The Week
Rome, racism and Sadiq Khan
‘Racism’ refers to the belief in racially determined inferiority, most often recognised in body-type, about which, by definition, nothing can…
Barometer
Secrets of the stars The astrologer Jonathan Cainer died after beginning his last horoscope for his own star sign: ‘We’re…
Diary
On Thursday morning I’m woken by day three of a tension headache firing tentacles up the back of my neck…
Churchill’s return
From ‘Colonel Winston Churchill’, The Spectator, 13 May 1916: The return of Colonel Churchill to the House of Commons, which we are…
Australian letters
Metal cocoon Sir: Perhaps the most worrying thing not mentioned by James McCann about the submarine announcement is that Australia…
Letters
Europe is already divided Sir: The Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster writes eloquently about the historical purpose of a ‘union’ in…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, made a speech in the British Museum warning of war if Britain left the…
It’s Trump vs Hillary: a race that should terrify all conservatives
Following Tuesday night’s Indiana primaries, the race for the Republican nomination is effectively over. Talk of Donald Trump being overhauled…
Portrait of the Week: Labour’s anti-Semitism crisis, Leicester City’s triumph, Gerry Adams Twitter storm
Home Naz Shah MP was suspended from the Labour Party after the blogger Guido Fawkes revealed that in 2014, nine…
Donald Trump is an awkward ginger snob – and he owes me £20
I am no admirer of Donald Trump — not because he is a doomsayer and professional patriot but because he…
Meet London’s senior mayor (no, it’s not Sadiq)
London’s other mayor How many people could name the capital’s other mayor, the Lord Mayor of London? The office, officially…
Elephants are special – the Romans knew it too
In order to deter poachers, hundreds of tons of elephants’ tusks are being incinerated in Kenya. But even for Romans,…
The Spectator’s advice on keeping Ireland quiet in 1916
From ‘Reconstruction’, The Spectator, 5 May 1916: What Ireland wants just now is firm and judicious military government. The rebellion of last…
Australian letters
Mad and bad Sir: I suspect that Gary Johns is correct in his assertion that Anders Breivik was having a…
The imposter
Following Tuesday night’s Indiana primaries, the race for the Republican nomination is effectively over. Talk of Donald Trump being overhauled…
Pliny on the joy of elephants
In order to deter poachers, hundreds of tons of elephants’ tusks are being incinerated in Kenya. But even for Romans,…
Barometer
London’s other mayor How many people could name the capital’s other mayor, the Lord Mayor of London? The office, officially…
Diary
I am no admirer of Donald Trump — not because he is a doomsayer and professional patriot but because he…
What to do in Ireland
From ‘Reconstruction’, The Spectator, 5 May 1916: What Ireland wants just now is firm and judicious military government. The rebellion of last…
Letters
The EU gravy train Sir: Despite his splendid forename, your deputy editor Freddy Gray has a very tenuous grasp of human…
Australian letters
Mad and bad Sir: I suspect that Gary Johns is correct in his assertion that Anders Breivik was having a…
Portrait of the week
Home Naz Shah MP was suspended from the Labour Party after the blogger Guido Fawkes revealed that in 2014, nine…
In fear we trust: how the Tories became addicted to negativity
Strange as it may seem, there are still people around David Cameron who regard the Scottish referendum campaign as a…
Portrait of the Week: doctors on strike, President Obama’s Brexit threat
Home Junior doctors went on strike for two days, refusing to provide even emergency treatment. The 96 Liverpool fans who…
Michael Dobbs’s diary: Talking House of Cards with President Xi
I’m a lucky man. My novel House of Cards transformed my life, yet I wrote it almost by accident nearly…
