Britain
This is England
At the Turner Prize dinner of 2003, as the winner, Grayson Perry, took a photo call with his family wearing…
Let Greece go
To listen to Greek government ministers addressing the outside world during their breaks from negotiations with eurozone leaders this week,…
What you’ll never find in the road atlas
Picture the map of Britain. Its strangely cadaverous shape, blobs of population and routes between them seem as familiar as…
Without patriotism, there’s no civilisation
Is it racist to be patriotic? Is patriotism, by definition, small-minded and exclusive? When you strip away the onion layers…
From Beirut to Brighton
The long shadow of the Islamic State means that many Christians are packing up and leaving Lebanon
How to save a country
Next week, the most important vote in recent British history will be held. Indeed, it may well turn out to…
We shall fight them on the beaches…
Dad’s Army, the sitcom to end all sitcoms, portrayed the Home Guard as often doddery veterans. In one episode, Private…
Brussels vs Sparta
The EU is a federation of states (Latin foedus, ‘treaty’, from the same root as fides, ‘trust, good faith’). But…
What will be left?
If Scotland votes for independence, Britain will be left weaker than anyone yet realises
The Spectator’s Notes
The conviction of Max Clifford for indecent assaults feels like a vindication of the jury system, as did the acquittal…
Putin’s winning hand
Russia is making the West look posturing, weak and divided
Investment: Britannia über alles
Why the UK economy will one day overtake Germany
No satisfaction
For Stuart Maconie fans, this book might sound as if it’ll be his masterpiece. In his earlier memoirs and travelogues,…
















