The Week
Portrait of the week: A shooting ban, security leaks and violence in Venezuela
Home Of those who voted Conservative in 2017, 53 per cent intend to vote for the Brexit party in the…
Lessons from the Greeks on rebuilding Notre Dame
As soon as the blaze that nearly brought down Notre Dame was extinguished, two questions were asked: how did it…
Does fracking really cause earthquakes?
Great shakes Shale gas commissioner Natascha Engel resigned in protest at what she called ‘absurd’ restrictions on fracking — in…
Australian letters
Compensation for abuse Sir: Christopher Akehurst wonders about the appropriateness of financial compensation for sexual abuse claimants, an idea I…
How not to fight a war on terror
It has become commonplace to describe terror attacks as ‘senseless’. The horrific Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, which cost…
Portrait of the week: A plot to oust May, terror in Sri Lanka and Ukraine’s comedy president
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, returned to parliament after the Easter recess to find backbenchers plotting to get rid…
Helen Lederer: The day I went viral in the Claridge’s lavatory
The best moment of my Easter ended up being an impromptu debate with the delightful comedian Sarah Millican about the…
How dangerous are barbecues?
Spires on fire Paris was lucky not to lose its medieval cathedral entirely, a fate which London suffered in 1666…
Backing Mrs Thatcher
From ‘Be brave’, 28 April 1979: We can think of a number of reasons why voters might feel reluctant to…
Celsus, St Peter and the curiosities of Christianity
Last week Tom Holland reflected on the ‘utter strangeness’ of Christianity’s claim that Christ’s death on the cross was a…
Letters: Is marriage really that great?
Not an island Sir: I and those with whom I live and work are all within coughing distance of Sam…
Hope will rise out of the ashes of Notre Dame
‘Great edifices, like great mountains, are the work of centuries,’ wrote Victor Hugo in Notre-Dame de Paris. ‘The man, the…
Portrait of the week: Brexit party launches, Assange is arrested – and Notre Dame burns
Home Although the latest date for Brexit had been postponed by the European Council until Halloween, 31 October, the government…
Roger Scruton: Should I forgive the journalist who got me fired?
I travel back from London with the St Matthew Passion filling my head, after the moving performance from the Elysian…
Israel and the UN
From ‘Israel’s Candidature’, The Spectator, 22 April 1949: Israel’s application for UN membership received a chillier reception than had been…
Marriage is becoming more like it was before Christianity
The Christian church ordained that marriage, a sacrament imparting divine grace, was for life. In 1857, the state enacted its…
Who has hidden in an embassy for longer than Julian Assange?
Embassy endurance Julian Assange was thrown out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, seven years after seeking sanctuary from extradition…
Letters: Britain needs HS2
Moaning minnie MPs Sir: I was recently quoted in the Sun newspaper in a story about how MPs were reacting…
It’s vital to keep good relations with our EU allies – and we need a leader who’s up to the challenge
The European Union’s official goal — an ever-closer union of people — remains its single most attractive feature. Our continent…
Portrait of the week: Brexit flextension, the demise of Debenhams and a real shower in the Commons
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, wrote to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, asking for an extension…
What would Jon Snow have said about the Athenian assembly?
Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow announced at a recent ‘Leave’ rally that he had never seen so many white…
Eight things claimed to be worse than smoking
Flextensions Some organisations which may have benefited from Donald Tusk’s offer of a ‘flextension’ to Article 50: — Adidas, which…
Letters: Of course Brexit is David Cameron’s fault
All Cameron’s fault Sir: In this time of febrile political speculation, there can have been few more arresting subject headings…
Roger Stone: I will be vindicated
Undisclosed location, Florida In January, when heavily armed FBI agents swarmed my south Florida home to arrest me for a…
If the EU refuses an extension, voters want a no-deal Brexit. MPs should listen
One of the many tragedies of Theresa May’s premiership is that, having come up with a coherent policy on how…
