‘A perfect knight’: Remembering Roger Scruton
Daniel Hannan Roger Scruton changed the course of my life. He addressed my school’s philosophy society when I was 16,…
There will never be a better time for Tory radicalism. Is Boris ready?
What is the point of a Conservative majority? The answer might once have been to implement Conservative policies. But now…
Portrait of the week: Crisis in Iran, fires in Australia and Manchester rapist jailed
Home Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, who had not been told in advance of America’s killing in Iraq of Qassem…
Is a double-barrelled surname still posh?
Lock, stock and double barrels In Rebecca Long Bailey, who sometimes hyphenates her name and sometimes doesn’t, the Labour party…
to 2437: Sketchy
The unclued lights are PAINTING terms. First prize Martina Fabian, Bourne End, BucksRunners-up Phillip Wickens, Faygate, West Sussex; A.H. Harker,…
Twelve things we’ve learned from the 2019 election
Britain’s parliamentary democracy is easily mocked: the medievalisms, the men in tights, the ayes to the right. But it has…
Portrait of the year: From May to a December election
January ‘If parliament backs a deal, Britain can turn a corner,’ Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said. The Commons defeated…
What did psychics predict was going to happen in 2019?
Bah humbug Some of the things reported to have been banned this Christmas: — Mulled wine banned from being sold…
A coalowner on coal
From 16 June 1866: Mr Stanley Jevons, Mr Mill, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are all agreed that there is…
Letters: Should conservatives be worried that high-spending Boris has a majority?
My father’s imprisonment Sir: Harald Maass’s piece on the plight of Uyghurs in China (‘A cultural genocide’, December 14) captures…
What have you changed your mind about? A Spectator Christmas survey
Grayson Perry In 1992 I created a graphic novel called Cycle of Violence. Reading it now, the initially striking thing…
Eggs and hard liquor: Spectator writers on their favourite examples of meals in literature
P.J. O’Rourke I love poems but hate poetasters, love wine but detest oenophiles, love food but can’t stand foodies. Therefore…
to 2436: The Devil’s Own
The unclued lights are all words derived from names in the work of Charles Dickens. First prize David Brewis, Windsor,…
Christmas quiz – the answers
They said it 1. Greta Thunberg (to the UN) 2. The Duke of York 3. Dawn Butler, as the shadow secretary…
Politics has fractured along new fault lines – those elected must repair the cracks
It’s easy to see why the Labour party tried so hard to avoid this general election. They looked certain to…
Portrait of the week: Trains stop, a volcano erupts and the nation goes to the polls
Home The nation went to the polls. Engineering works compounded the misery of passengers on the South Western Railway where…
How common are volcanic eruptions?
Volcanic eruptions At least six people were killed when White Island, a volcano off New Zealand’s North Island, erupted. How…
Letters: Why have the Conservatives decided Chesterfield is a lost cause?
Given up on Chesterfield? Sir: Matthew Parris makes some interesting and accurate points about growing Tory support in the north…
to 2435: A Little Puzzle
Unclued lights are DWARFS. First prize Bill Stewart, LeicesterRunners-up Mark Roberts, Luxembourg;John Bartlett, Solihull Got something to add? Join the…
‘Victory for Boris’: Today’s front pages react to the Tory landslide
The nation’s newspapers reflect what is the largest political revolution in a generation. Boris Johnson has been able to turn…
‘A huge great stonking mandate’: Boris’s Tory HQ victory speech
Boris Johnson has just addressed Tory HQ following the Tories’s huge election win. Here is the full text of what…
This is the most important election in modern history – so vote, and vote Tory
Next week, voters will decide the future of the government, of Brexit, and perhaps of the Union. Jeremy Corbyn has…
Portrait of the week: Terror in London, Trump in London and a resignation in Malta
Home Usman Khan, aged 28, out of prison on licence after serving eight years of a 16-year sentence for preparing…
What weather records were broken in 2019?
Keeping it in the family A study by the Middle East Technical University claimed to prove that the pronounced chin…
Letters: Governments should be promoting marriage, not discouraging it for the sake of equality
Look closer to home Sir: In your interview with Boris Johnson (‘Austerity was not the way forward’, 30 November) he…
