When accusations fly
‘OK, there is a body with a knife there, and the police come and say nothing happened… You have to…
New Zealand’s culture wars backlash
I’m in New Zealand on a speaking tour organised by the Kiwi Free Speech Union, and in some ways it’s…
Spectator Competition: Outta Palo Alto
In Competition 3354 you were invited to put yourselves in the shoes (or head) of a tech billionaire. Perhaps unsurprisingly,…
Letters: the Tories’ fatal flaw
Major error Sir: Even as a former Tory voter, I acknowledge that the predicted scale of the Conservative electoral defeat…
Does it matter how posh pop stars are?
‘A working class hero is something to be.’ Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer must have missed the conflicted, sardonic edge…
Don’t outlaw ‘Islamophobia’
‘One of the things that’s coming up over and over again is Islamophobia,’ says Keir Starmer in a campaign video,…
How to lose voters
During the 1983 general election, I campaigned every single day with great zeal and avidity. I knocked on quite literally…
A letter from Odessa
Odessa Our conference here is about Black Sea security, where I am the guest of UK Friends of Ukraine. Its…
How Keir Starmer plans to rule through the courts
Never mind Labour’s promise not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT – the party will soon be jacking…
Meet Surrey’s ‘M&S movers’
On a street in Camberley, Surrey, a pensioner stands in the doorway, rollers in her hair, staring with some bemusement…
Voters still don’t know what Keir Starmer stands for
Keir Starmer is frustrated. He wants to talk about the future but interviewers like me will insist on asking him…
Portrait of the Week: Supermajorities, falling inflation and rammed cows
Home The electorate mulled over the words of Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary: ‘You don’t want to have somebody receive…
Starmer and Le Pen’s similarities
Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call a snap election in France is turning out to be a blunder of Sunakian proportions.…
Whoever you vote for, the Blob wins
At the age of 66 I feel like a first-time voter. As a member of the House of Lords, I…
Would you want Nigel Farage to marry your daughter?
The opposite of attraction is repulsion. Political commentary gives too little attention to a party’s (or leader’s) capacity to repel.…
Why should Putin be allowed to keep seized Russian assets?
The seizure of enemy treasure, formerly known as plunder and pillage, is an ancient tool of war. Though still practised…
Why we love to be baffled
So much of life is a search for answers. How to get ahead, how to earn more money, how to…
The problem with Swan Lake
Over this summer you can see Swan Lake performed at the Royal Opera House by the Royal Ballet; at the…
Have I finally found the most incongruous leftie?
As the disappointingly unmacho South African toddled off after giving us a lecture about hedgehogs, I declared the contest over.…
No. 606
White to play. Magnus Carlsen-Ding Liren, Norway Chess 2024. Ding’s last move, 29…Rb6-b2 was a blunder allowing a quick checkmate.…
A sugar rush for the eyes: Glyndebourne’s The Merry Widow reviewed
In 1905, shortly before the world première of The Merry Widow, the Viennese theatre manager Wilhelm Karczag got cold feet…
