Ed’s campaign was fine. The problem is his party
Patrick Wintour is one of the best political editors around. For the Guardian he’s been for decades a cool and…
Cameron’s dark evening of the soul
At 6.30 p.m. on 7 May, the Camerons invited guests at their home in Oxfordshire into the garden for a…
The Spectator’s notes
Two beautiful volumes in a cloth-bound case reach me. They are Speeches and Articles by HRH The Prince of Wales…
Pet rescue
I adore Andrew Roberts. We go back a long way. Once, on a boating expedition gone wrong in the south…
Tel Aviv
Just so you don’t get it confused with the City That Never Sleeps, Tel Aviv — my favovurite place on…
Australian Notes
The redoubtable Andrew Bolt wants a referendum on same sex marriage. Edmund Burke gave the best and traditional answer to…
My time of the month
I have spent the last few days posing with a tampon as part of an international campaign to demystify the…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, toured Europe trying to gain support for reforms to favour Britain’s position in the…
Diary
Plus: Labour’s leadership crisis, the Lib Dems’ fatal mistake, and the joys of life without Twitter
Barometer
Plus: Mothers’ ages, how many words it takes to define human rights, and the death toll of World Cup construction
Pliny the Younger on Fifa
What he said about corruption still rings true: ‘The most serious diseases are those diffused from the head’
National mood
From ‘Depression and its Causes’, The Spectator, 6 June 1915: The British nation have still great possessions in the way of…
The march of the ‘yes’ men
Those who might drive the ‘no’ side are waiting until after renegotiation. They will find themselves with much ground to make up
The Spectator’s Notes
Plus: Chumocracy on the Privy Council; a new case for ‘first past the post’; and the risks of Scottish political life
Football’s elite deserve the foulness of Fifa
The countries that can actually play the game didn’t vote for Sepp Blatter, but that didn’t mean they behaved much better
Migrants face many dangers. Are we one of them?
It’s just not enough to parrot received opinions. If we care, we must ask questions
This is Leveson’s legacy: a great new way for bullies to muzzle the press
By the time complaints are rejected, the damage is done: journalists are fined days of work for voicing unpopular opinions
The Fifa case: American justice at work as the world’s CCTV system
Plus: A bank that really is going to take a Hippocratic oath, and the future of cannabis stocks
Doctors’ orders
Increasingly, we’re allowing the health service to boss us around to a ridiculous degree
Big fat myths
Childhood obesity is falling. Adult obesity is flatlining. And it’s longevity that really costs the NHS
Shifting sands in Saudi
It’s not just a new king. It’s a new world – one where desert oil is suddenly less important
Running wild
Laughably improbable candidates are an essential part of the process — and many of them do pretty well out of it…
