We are where we are, clinging to the life raft of cliché
My column calling Brexit campaigners ‘hooligans’ and ending ‘Reader, I voted Remain’, caused quite a stir — coinciding as it…
A vote of confidence
During the referendum campaign, it seemed at times as if a competition was on to issue the most hyperbolic claim…
So will it be Boris?
The Tory party is in a deeply emotional state. Remain-supporting MPs cry tears of rage when they discuss the referendum.…
2267: Double-edged swords
One of the unclued entries (two words) defines the others (two of which are hyphened), which are all real words.…
Project Hope
Boris Johnson famously said that Winston Churchill would have voted for Brexit. The wartime leader’s grandson — staunch Remainer and…
A game of chicken with the electorate
I have worked in advertising for 28 years. In that time I have seen many briefs for communication campaigns, but…
Sturgeon’s bluff
It ought not to be a surprise that Alex Salmond, Scotland’s former First Minister, has declared that the vote to…
True Character
‘True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure – the greater the pressure, the deeper…
Reasons to be cheerful
Noel Malcolm It may sound both Pollyannaish and paradoxical to say this, but leaving the EU will enable us to…
Pop go the Swivel-Eyed Loons
To the conventional leftish mind, the European Union is one of those sacred institutions handed down as though from on…
Left bereft
Dear Jeremy, Please don’t go. I know you’re even more unpopular than the England football team right now — your…
Amber Scott and Adam Bull in Swan Lake
Amid predictable demands for increased funding for the arts, The Australian Ballet is setting off on its 25th ( yes,…
La bomba Britannica
In Italy, media coverage of the triumph of Brexit has been wall-to-wall as Italians worry about the collateral damage and…
Cover 2 July 2016 AU
The post Cover 2 July 2016 AU appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and…
Our antidote to Trump
Is Donald Trump an idiot or a genius or a mad idiot genius? He seems driven by some demented force…
Moor four
Paradoxically, some ballet masterworks absolutely depend on tiptop performing to demonstrate how great they are. If they don’t get it,…
Not thick or racist: just poor
The most striking thing about Britain’s break with the EU is this: it’s the poor wot done it. Council-estate dwellers,…
Tangled web
Mike Bartlett’s curious blank-verse drama Charles III became an international hit. His new effort examines the cut-throat world of dark-web…
Pakistan’s great leader
There have been three great captains of Pakistan. The first was A.H. Kardar, the country’s first Test captain. Born in…
Refuge from the referendum
A brief encounter with Radio 4’s Any Questions to gauge the measure of opinion in the shires after the referendum…
The Tour de France
On Saturday at Mont St Michel, the 103rd edition of the Tour de France begins, and the favourite to win…
High life
The two most beautiful words in the history of the world, in any language, are ‘Molon labe’, the accent on…
The laureate of repression
In 1927, while delivering the lectures that would later be published as Aspects of the Novel, E.M. Forster made a…
Real life
We fled Balham after the result, having been outed as the only Leave voters in Lambeth. The builder boyfriend and…
Two little boys, one little toy
Rose Tremain sets the true story of Police Captain Paul Grüninger, commander of the Swiss border force in Canton Saint…
