Yes men
My favourite comment about the Scottish referendum came from the eminent comedian and novelist David Baddiel. ‘What if Yes wins,…
Yes men
My favourite comment about the Scottish referendum came from the eminent comedian and novelist David Baddiel. ‘What if Yes wins,…
History Parade
We left the Scout hut shortly after dark, to ambush regulars acting as invaders. Later, there was to be a…
Title Stories: My Man Jeeves By P.G. Wodehouse
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Stoptober makes me sick
Say what you like about the French Revolutionaries but at least they had a poetic imagination. When they wanted a…
There’s no such thing as an Etonian
Finally, just in the last few years I’d say, we’ve all begun to accept the role of nature in the…
Australian notes
What do we leave behind us when we die, asked the Prime Minister? Our deeds are quickly forgotten. Our goods…
Think again, Mrs May
Theresa May's proposals go against our tradition of free speech, and set a dangerous precedent
Portrait of the week
Home The Commons, having been specially recalled, passed, by 524 votes to 43, a motion supporting ‘the use of UK…
Barometer
...200 years ago. Plus: Who sexts, the deadliest borders, and why weather records always seem to be getting broken
From the archives
From ‘Voluntary and compulsory service’, The Spectator, 3 October 1914: We do not suggest that the voluntary principle should be…
Letters
Degrees of ability Sir: Nick Cohen has written an amusing piece on PPE (‘Crash course’, 27 September), marred by lazy journalism.…
A third way to war
I don't agree with Jesse Norman's arguments about the Commons and the military. But the question he raises deserves more than a pat, pious response
Why my friends love the idea of a nasty, stupid mansion tax
Plus: nightwear visions of MPs in their PJs
Will Osborne’s tilt against Double Dutch tax dodgers play into Farage’s hands?
Plus: Northern Rock’s charitable legacy in danger; and the news from Hong Kong
Conversion experience
Ask yourself how you would feel if your child started spouting hate-filled bile against homosexuals, women, Jews — anyone, in fact, who wasn’t a Muslim man
Hong Kong vs China
The island and the mainland are drifting further apart. But it may be Hong Kong that represents the true, rebellious spirit of China
The shadow of the tanks
I can't look at Hong Kong without thinking about how far the Chinese Communist Party will go – and how little we'll do to stop them
Faith, sin and divorce
Accept liberal arguments for the convenience of people like me, and you threaten the foundations of the Church
Serenade
Come to the garden, that familiar place Where life renews itself against all odds. Untightening buds act out their memory,…
