Leading article
Dyson’s move shows he thinks the Brexit opportunity will be squandered
If knighthoods could be removed by vote of parliament, Sir James Dyson would be first in line. Knighted for being…
Brexiteers’ faith in parliament is now being put to the test
An unexpected outcome of the tortuous process of Brexit negotiations has been the enhancement of Britain’s reputation as a parliamentary…
Political discourse in the UK is broken – here’s how we fix it
For several weeks now, a group of anti-Brexit protesters have found a way of regularly appearing on television news. They…
A dozen migrants in Kent is not a crisis. But government panic could turn it into one
It has been a messy start to the new year for Sajid Javid. For months now, migrants using small boats…
Britain is on the cusp of a great political and economic renewal. Will the Tories blow it?
Last Christmas, The Spectator set up an appeal — not for money to be given to charity, but for our…
If May goes, the Tories have just one chance to replace her
On Tuesday, MPs will face something rare: a Commons motion which really does deserve to be described as momentous. It…
Why we must reject May’s deal
While some may doubt Donald Trump’s claim to be a friend of Britain’s, his intervention in the Brexit debate this…
Britain must reject the European model
France has been in a state of organised uprising this week, with 300,000 motorists taking to the streets and autoroutes…
It’s a bad deal – whichever way you look at it
During last year’s general election campaign, Theresa May declared that ‘You can only deliver Brexit if you believe in Brexit’.…
What the UK can learn from the US midterms
Donald Trump can, at the very least, claim to have killed off political apathy. Americans this week voted in greater…
The NHS must reform – or it will become obsolete
Since the Budget, economists have pointed out that Britain is turning into a health service with a government attached. The…
What is the point of Philip Hammond?
What is the point of Philip Hammond? Most chancellors have an agenda, but it’s hard to discern any purpose or…
Modern family: how Meghan and Harry helped firm up the monarchy
Whether it was intended so or not, the decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to choose Australia as…
Director’s cut: why do our taxes pay for loss-making films?
‘The role of government is not to pick favourites and subsidise them or protect them.’ So says the government’s industrial…
Theresa May’s speech was good – but she still lacks an agenda
Over the next few weeks, we can expect breathless reporting about the Brexit deal and its dynamics: the state of…
This should be Theresa May’s last conference as Tory leader
The worst of Britain’s post-war mistakes, ideas we thought long dead, are once more in the air. Yet again there…
Trade wars: The method behind Donald Trump’s madness
Donald Trump campaigned as an unrepentant protectionist and, on the face of it, he has lived up to his word.…
Why can’t the warring Tories see that a Brexit deal is within grasp?
Loyalty, it used to be said, was the Tories’ secret weapon. No longer. Self-discipline has been discarded — along with…
The rise of Sajid Javid
Since being appointed Home Secretary, Sajid Javid has taken a series of bold and overdue decisions. On immigration, he understood…
China is winning the new scramble for Africa. Brexit could change that
On her tour of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, Theresa May finally made a positive case for Brexit. For too…
If the UK economy is a wreck, why are jobs and exports booming?
Economies run on confidence — as Franklin D. Roosevelt observed when he told Americans, in his first inaugural address during…
Terrorism isn’t ‘losing’. It has already lost
By now, the routine is familiar: a lone wolf strikes, roads are sealed off, buildings locked down and a biographical…
Boris wars
Ever since Boris Johnson resigned as foreign secretary, it was generally assumed that there would — in time — be…
Now May’s talking tough over Brexit, we might actually get somewhere
Ever since Theresa May declared that ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’ she has seemed to be drifting…
We need to turn the tide on poor water planning
The year 1976 rises like a spectre whenever the sun shines for more than a few days. That long, dry,…
