Elections
Raise the age of suffrage to 25
If I had been given the vote at the age of 16, I would have put my cross beside the…
How happy are private renters?
Coined terms Liz Williams, a Reform UK council candidate in May’s local elections, began a High Court action trying to…
Portrait of the week: Epping protests, votes at 16 and Ozzy Osbourne dies
Home Six people were arrested during a protest by 1,000 outside the Bell hotel in Epping, Essex, which houses asylum…
In defence of first past the post
Here comes a new law in political science: Joe’s Law. As I write, the Republic of Ireland is still working…
What Britain can learn from Donald Trump’s victory
This has been the year of ejection elections. Across the democratic world, incumbents have been thrown out and insurgents have…
Letters: The mass appeal of cathedrals
Mass appeal Sir: The upcoming ‘rave’ at Peterborough Cathedral follows the trajectory of using this sacred space as a mere…
How would Athenians have dealt with Donald Trump?
Has Humpty-Trumpty had a great fall, or a great bounce? That will depend on what the Great American Public thinks…
Compelling and somewhat heartbreaking: Girls State, on Apple TV+, reviewed
Here’s a fun thought experiment: instead of entrusting the future of American democracy to one of two old men, what…
Diary
The wonderful Barbara Kingsolver wrote that hope is something you should not admire from a distance, but rather live inside…
Fake it till you make it
Not to sound too much like Kamala Harris during one of her peregrinations on the nature of time, but the…
Will tactical voting topple the Tories?
Boris Johnson has always been a celebrity politician. It is one of the reasons why the normal rules of politics…
How to lose elections
I have remarked here before about our era’s tendency to accept election results if your side wins but to reject…
Boris Johnson is preparing to fight the wrong election
The next election won’t be like the 2019 campaign. It will be far tougher for the Tories. Ministers were struck…
The German elections are good news for Macron
The German election result means that a three party coalition will almost certainly be needed to form a government. Olaf…
German voters set for a tense night
The German elections have turned out to be an unexpected nail-biter. Since the exit polls were released earlier this evening…
Could you live without sex or the Tories?
In idle chatter the other evening, somebody pooh-poohed champagne. He was a brave soul because in certain circles — and…
Barometer
Floating vote Voters in St Petersburg were presented with three candidates all calling themselves Boris Vishnevsky, with two believed to…
Even Tories should be wary of Gove’s election stitch-up
Conservative politicians appear willing to revolt on every issue: tax rises, China, lockdowns. But on the accumulation of power by…
France’s provocateur is coming to London
Five years ago, London’s affluent French poured their dosh into the campaign of Emmanuel Macron. This time around, supporters of…
Older voters are killing British democracy
There is an idea of the state that argues that the role of government is to act as a benevolent…
The Tories are giving a masterclass in how to lose elections
When a political party is in trouble, we see infighting, leak inquiries, resignations, dismissals and botched attempts to depose the…
Why Kenya matters
Laikipia Flying home across Laikipia’s ranchlands with Martin after a farmers’ meeting, I see the plateau dotted with cattle…
Exodus from Gambia
A ticket to paradise comes very cheap in Gambia — as long as you’re headed in the right direction. Thomas…
Elections? What elections?
Britain goes to the polls next week. Yet this has barely registered on the media radar. These aren’t the forgotten…
The Spectator’s notes
One of the oddest features of the cabinet majority for staying in the EU is that almost no one in…
