The triumph and tragedy of Tony Slattery
Tony Slattery was outrageously funny. And he was funny because he was outrageous. The actor and comedian, who died yesterday…
The quiet bravery of Kate Middleton
It may only be halfway through January, but the two opposed branches of the younger royal family have both made…
Why did Keir Starmer handle the Tulip Siddiq furore so badly?
When the anti-corruption minister is accused of corruption by a foreign government and has no prospect of being able to…
Tories overtake Labour despite Badenoch’s ratings falling fast
Uh oh. Labour’s first six months in government haven’t gone quite as swimmingly as Sir Keir Starmer might have hoped…
How to stop Gerry Adams’s taxpayer-funded pay day
The government’s fealty to human rights law is not in doubt. Still, one might have hoped that the human rights lawyers…
It would be a huge mistake for Labour to dam the beavers
The Guardian is reporting that No. 10 is set to delay plans to release beavers into the wild, potentially because it is…
The day I was heckled for speaking about the rape gangs
It’s odd being lionised for something you did so long ago you’d almost forgotten you were there. But this is…
The arrest of South Korea’s president won’t end this saga
South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has been arrested after police officers scaled fences and cut through barbed wire to detain…
Inflation dip marks a welcome surprise for Rachel Reeves
Rachel Reeves has found brief respite this morning, with the Office for National Statistics confirming that inflation dipped to 2.5…
The ‘self-cancellation’ trend taking over the literary world
The phenomena that has blighted the live literature world over the last ten years could be classed as a ‘stooshie’…
How much longer will Starmer back Reeves?
It’s not been a happy new year for Sir Keir Starmer. The Prime Minister’s Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq has been…
When did the A&E winter crisis become the norm?
Not a winter goes past without hospitals overflowing; the situation is so predictable it deserves a better word than ‘crisis’.…
Starbucks and the hell of the modern café
Starbucks has announced that it is reversing its rule that allowed people to hang round in cafés in the United…
Why it is vital the Victorian Liberals get it right this time
Australians in other states have long taken a quizzical view of Victorian politics. Many are rightfully baffled by the Victorian…
The media resent Dutton’s patriotism pledge
Who is spearheading the political narrative of Australia? Is it the robust debate between Coalition and Labor – the elected…
It’s no surprise that democracy is losing its appeal
The Guardian reports that one in five voters under the age of 45 would prefer to do away with democracy…
Hegseth in the hornet’s nest
Pete Hegseth was the first cabinet nominee to the breach, leading Donald Trump’s collection of outsiders, populists and hellraisers into…
Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing is just the first episode
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, military veteran and former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, had his first…
Reform overtake Tories on Spectator poll tracker
The new year is off to a bad start for Kemi Badenoch’s Tories. The latest update to The Spectator data…
Scotland has never had it so good
Thanks to the threat of independence, Scots have – in the words of Harold Macmillan – ‘never had it so…
Tulip Siddiq’s resignation was a matter of when, not if
Just two weeks into the new year and Keir Starmer has suffered his first ministerial resignation of 2025. Tulip Siddiq…
Francis reveals himself to be a pope of two halves
The Pope’s autobiography is out and it’s still not entirely clear why. Carlo Musso, the ‘co-author’ of Hope: The Autobiography,…
Full timeline: the events that led to Tulip Siddiq’s resignation
And now we have it: Tulip Siddiq has resigned from her government post as City minister after pressure piled on…
Why Tulip Siddiq had to go
In 1996, I flew to Dhaka to meet Sheikh Hasina, the newly elected prime minister of Bangladesh, to discuss her economic strategy. It was not a pleasant…
