How violent are our jails?
Parliamentary days Could one of parliament’s longest sessions be followed by one of its shortest? — The shortest was between…
Who advises Dominic Cummings?
Dominic Cummings, chief adviser to the Prime Minister, thinks that there is no ‘better book than Thucydides as training for politics’. But…
A paradise of postcards
From The Spectator, 15 July 1922: It is true that things so small as postcards cannot give one the…
Letters: Shoots should be about quality, not quantity
Bad sport Sir: At last a respected member of the shooting community has popped his head above the parapet. Patrick…
Donald Trump is key to Boris Johnson’s survival
There are so many problems confronting our polity this week that it is almost impossible to write about any of…
A Brexit deal will completely change the electoral landscape
Expect the unexpected has been the rule in British politics these last few years. But even so, few would have…
How I plan to win a Bafta
I’ve nearly finished my latest screenplay, Drift. It’s a reimagining of a British imperial atrocity which took place in Natal…
John McDonnell is taking back control
Over the past few weeks, rumours have swirled in Westminster that the Labour party has acquired a new leader —…
Why I welcome the collapse of Facebook’s currency
When Facebook announced details earlier this year of a global digital currency called Libra — backed by a roll call…
Jacob Rees-Mogg: ‘I am enormously environmentally friendly by driving old Bentleys’
Jacob Rees-Mogg sits at a mahogany table in his office drinking black coffee from a Spode cup. Across from him…
The Canadian election is turning into a comedy of cringe
Next week my compatriots will cast their votes in what has arguably been the worst Canadian election ever. By ‘worst’…
Pax Russica: as Trump abandons Syria’s Kurds, Russia is ready to expand its empire
![Kurdish politician Hervin Khalaf, who was apparently pulled from her car and executed last week by Turkish-backed paramilitaries [Photo: Getty]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Paul_Wood.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
While American troops were hurriedly leaving north-eastern Syria, a young female Kurdish politician called Hervin Khalaf was pulled from her…
It’s down to the wire – and Boris only has one chance to survive
Here is my ideal scenario. Having failed to push through a deal to leave the European Union, either in the…
Tat Britain: Museum gift shops are naff – but necessary
Exit through the gift shop. Pick up a postcard, a magnet, a novelty eggcup in the shape of Queen Elizabeth…
Should Muslim parents be allowed to challenge LGBT lessons?
![Parents and children demonstrate against the No Outsiders programme at Parkfield School in Birmingham in March [Photo: Getty]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Melanie_McDonagh.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
We saw two different worlds, or at least two different value systems, collide in the High Court in Birmingham this…
It’s not just hooligans – hipsters also love a football shirt
When I was young, from about the age of nine to 13, I went through what my parents recall with…
An unconventional biography of the visionary architect Frank Lloyd Wright
Paul Hendrickson’s previous (and very fine) book was Hemingway’s Boat, published in Britain in 2012. It was a nice conceit…
The concluding volume of Charles Moore’s life of Margaret Thatcher is – as its predecessors are – a triumph
This outstanding biography comes to an end, not in an atmosphere of triumph and achievement, but in a welter of…
Two wide-ranging collections of short stories by and about women
Zadie Smith’s first collection of short stories shows that she can pack all the astute social commentary of her novels…
The grand old man of nature writing continues his noble crusade
Richard Mabey is the grand old man of nature writing. He has produced 40 books in his noble crusade against…
A prince among men: could Albert have changed the course of history?
Double identities have never been rare: Norman French conquered England. Anglo Irish led its armies to victory. German Jews helped…
The enduring allure of ‘er indoors
‘She’s only a bird in a gilded cage, a beautiful sight to see. You may think she’s happy and free…
The beauties of the universe are revealed in the paintings of Pieter de Hooch
In the early 1660s, Pieter de Hooch was living in an area of what we would now call urban overspill…
Manon can be magnificent, this one was merely meh
Manon: minx or martyr? There are two ways to play Kenneth MacMillan’s courtesan. Is Manon an ingénue, a guileless country…
Malcolm Arnold was a traumatised wreck of a man at his death but his music was joyous!
Never meet your heroes, they say. But if you grew up with classical music in the 1980s, there was fat…
