The Week
What Truss and Sunak could learn from Cicero
As Miss Truss and Mr Sunak spray policies around on a range of topics which they hope will appeal to…
Don’t blame Brexit for our lack of workers
It has become received wisdom that Brexit has condemned Britain to chronic labour shortages. Many of the migrant workers who…
When did everyone get so angry?
I love Suffolk, not just for its beauty but for the stories to be found all around me. Every day…
It’s time to repair the damage caused by lockdown grade inflation
When A-level results are published next week, we will find out if the government has made any progress in stemming…
Letters: The Tavistock is a national health scandal
The race isn’t run Sir: Bravo Fiona Unwin (‘Rooting for Rishi’, 6 August) for the best piece I have read…
Portrait of the week: Energy bills up, NHS waiting lists down and hosepipes off
Home Energy bills will be £4,266 for a typical household by January, according to the consultancy Cornwall Insight, which had…
What’s the point of the NHS if it doesn’t work?
We left prepared. Bottles of water, protein snacks, phone chargers, portable Scrabble (even the teenagers can look at the internet…
What are the rules around ex-presidents’ paperwork?
Tracing paper FBI agents raided Donald Trump’s estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, in search of papers he is accused of removing…
The ancient problem of the man who threw away £150m in bitcoin
James Howells has spent years trying to persuade Newport council to allow him to spend millions digging up a rubbish…
Do we need a Roman-style Water Czar?
It is clear that the country will soon need a Water Czar. Augustus’s right-hand man Agrippa would be the one…
Letters: How Rishi Sunak could beat the odds
Injured party Sir: Prue Leith’s short interlude as a Conservative party member and subsequent resignation underlines a feature of the…
Can Liz Truss be trusted?
Liz Truss has taken the lead in the Tory leadership race with an agenda that seems radical and ambitious, whereas…
They do things differently in the Cotswolds
The Season has ended and – apart from The Spectator’s summer bash of course – the two bang-up parties of…
When did ‘best before’ dates begin?
An idea past its sell-by date Waitrose has announced the removal of ‘best before’ dates from many food products. –…
Portrait of the week: Hosepipe bans, England’s women win the Euros and a strike over dragons
Home BP reported quarterly profits of £6.9 billion, its biggest for 14 years, after oil and gas prices rose steeply.…
Germany’s energy crisis is a warning to Britain
During the eurozone crisis, southern European states had to go cap in hand to Germany to stave off national bankruptcy.…
Portrait of the week: Sunak vs Truss, London dodges a blackout and 94st walrus capsizes boats
Home In a television debate between the two contenders for the leadership of the Conservative party (and hence the prime…
Why Liz Truss shouldn’t be PM
Two and a half years ago I joined the Tory party to vote for Boris, then unjoined as soon as…
Letters: Let’s get fracking
Get fracking Sir: All credit to The Spectator for grabbing the cancelled Tory leadership debate slot (‘The final three’, 23…
The unflattering truth about the battle for No. 10
The battle to be PM raises the question: in a functioning democracy, how should arguments be won? Surely, by persuasion.…
Which country has hosted Eurovision the most?
The longest heatwave How did the recent heatwave compare with that of 1976? That year, the temperature peaked at 35.9˚C…
Portrait of the week: Record-breaking heat, a summer of strikes and a warning for snake-owners
Home In the contest for the leadership of the Conservative party, Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi were the first of…
Just how hot has it got in the UK?
Hot topic Last week’s Barometer detailed past UK temperature records. Those were broken by this week’s heatwave. On Monday a…
My life as a political spouse
When I was a teenage Tory activist in the mid-1990s, I hoped one day I’d be part of a leadership…
Letters: What William Blake meant
Procurement profligacy Sir: In response to Susan Hill’s query ‘Who allows the profligacy in NHS hospital procurement to continue?’ (‘Best…
