Columnists

Can the Tories come up with a tax offer in time?

5 August 2023 9:00 am

Last summer, all the Tory party could talk about was tax. It was at the heart of the leadership contest…

You think British trains are bad? Try German ones

5 August 2023 9:00 am

I found Jean-Pierre standing at a half-open window gulping down lungfuls of stale Dutch air as our night train chuntered,…

The dangerous cult of ‘toxic parents’

5 August 2023 9:00 am

Complaining about ‘toxic parents’ has been a viral hit on TikTok with videos on the topic racking up several billion…

Why should Vikings be diverse?

5 August 2023 9:00 am

I don’t always watch ‘Strongest Viking’ competitions on cable. But the other day I was channel-hopping and became mesmerised by…

The doctrine of intersectionality is a dud

29 July 2023 9:00 am

The almost complete absence of anything remotely resembling an intersection in the progressive doctrine of intersectionality poses a problem for…

What does the European centre-right stand for?

29 July 2023 9:00 am

Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), dropped the bomb last weekend. In a TV interview, Merz…

Coutts has forgotten what the job of a bank is

29 July 2023 9:00 am

We now have a reluctant apology from Dame Alison Rose, followed by her even more reluctant resignation. Her departure is…

Was I right about Iraq?

29 July 2023 9:00 am

Back in March there was a glut of pieces about the 2003 Iraq war. The 20th anniversary seemed to much…

The problem with the Bibby Stockholm barge

29 July 2023 9:00 am

For British taxpayers perturbed by their £6 million daily bill for housing asylum seekers in hotels, New York City mayor…

In defence of Coutts

29 July 2023 9:00 am

Dame Alison Rose should not have resigned as head of NatWest over the Nigel Farage affair – and ministers who…

Labour’s reality check

22 July 2023 9:00 am

Rishi Sunak goes into the summer holidays in the same position he began the year: 20 points behind in the…

The Spectator’s Notes

22 July 2023 9:00 am

Jane Portal, as she was when she worked for Winston Churchill, died last week, aged 93. Lady Williams of Elvel,…

The BBC’s biggest problem

22 July 2023 9:00 am

As I write this, the director-general of the BBC is being quizzed on the corporation’s future by people who were…

Canada’s assisted dying horror story

22 July 2023 9:00 am

My favourite Martin Amis novel was his 1991 book Time’s Arrow. It is a pyrotechnically brilliant work in which all…

When is a train strike not a train strike?

22 July 2023 9:00 am

The first LNER train I booked on Sunday from Durham to London was cancelled due to ‘action short of a…

Reasons to be cheerful? Yes, I think I see some

22 July 2023 9:00 am

‘Always be cheerful’ – a motto to which I’ll return in the final item – speaks to my natural demeanour.…

Labour vs the unions

15 July 2023 9:00 am

The Labour party is preparing for power and the unions are deciding what role they might play. Friend or foe?…

The Spectator's Notes

15 July 2023 9:00 am

The BBC is self-destructing

15 July 2023 9:00 am

There are still 27 people left in the British Isles – at the time of writing – who are unaware…

Don’t write off Rishi

15 July 2023 9:00 am

Were I sure this was about me alone, I’d hardly bother to mention it: but I may be typical of…

Daniel Korski and the lives of others

15 July 2023 9:00 am

The news has been coming so thick and fast of late that every week there are dozens of stories we…

Heritable guilt is in vogue

15 July 2023 9:00 am

I made a poor excuse for a Presbyterian even as a kid. I resented religious indoctrination every precious school-free Sunday.…