NHS
The Spectator’s Notes
In answers to questions following his statement in the Commons on Monday, Boris Johnson let drop an interesting statistic. He…
Doctor’s note
Why should I be sacked for refusing the Covid vaccine?
Barometer
No vax There is nothing new about the anti-vax crowds supporting Novak Djokovic. Organised protest in Britain began with the…
Masks in schools: how convincing is the government’s evidence?
Why has the government changed its mind and asked children to wear masks in school? When Plan B was announced…
Boris Johnson rejects lockdown (again)
Boris Johnson latest Covid press conference was slightly confusing. The Prime Minister spent nearly an hour saying nothing particularly new.…
Letters
Wrong cure Sir: In referring to the UK as the highest-spending European nation in healthcare proportionate to GDP (‘Hospital pass’,…
Punishing the unvaccinated threatens everyone’s liberty
How should we treat the unvaccinated? Should we stop them from participating in normal life? Castigate them in the media?…
The vaccine cheer is gone
I am 45, which means I’ve now had my third Covid vaccine. The experience of getting that injection crystallises a…
The Tories’ health battle
Boris Johnson knows the value of three-word slogans. ‘Take back control’ and ‘get Brexit done’ helped propel him to his…
Does the doctor really need to see you now?
Only later, perhaps even a decade later, as the pandemic of 2020-22 shrinks in our rear-view mirror, may we be…
No. 10 moves to kickstart the booster campaign
In a move that as important as any in the recent Cabinet reshuffle, Emily Lawson is returning to run the…
A great reformer?
Sajid Javid has big plans for the NHS – if Covid lets him
Boris should keep copying Blair
Having written here at least once before that Boris Johnson is the heir to Blair, my first thought on the Prime…
Doctor who?
Nye Bevan famously said that he was only able to persuade family doctors to support the creation of the NHS…
Diary
For obvious reasons, stocks in ex-editors of The Spectator are experiencing an all-time low. But my own complaint is with…
Will Covid turn into the common cold?
Many experts and modellers thought that the 19 July reopening would be a disaster. So far, that has not been…
What the NHS pay rise says about Boris Johnson’s priorities
Well, that didn’t take long. Two days ago, a leaked report revealed that the government was considering using a national insurance…
Can Boris and his ministers agree on the point of the Covid app?
What is the point of the Covid-19 app? Ministers seem to be as in the dark about the answer to…
Is Boris brave enough to confront the truth about the NHS?
If a government does not wish to break a manifesto promise it should punt fewer such ‘promises’ into its manifesto.…
Sajid’s cold reality
The most difficult time for a new secretary of state is normally the first three months in the job. An…
Letters
A new prescription Sir: It is maddening to see the British people being refused face-to-face GP appointments and subjected to…
Real life
While we were looking forward to Freedom Day, the National Health Service was busy planning something extra special to coincide…
Dr No
The GP won’t see you now
Real life
More threatening letters from the NHS demanding I let them jab me up with two Covid vaccinations. Or as the…
Real life
When the time came for the nurse to ring me to take my blood pressure, the phone simply didn’t ring.…
