New faces
Come January, when the proper pop stars are all in the gym working off the pounds before they emerge, blinking……
Marta Dusseldorp
Known throughout his life as Dick, Gerardus Dusseldorp had just come to Australia and created Civil and Civic (later Lend…
Brexit notes
A victory for the voters Who remembers the Sydney Morning Herald’s editorial on the eve of Britain’s Brexit referendum in…
Climate notes
The Great Global Warming Symposium We can now look back over the past decade and agree that ‘climate change’ has…
Political hazard reduction
After several weeks of being caught on the hop by the severity of the bushfires, it appears Scott Morrison has…
Why aren’t leftists happy Joe Rogan endorsed Bernie?
As a twenty-something man who spends excessive amounts of time on the internet I have of course watched countless hours…
There’s no need to panic about coronavirus
In contrast to prophets of doom, who get invited to Davos, asked to address the UN and are able to…
The trans-sceptic academic who now needs bodyguards for protection
‘You can’t change sex – biologically, that is impossible.’ That, by most people’s standards, is a simple observable truth. But…
Bushfires and the big truths about big charities
An important thing to remember about large parts of the government bureaucracy and the not-for-profit/community sector is that they are…
Stopping traffic
The news this week could easily have led with the deaths of 14 Afghan and Iraqi migrants in the English…
Portrait of the week
Home The Duke of Sussex left England to join his wife, Meghan, in Canada. This followed an agreement that stripped…
Diary
I start the week by going through my iPhone to delete the numbers of former friends. It sounds depressing, but…
Barometer
Parliamentary motions The government floated the idea of moving the House of Lords permanently to York. Until it was found…
Family matters
There are as many explanations for Harry and Meghan’s problems with the royal family as there are commentators. May as…
Mr Pooter goes to Europe
By Leo McKinstry, The Spectator, 17 August 2002: The modern MEP is a titan of tedium, a figure whose every…
Letters
Royal travails Sir: The travails of the royal family outlined by Penny Junor (‘In check’, 18 January) may be public…
The Spectator’s Notes
Despite huge public pressure, I shall not be applying to be director-general of the BBC. It was kind of Tony…
Labour must change if it is to win
In the past 40 years, only two leaders of the opposition have gone on to become prime minister: Tony Blair…
A last chance to save the BBC
Whoever becomes the next director-general of the BBC should take a close look at last week’s Question Time. It came…
Meditations on a scream in the night
It was a clear and icy night at home in Derbyshire last week. I love these times and, before bed,…
Is ‘Mini Mike’ a growing threat to Trump?
Should Bernie Sanders become the Democratic presidential nominee, expect the media to overuse these sprightly English expressions: ‘between a rock…
HS2’s completion is as likely as King Harry’s coronation
Seven years ago, when HS2 was still officially costed at £33 billion, I wrote that I was looking forward to…
