Democrats are desperate for a new Bill Clinton
In the weeks since Donald Trump won the presidential election, Democrat supporters, amidst much gnashing of teeth, have offered up…
The attack on Ben Judah is nothing to celebrate
Readers of The Spectator may remember the 2021 defenestration of author and teacher Kate Clanchy, which saw her part company…
Only another Bill Clinton can save the Democrats now
In the weeks since Donald Trump won the US election, Democrat supporters, amidst much gnashing of teeth, have offered up…
The pundits’ attacks on farmers would make Alan Partridge blush
In the weeks since Rachel Reeves’s Budget and its shock attack on agricultural property relief, we’ve seen various armchair pundits…
Things can only get worse for Keir Starmer
Finally a date has been set – 29 January 2025 – for the government to debate points posed by the…
What’s the best film about US politics?
After Donald Trump’s election-win, many junkies of US politics will be needing another fix. But if you’ve already overdosed on…
Is it time to ban boxing?
This year, as almost every year, there have been calls for a complete ban on boxing. Two fighters, Ardi Ndembo…
Kemi Badenoch’s early troubles are no reason to despair
A consensus seems to be forming, with unreasonable speed, that Kemi Badenoch isn’t exactly smashing it at Prime Minister’s Questions.…
Is Kemi Badenoch the new Mrs Thatcher?
Prior to her election as Conservative Leader at the weekend, Kemi Badenoch was, on numerous occasions, compared to Margaret Thatcher.…
What Gen Z need to know about the 1990s
‘Nothing,’ said Vladimir Nabokov, ‘revives the past so completely as a smell that was once associated with it’. If smell…
I fear for Georgia’s future
Following this weekend’s fraughtly awaited election ‘results’ in Georgia – as important for the country’s direction as any since the…
The endless allure of the Shipping Forecast
The Shipping Forecast on Radio 4, 100 years old this October, seems to have achieved the impossible. Few people know the places…
John le Carré and the perils of resurrecting Smiley
Next week, a new novel comes out featuring George Smiley, John le Carré’s meek, mild, fiercely intelligent Cold War spymaster.…
Only Ed Miliband would want to live next to an electricity pylon
Some find happiness through love, some through religion, others through their work or hobbies. But Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has…
Kemi Badenoch is a gamble the Tories must take
No, please no. Not again. Not again! As the Conservatives gear up to choose their final two candidates, and bookmakers…
The 1990s were Britain’s sunset years
A myth seems to be developing about the 1990s. In a recent programme on Disney Plus called In Vogue: The…
James Bond is past his best
Is James Bond looking knackered, or is it just me? At 54, I’m at an age where I’ve given up…
Why isn’t Gary Oldman playing Smiley again?
Following the huge success of the 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – from the book of the same name…
Oasis obsessives should broaden their horizons
For those of us not into Oasis in the 90s, the past month’s mania over their reunion has been baffling.…
A tribute to the glorious heyday of smoking
When the revolting news broke that Keir Starmer – whingeing lovechild of Oliver Cromwell and Captain Mainwaring – could be about…
The enduring wisdom of Bill Brand
If Labour is taking us back to the 1970s – and the recent strike-secured pay rises and mass rage about…
Kemi Badenoch’s time has come
The Tories are about to choose a leader once more, and this time cannot allow themselves any self-indulgence. In 2022,…
The rape of Ukraine continues while the world’s sympathies move on
Two detailed, on-the-ground accounts from Andrey Kurkov and Oleksandr Mykhed remind us of the atrocities that are changing life in Ukraine forever
The Tories have much to learn from their 1997 wipeout
If polls are anything to go by, Labour’s historic 1997 election win – 418 seats to the Tories’ 165 –…
The case for not voting at this election
Anyone over the age of 40 can scarcely help comparing this election, or the state of our two main parties,…
