The Week
Portrait of the week: English lessons, civil partnerships, the price of oil
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that Muslim women must learn English, and that those who had entered on…
A.N. Wilson’s diary: Why the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Ryanair are giving us a spring break
Quarrelling about the date of Easter has been a Christian pastime for centuries. The chief bone of contention is whether…
Barometer: why is oil measured in barrels, and who in England can’t speak English?
Roll out the barrel The price of crude oil dropped below $30 a barrel. Why do we measure it in…
Archive: Motoring as a hobby should be discouraged
From ‘The Conscription of Wealth’, The Spectator, 22 January 1916: At recent race meetings streams of motor-cars have proceeded from…
Australian letters
Dunreadin Sir: As a Spectator subscriber, I read every issue from cover to cover. Sadly I often find myself wondering…
Safety first
This week brings to a close an absurdly overblown cause célèbre. The Court of Appeal ruled that David Miranda’s detention…
Barometer
Roll out the barrel The price of crude oil dropped below $30 a barrel. Why do we measure it in…
Diary
Quarrelling about the date of Easter has been a Christian pastime for centuries. The chief bone of contention is whether…
Bad driving
From ‘The Conscription of Wealth’, The Spectator, 22 January 1916: At recent race meetings streams of motor-cars have proceeded from…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that Muslim women must learn English, and that those who had entered on…
Striking doctors need an injection of realism
Treatment for that once-virulent condition, the British disease of strikes, has largely been successful. The number of working days lost…
Portrait of the week: Junior doctors on strike
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that, on Britain’s place in the European Union, ‘what I would like to…
Tristram Hunt’s Diary: Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘revenge reshuffle’ has distracted attention from several Tory disasters
Whatever you do, don’t allow your six-year-old to be caught short at Crewkerne station. With the rain pouring and the…
Ancient and Modern: The mercenaries of IS and ancient Greece
Last week we read that Isis was crumbling, but still a force to be reckoned with. That is true, but…
From the archive: On compelling shirkers to do their duty
From ‘The Position of the Government’, The Spectator, 15 January 1916: Any man who knew the nature of Englishmen, or…
Spectator Letters: Hope for the Scottish Tories, policing charities after Kids Company
Borderline case Sir: Alex Massie (‘The painful truth for Ruth’, 9 January) correctly identifies the challenges facing the Scottish Conservatives.…
Pickets of privilege
Treatment for that once-virulent condition, the British disease of strikes, has largely been successful. The number of working days lost…
The mercenaries of IS and ancient Greece
Last week we read that Isis was crumbling, but still a force to be reckoned with. That is true, but…
Diary
Whatever you do, don’t allow your six-year-old to be caught short at Crewkerne station. With the rain pouring and the…
Compelling evidence
From ‘The Position of the Government’, The Spectator, 15 January 1916: Any man who knew the nature of Englishmen, or…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that, on Britain’s place in the European Union, ‘what I would like to…
George Osborne has made his own 'dangerous cocktail' of economic risk
When David Cameron said this week that he is worried his children would not be able to afford to buy…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, decided to allow ministers to campaign for either side in the referendum on membership…
Amanda Foreman’s diary: My inspiration as a Man Booker prize judge
So far my responsibilities as the 2016 chair of the Man Booker prize have been rather light. We’ve had our…
Is EU referendum rebellion career suicide? Ask Harold Wilson’s cabinet...
The outsiders Did the seven members of Harold Wilson’s cabinet who campaigned to leave the Common Market in the 1975…
