Columnists
Why cheap oil could mean a Labour victory
BP’s profits are down, and the oil giant is slashing up to $6 billion out of its investment plan for…
With one push of a button, political interviews have become interesting again
The other night on Channel 4, I watched the best political interview I’ve seen all year. It was with Nick…
The NHS needs the politics of envy
‘Let’s make the rich pay more.’ Does that sound so right-wing? To me it has a positively socialist ring. It…
How Labour lost Scotland (and could lose the Union)
Listen http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_5_Feb_2015_v4.mp3 Just four months ago Scotland was the scene of great cross-party co-operation — unprecedented in peace-time politics. Gordon…
They want a gender-neutral pronoun? What’s wrong with them?
Isn’t it about time the English language got itself a gender-neutral pronoun? This was the clarion call from the Guardian…
'Black,' 'coloured', 'BME' - any kind of label is essentially racist. It's time to move on
How should we refer to non-white people, and foreigners in general, given that of course we do sometimes need to…
Do I really care about Ebola? Do you? Does Oxfam?
It’s strange how quickly we all forgot about Ebola. Speak for yourself, you might say — and I will. Until…
The hottest year on which record?
Did you know that 2014 was the hottest year ever recorded in the entire history of the world? Probably you…
What’s good about austerity (whatever the Greeks think)
The only question I remember from my Oxford moral philosophy paper was ‘What is integrity and is it a virtue?’…
The hottest year on which record?
Did you know that 2014 was the hottest year ever recorded in the entire history of the world? Probably you…
Do I care about Liberia? Do you? Does Oxfam?
It’s strange how quickly we all forgot about Ebola. Speak for yourself, you might say — and I will. Until…
Benedict Cumberbatch and what’s really offensive
How should we refer to non-white people, and foreigners in general, given that of course we do sometimes need to…
George Osborne’s 13 tests for an election victory (and how many he’s passed)
These days George Osborne is rarely seen in public without a hard hat and a hi-vis jacket. But he used…
It’s all kicking off in the Islamic world. Nothing at all to do with Islam, of course
They have been burning churches and murdering Christians again in Niger. You’d think that they’d have more immediately pressing concerns…
The Stonewall dinner left me with one question: why are volunteers so horrible to one another?
I watched the video with some trepidation. Stonewall (the campaigning gay and lesbian equality organisation) had just sent me the…
Maybe it’s a problem when all artists are like James Blunt. But it’s worse when Labour MPs are like Chris Bryant
What should we do with James Blunt? This is what I have been asking myself. And I am not looking…
Let posh people run the arts – if it means they stop running the country
What should we do with James Blunt? This is what I have been asking myself. And I am not looking…
Why are volunteers so mean to one another?
I watched the video with some trepidation. Stonewall (the campaigning gay and lesbian equality organisation) had just sent me the…
Can the Tories pass George’s 13 tests?
These days George Osborne is rarely seen in public without a hard hat and a hi-vis jacket. But he used…
It’s all kicking off again in the Islamic world
They have been burning churches and murdering Christians again in Niger. You’d think that they’d have more immediately pressing concerns…
Why the Greek election could decide Britain's next government
Before the eurozone crisis, Greek elections didn’t receive much attention in Westminster. At the moment, however, the polls from Athens…
Everyone says they’re Charlie. In Britain, almost no one is
Je suis Charlie indeed. This is the problem with placards — there is rarely enough room to fit in the caveats,…
The real reason GPs are grumpy: the robots are coming for them
There’s something wrong with the relationship between patients and their GPs. I’ve spent much of this winter in my local…
Standing firm is the price of civilisation. Are we still ready to pay it?
Reading Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, as I have recently, you cannot help but be struck by what a perfectly…