The Week
Australian letters
Conspiracy theory Sir: What happened to the Letters page in this week’s issue? What was the reason for its non-appearance?…
This is the Tories’ golden chance to seize the centre ground
Political party conferences have, in recent years, felt like an empty ritual. They used to be convened in seaside towns,…
John McDonnell’s true economic guru: the emperor Nero
John McDonnell, shadow chancellor in the Corbynite splinter-group, has announced that £120 billion is waiting to be reclaimed from tax…
Barometer
The death of Diesel The Volkswagen scandal has brought into question the future of the diesel engine. A century ago…
Edmund de Waal’s diary: Selling nothing, and why writers need ping-pong
On the top landing of the Royal Academy is the Sackler Sculpture Corridor, a long stony shelf of torsos of…
Bulgarian tragedy
From ‘Bulgaria and Greece’, The Spectator, 9 October 1915: The fact that the British people will in all probability soon be…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, told the Conservative party conference in Manchester: ‘We need a national crusade to get…
Piers Morgan’s diary: What I have in common with Jeremy Corbyn – and Katie Hopkins
Party conference season is the most pointless waste of money, time and liver quality ever devised. I attended these sweaty,…
Will Spain learn from Scotland in the battle for Catalan separatism?
One of the unforeseen consequences of the reunification of Europe after the Cold War has been a resurgence of independence…
Portrait of the week
Home In his speech at the Labour party conference, much of it taken from material that had been on the…
Barometer
Water worlds Nasa announced it had found evidence of running water on Mars in the form of dark streaks on…
Why Cicero would have liked shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander
Heidi Alexander, Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow health secretary, has emphasised how important it is ‘to weave into [Labour’s] language, our narrative…
Slow march to victory
From ‘The western victories’, The Spectator, 2 October 1915: As this is a war of heavy artillery, masses of slow-moving guns…
Spectator letters: Advertisements for other planets; the Proms debated; junior doctors protest
Cold-calling ET Sir: Alexander Chancellor has called for Spectator readers to suggest a message to send into space on behalf…
Will Spain learn?
One of the unforeseen consequences of the reunification of Europe after the Cold War has been a resurgence of independence…
Cicero on Labour taxes
Heidi Alexander, Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow health secretary, has emphasised how important it is ‘to weave into [Labour’s] language, our narrative…
Barometer
Water worlds Nasa announced it had found evidence of running water on Mars in the form of dark streaks on…
Diary
Party conference season is the most pointless waste of money, time and liver quality ever devised. I attended these sweaty,…
Slow march to victory
From ‘The western victories’, The Spectator, 2 October 1915: As this is a war of heavy artillery, masses of slow-moving guns…
Portrait of the week
Home In his speech at the Labour party conference, much of it taken from material that had been on the…
Australian letters
Tur(n)bulence ahead Sir: I find I disagree with the sentiments expressed in your cover article (Turnbull’s Treachery) of 19 September.…
The people who really need the Pope's help
On Tuesday, Pope Francis set foot in the United States for the first time in his life. His plane touched…
Portrait of the week
Home In a speech at the Shanghai stock exchange, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a feasibility study…
Jeremy Corbyn isn’t like Caligula’s horse – he’s like Caligula
Jeremy Corbyn has been compared to plenty of people over the past few months — a geography teacher, Michael Foot,…
Just what Tom Watson needs: a Bananarama tribute band
Available for parties Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said that leaving his party to join the Liberal Democrats would be…
