The Week
Barometer
So near and yet so far Henry Worsley died in a Chilean hospital of peritonitis after being airlifted from Antartica,…
Quintilian on lecturers
Professor Louise Richardson, Oxford’s new vice-chancellor, is worried about a new government plan to judge teaching quality. Her reason is…
Disciplined brutality
From ‘The Crimes of Germany’, The Spectator, 29 January 1916: It would be a relief, a partial solution, if only…
Australian letters
Punishing failure Sir: Once I finished chuckling at Neil Brown’s words on Christopher Pyne’s NPC plan for encouraging innovation in…
‘In’ trouble
David Cameron wants to get the European Union referendum over with quickly — and understandably so. Things are still going…
Quintilian on lecturers
Professor Louise Richardson, Oxford’s new vice-chancellor, is worried about a new government plan to judge teaching quality. Her reason is…
Barometer
So near and yet so far Henry Worsley died in a Chilean hospital of peritonitis after being airlifted from Antartica,…
Disciplined brutality
From ‘The Crimes of Germany’, The Spectator, 29 January 1916: It would be a relief, a partial solution, if only…
Letters
Levelling the cricket pitch Sir: As a cricket addict and believer in state education, it pains me to agree with…
Portrait of the week
Home Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, prepared a paper on the four areas of concern between Britain…
Diary
For years, I’ve wondered why so many clever people go to Davos to discuss topics as meaningless as ‘the new…
Safety first
This week brings to a close an absurdly overblown cause célèbre. The Court of Appeal ruled that David Miranda’s detention…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that Muslim women must learn English, and that those who had entered on…
Diary
Quarrelling about the date of Easter has been a Christian pastime for centuries. The chief bone of contention is whether…
Barometer
Roll out the barrel The price of crude oil dropped below $30 a barrel. Why do we measure it in…
Bad driving
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…
Pickets of privilege
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
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that, on Britain’s place in the European Union, ‘what I would like to…
Diary
Whatever you do, don’t allow your six-year-old to be caught short at Crewkerne station. With the rain pouring and the…
