The Week
Will all roads soon lead to York?
Should the PM move parliament to York? There is, of course, historical precedent for such a move, as he very…
Portrait of the week: Vaccine hopes, the Russia report and a knighthood for Captain Tom
Home A coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, tested on 1,077 people, was found to induce antibodies and…
Will masks mean the end of smiling at strangers?
I’ve been a regular runner for 40 years, pounding my way across Hampstead Heath to Kenwood House and back. This…
How many people would refuse a Covid vaccine?
Worth a shot? How worried should we be about people refusing to have a Covid-19 vaccine if one is developed?…
Why isn’t the government learning the lessons of ‘red wall’ towns?
A rare illness has broken out in Westminster. Last week a case of what was known before Brexit as ‘consensus’…
Letters: We must sing again
Growing pains Sir: James Forsyth (‘Rewiring the state’, 4 July) shocked this loyal Spectator reader with the following: ‘Even before…
The confusion in government goes beyond face masks
When Michael Gove delivered the Ditchley Annual Lecture last month he spoke about why citizens feel that the political system…
Does classical Athens give us a clue to China’s next move?
In 1984, China agreed a ‘one country, two systems’ treaty with the UK, designed to control the relationship between Hong…
Portrait of the week: Face masks in, Huawei out and Amazon’s TikTok trouble
Home New regulations would compel people to wear a face covering in shops in England from 24 July on pain…
The bill for a Banksy: how much does graffiti cost railways?
Take cover The government has said it will make wearing masks compulsory in shops. Mandatory masks rather run against the…
Letters: Why Hugh Dowding deserves a statue
Police relations Sir: As a former Met Police officer, with a similar background to Kevin Hurley, I was surprised how…
Portrait of the week: Sunak’s statement, shop closures and a hoo-ha over Boohoo
Home Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced measures intended to stimulate the economy. Under a £111 million scheme,…
At last, we have a foreign secretary who’s not shy to make a stand
It is hardly a profound observation to say that the government has not functioned as well as it might have…
SOS: Save our singers
‘Musician’ is how I described myself to the nice Latvian lady interviewing me the other week for an ONS survey…
What are online shoppers most likely to snap up?
Price of protest Greenpeace was fined £80,000 for defying a court order and occupying an oil rig in the North…
The chilling truth about the Facebook advertising boycott
The printed press is not a natural ally of Facebook. Silicon Valley publishers have hoovered up so much advertising that…
Letters: Police must focus on deterring crime, not responding to it
Deterring crime Sir: Rod Liddle is right to highlight the politicisation of the police as a source of their inadequacies,…
Portrait of the week: Boris does press-ups, pubs reopen and Leicester locks down
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said he was ‘as fit as a butcher’s dog’ and did press-ups to prove…
Leicester has a history of lockdowns
Leicester lockdowns Leicester was forced to impose the first local lockdown, in response to a reported surge in cases of…
Tiberius and the ‘phantoms of liberty’
Word has it that ministers already do not bother to argue their corner with the government’s inner ring, while a…
The left-wing case for Keir Starmer
Do you remember where you were when the BBC showed a rerun of Bowie’s Glastonbury set? When we ask each…
Portrait of the week: Lockdown eases, debt rises and three killed in Reading
Home Pubs in England would be allowed to reopen for table service from 4 July, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister,…
Britain is reopening. Now it needs rebuilding
The Prime Minister’s announcement that pubs, restaurants and many other facilities will be able to re-open on 4 July amounts…
As V&A director, I won’t save Clive of India
‘Pray for us St Sebastian that we may deserve to pass through this pestilence,’ reads the inscription on a 15th-century…
Which former prime minister earns the most for corporate speeches?
Voyage into history How did the Labour government respond to the arrival of the Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948?…
