I’m fascinated by our censorious fascination with other people’s sex lives. And I sense something shifting
I liked the generic title ‘Another Voice’ that The Spectator used to give this column, because it seemed to loosen…
People’s attitude to sexual show trials is changing
I liked the generic title ‘Another Voice’ that The Spectator used to give this column, because it seemed to loosen…
Time for the King of Spain to save his country again
Might there ever be in this century, anywhere in Europe, a case for serious political interference by an hereditary monarch?…
King Juan Carlos must save Spain – again
Might there ever be in this century, anywhere in Europe, a case for serious political interference by an hereditary monarch?…
We have to tell the truth about Tony Benn now. Who will hear it later?
I could start by remarking that we should not speak ill of the dead, quoting the pertinent Latin phrase: de…
Why it’s right to criticise the newly dead
I could start by remarking that we should not speak ill of the dead, quoting the pertinent Latin phrase: de…
Leave Ukraine to the Russians
‘You can’t always get what you want,’ chorused Mick Jagger, ‘but if you try some time/You just might find/You get…
Leave Ukraine to the Russians
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/Untitled_2_AAC_audio.mp3 ‘You can’t always get what you want,’ chorused Mick Jagger, ‘but if you try some time/You just might…
A secret from my African childhood has become a deeper mystery
About 55 years ago, when I was about ten, my younger brother Roger and I discovered a slave pit in…
Back in time to a childhood discovery in Africa
About 55 years ago, when I was about ten, my younger brother Roger and I discovered a slave pit in…
How Alex Salmond could lose his referendum and still wreck the United Kingdom
From a kind of torpor about this year’s Scottish referendum, Lord Lang of Monkton has roused me. You may remember…
Warning: ‘no’ won’t be Scotland’s final answer
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_6_February_2014_v4.mp3 From a kind of torpor about this year’s Scottish referendum, Lord Lang of Monkton has roused me. You…
Is a new art form being born on Woman's Hour?
In a comic-strip cartoon, beads of water apparently radiating outward from the head of one of the characters indicate embarrassment.…
Is a new art form being born on Woman’s Hour?
In a comic-strip cartoon, beads of water apparently radiating outward from the head of one of the characters indicate embarrassment.…
Hedonistic? No, today's gay men are civic-minded - and conservative
A gay friend phones over the New Year break. A lovely chap (let us call him Richard) and long retired,…
It’s gay men who contribute most to society
A gay friend phones over the New Year break. A lovely chap (let us call him Richard) and long retired,…
Matthew Parris: Logically, bitcoin fans should love the euro. Why don't they?
Bitcoins have been in the news, after a story about an unfortunate fellow who jettisoned his computer’s hard drive that…
If you love gold, shouldn’t you love the euro too?
Bitcoins have been in the news, after a story about an unfortunate fellow who jettisoned his computer’s hard drive that…
Matthew Parris: The secret Australia - and why I love it
Nations seek their souls in the strangest places. We English, for instance, have illustrated ourselves to the world and to…
A corner of Australia that is forever Bournemouth
Nations seek their souls in the strangest places. We English, for instance, have illustrated ourselves to the world and to…
Matthew Parris: I've been living with a miracle for 60 years
This is probably the most self-indulgent column I’ve written. I hope not to make a habit of it. It’s an…
An old wound takes its toll at last
This is probably the most self-indulgent column I’ve written. I hope not to make a habit of it. It’s an…
You're not as special as you think
My preferred route from the Times’s offices in Wapping on to the main road takes me across a precinct then…
The human condition in a scuffed yellow line
My preferred route from the Times’s offices in Wapping on to the main road takes me across a precinct then…
Matthew Parris: Atheists deserve better opposition
I wish I were a religious conservative: the field’s wide open. It must be dispiriting for believers to encounter so…
