The Week
Ted talk
There was a grim inevitability that the name Edward Heath would one day be trawled up in connection with allegations…
Party-naming with Plato
In order to make a sensible choice of new leader, the Labour party is trying to work out what its…
Barometer
Rogue traders Former UBS trader Tom Hayes was jailed for 14 years for rigging the Libor market. How long could…
One year on
From ‘The End of the First Year’, The Spectator, 7 August 1915: Terrible as have been the sufferings caused by the…
Portrait of the week
Home Tom Hayes, aged 35, a former City trader who rigged the Libor rates daily for nearly four years while…
Diary
My Cambodian daughter and her husband have just got married again. Wedding One was a Buddhist affair in our drawing…
House in order
The shaming of Lord Sewel was a classic tabloid exposé. The fact that a peer of the realm (albeit one…
Portrait of the week
Home A man died when 1,500 migrants tried to enter the Channel Tunnel terminal in Calais in one night. The…
Diary
The week starts well. My debut novel, The Miniaturist, is a year old. On the anniversary of its publication, my…
Barometer
Safe house Lord Sewel is unique in leaving the House of Lords in disgrace. Until the House of Lords Reform…
Jeremy Corbyn’s world
Jeremy Corbyn says he is very excited about his campaign to become Labour leader because lots of young people are…
Out of service
From ‘The new standard’, The Spectator, 24 July 1915: If a change must be made at all, it is worthwhile to…
Letters
What we’re building Sir: I was surprised and frustrated to read Ross Clark’s piece on housing associations in last week’s…
House in order
The shaming of Lord Sewel was a classic tabloid exposé. The fact that a peer of the realm (albeit one…
Jeremy Corbyn’s world
Jeremy Corbyn says he is very excited about his campaign to become Labour leader because lots of young people are…
Barometer
Safe house Lord Sewel is unique in leaving the House of Lords in disgrace. Until the House of Lords Reform…
Diary
The week starts well. My debut novel, The Miniaturist, is a year old. On the anniversary of its publication, my…
Out of service
From ‘The new standard’, The Spectator, 24 July 1915: If a change must be made at all, it is worthwhile to…
Portrait of the week
Home A man died when 1,500 migrants tried to enter the Channel Tunnel terminal in Calais in one night. The…
Giving up the fight
“Whether it’s in Iraq, Syria, Libya or elsewhere — as Prime Minister, if I believe there is a specific threat…
Portrait of the week
Home Parents would be able to have their children’s passports removed if they were suspected of planning to travel abroad…
Diary
There’s nothing quite like a First Night — and last Friday we launched the Proms, the most celebrated classical music…
Barometer
Gesture politics A royal home movie from 1933 apparently showed the future Queen, aged seven, and her mother giving a…
Vespasian vs Islamic State
As Ahmed Rashid argued last week, it is hard to see what the West is doing in the Middle East,…
Profiteering in the pits
From ‘Coal and its problems’, The Spectator, 24 July 1915: Instead of attempting to regulate prices, the government ought to have…
