The Week
A successful obesity campaign? Fat chance
Fat chances The National Obesity Forum said that Britain is reaching a ‘doomsday scenario’ where half the population is obese.…
Spectator letters: On the Pope, Jesus and Mandy Rice-Davies
Papal blessing Sir: In his excellent article on Pope Francis (‘Pope idol’, 11 January), Luke Coppen mentions the satirical rumour…
Welfare wars
George Osborne is refreshingly uninterested in his public image, believing that he will be judged by the success (or otherwise)…
Portrait of the week
Home George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, made it clear in a speech that he intended to cut £25 billion…
Peter McKay's diary: The Old Etonian David Cameron should have been
David Cameron gives Old Etonians a bad name. Critics deplore his Old Etonian-ness, his Lord Snooty Factor. Childish, but it’s…
Barometer: Storm waves? It could be three times worse
The test of a wave Waves measuring 27ft from peak to trough were seen off Land’s End as the stormy…
Ancient and modern: Ovid on selfies
A ‘meme’ is ‘an idea, behaviour, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture, often by mimicry’.…
Spectator letters: Kensington answers back to Sebastian Faulks
Pirates and Tories Sir: Daniel Hannan is himself a pirate, masquerading as a Conservative MEP (‘Here come the pirates!’, 4…
The big idea that can win the Tories the next election
In one sense David Cameron is lucky that the Conservatives do not enter 2014 with a lead in the polls.…
Portrait of the week
Home Six months of talks in Northern Ireland, chaired by Dr Richard Haass, a retired American diplomat, ended without resolving…
James Bartholomew's diary: Give up the Today programme - you'll feel better
It’s amusing to see serious journalists and authors struggling to use Twitter under instruction from their newspapers and publishers. They…
The first world war in numbers
Centuries of conflict 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the war which was supposed to end all wars. Has the…
Why does the year start in January?
The ancients were an inquisitive lot, a characteristic shown to best effect in works like Aristotle’s Problems (‘Why do sex-maniacs’…
Spectator letters: Defending super-heads, and how to drink your yak's milk
In defence of super-heads Sir: I would like to defend head teachers all over the country from the assertions made…
Joy to the world
Pessimism sells. It shifts books and newspapers, sends ratings soaring. It fills lecture halls, wins research grants, makes political careers.…
What happened in 2013, from Depardieu's hug to Sachin's last bow
January David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said he wanted to ‘negotiate a new settlement with our European partners’, and that…
Sebastian Faulks's diary: Inside the official first world war commemorations
A year or so ago I was asked to sit on a committee that advises the government on how to…
Barometer
Whose year is it anyway? Some things which 2014 has been declared to be the year of: — Year of…
While shepherds watched, civilisation was born
‘And lo, there were shepherds in the fields, watching over their flocks by night…’ Reading recently that it was…
Letters: Jeff Jarvis defends internet companies, Royal Society fellows defend Lord Lawson
A net gain Sir: Jamie Bartlett tries to balance plus and minus, and ends with zero (‘Little Brothers are watching…
Christmas past in Spectator letters
This is a selection of seasonal letters from The Spectator’s 185-year archive, now online at archive.spectator.co.uk. The emblem to the…
George Osborne has seen the light on tax cuts. Now he needs to implement some more
George Osborne has not been a complete disappointment as Chancellor. He has, it is depressing to note, ended up giving…
Portrait of the week
Home George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that average energy bills would be brought £50 lower through government…
Steve Punt's diary: Britain is now living in a middle-class parody of itself
One of the most dispiriting experiences currently available is any commercial break during a televised football match. In a Champions…
Master charlatans at work
To watch the Revd Paul Flowers being grilled by the Treasury Select Committee on his role in the demise of…
