Greta Thunberg
Too many tales of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle
Contemplating ‘hedgehog philosophy’ with Sarah Sands, Rowan Williams, Greta Thunberg and other luminaries would test anyone’s patience after 150 pages
In defence of cows
‘They’re going to have to stop cows,’ said my mother, looking doubtfully down at her plate as we tucked into…
Who fact checks the fact-checkers?
Last week, a retired physics professor called Nick Cowern said it was time to get tough with ‘climate denialists’. ‘In…
Does Nicola Sturgeon care more about oil revenue or climate change?
‘Now, as I’ve hopefully made clear throughout all of my remarks, the North Sea will continue to produce oil for…
Greta Thunberg is right
I am not usually on the same page as Greta Thunberg but she is absolutely right when she accuses the…
Is climate change to blame for Germany’s flooding?
Greta Thunberg has declared the floods in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands to be the product of man-made climate change,…
Unhappy blend of melodrama and allegory: Southwark Playhouse’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice reviewed
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a musical fantasy set in a Nordic town near the Arctic circle. Johan is a magician…
Skates on the edge of parody: The 1975's Notes on a Conditional Form reviewed
Grade: B+ Just what you wanted. An opening track that matches banal piano noodling to an address by Greta Thunberg.…
Why schools should stay shut
Has the stock of any politician fallen more sharply, these past three or four years, than that of Shami Chakrabarti?…
What a relief to no longer have to pretend to be sociable
Hulking fat chavs pushing shopping trolleys full of lavatory paper back to their Nissan Micras. I can’t think of a…
Sarah Sands: I never wanted to climb the BBC career ladder
After I took the editor’s job at Today on Radio 4 nearly three years ago I had to answer to…
Climate doomsayers keep putting sell-by dates on their credibility
I was slightly surprised when Greta Thunberg announced at Davos that we had eight years left to save the planet.…
The people’s decade: how will history come to define the 2010s?
The 1960s were swinging. The 1970s were stagflationary. In the 1980s we made loadsamoney and greed was good. The 1990s…
David Attenborough is making the same mistake as Greta Thunberg
It wasn’t so long ago that Sir David Attenborough came across as a calm voice of reason. His much-admired documentaries…
Panto should be about escapism, not saving the planet
If you were hoping to escape the bilge that’s been pumped out by supposedly neutral organs of the state during…
If parliament were more modern, might it become less aggressive?
I’m writing this in Crete where a late summer has seen brilliant sunshine and temperatures reaching 25°C — but can…
Who’s listening? Civilized debate is dead
This article is in The Spectator’s November 2019 US edition. Subscribe here. Today nearly all real public discussion has become impossible. Which…
Portrait of the week: An election date is set, al-Baghdadi dies and a row over gay giraffes
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, having shelved his Brexit Bill in the face of parliamentary opposition, persuaded the Commons…
Why do we keep pretending that children are wiser than adults?
We’ve begun to behave as if young people are special; more virtuous and wiser than adults. It’s wrong and it’s…
You have to laugh at Extinction Rebellion
I ventured out into Westminster earlier this week to take a look at the Extinction Rebellion protest and it reminded…
Will Greta Thunberg win the Nobel Peace Prize? I really hope not
We’ve begun to behave as if young people are special; more virtuous and wiser than adults. It’s wrong and it’s…
As Greta and Malala show, the children know best
The first book I ever produced, some 50 years ago, was a collection of poetry written by children. I called…
In praise of the bands that said no to Greta Thunberg
My faith in rock music has been temporarily restored. According to the manager of The 1975, the execrable essay/song that…
Pure hagiography – the BBC’s Extinction Rebellion: Last Chance To Save The World?
I’m beginning to feel like Donald Sutherland in Invasion of the Body Snatchers: almost the last person on Earth who…
The trouble with Greta Thunberg
In popular mythology Greta Thunberg is a one-girl revolution who has inspired millions of young people into action by being…
