britain is broke – and we all need to face it
Sometimes when I go to bed, I think that if I were a young man I would emigrate,’ said James…
Hiroshima and the continuing urgency of the atomic age
In August 1945, Group Captain Leonard Cheshire was stationed on the Pacific island of Tinian as an official British observer…
The cult of safetyism harms us all
Last month, the government announced that 16-year-olds would be able to vote at the next general election. If these new…
Recognising Palestine isn’t a path to peace
The children of Gaza are enduring horrendous suffering. The control of aid has been restricted. Innocent lives have been set…
The Afghan asylum leak cover-up saved lives
The United Kingdom’s immigration system is broken. Tens of thousands have entered the country who should not, and the bureaucracy…
Norman Tebbit was the symbol of an age
Norman Tebbit, who died this week aged 94, was a self-made man who shouldered his way to the top of…
For the NHS, it’s Wes or bust
Labour swept to power on a pledge to ‘save the NHS’. As shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting said he would…
Let Kneecap play
During the Troubles, some 2,500 people were victims of kneecappings – punishment shootings, dished out by paramilitaries, for perceived crimes…
The unvarnished truth about rape gangs
Some crimes are so horrific that our instinct is to look away. And there can be few as appalling as…
Britain needs reform
This week’s spending review confirms that where there should be conviction, there is only confusion; where there should be vision,…
This is a dangerous moment for free speech
Britain without blasphemy laws is a surprisingly recent development. Blasphemy was abolished as a common law offence in England and…
Will any party stand up for ‘Nick’?
Meet Nick. He is 30 years old, has a good job and lives in London. He keeps himself to himself.…
The BBC’s problems go far beyond Gary Lineker
As one might expect from a 103-year-old organisation, the BBC has a very high opinion of itself. Outside Broadcasting House…
The left is finally accepting immigration control
When it comes to immigration, Keir Starmer has been ‘on a journey’. As a young barrister, he authored a review…
Britain’s decline is a threat to democracy
Democracy was born in the public square. The Athenian agora was the central meeting place of an engaged citizenry where…
The EU is luring Starmer away from Brexit
Throughout Keir Starmer’s life, a recent fawning profile ran, he has ‘worked to safeguard the value of justice and democracy’,…
The law that is choking civil society
If one were to ask for a quintessential display of the British character it would be hard to better the…
The Easter story reminds us of the importance of truth
Live not by lies, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn warned the West half a century ago, but we have hardly heeded him since.…
Labour has once again betrayed grooming gang victims
Parliament’s last day before recess is usually a dull affair. A one-line whip allows MPs to return to their constituencies…
Keir Starmer must look beyond adolescent politics
An industry poll by the British Film Institute in 2000 to find Britain’s best television programme put Fawlty Towers first…
