Leading article
Open goal: Britain must embrace all Brexit’s freedoms
A decade ago, bankers were not merely the masters of Davos, but the ‘masters of the universe’. No one calls…
Jeremy Corbyn’s takeover is complete – and the Tories are terrified
For Jeremy Corbyn and his allies, there has been no far-left takeover of the Labour party or its governing National…
Something’s gone badly right with the world economy
It is only a few months since gloomy economic commentators were confidently predicting that the world was about to plunge…
His critics can’t admit it, but Trump’s crazy tactics are succeeding
Among the many new political maladies of our age, one has been left largely undiagnosed. This is Trump Derangement Syndrome,…
A simple way for Spectator readers to make a real difference
Perhaps the most insightful piece of political analysis since the turn of the century came from the Queen in a…
Returning jihadis must be brought to justice
At first sight, the evidence presented in David Anderson’s report into the four terror attacks committed between March and June…
A £50 billion Brexit ‘divorce bill’ is a price worth paying
There will be howls of outrage in some quarters if it is confirmed that the government has offered the EU…
This budget was useful but boring: the Tories need bigger ideas
Philip Hammond began his first Budget, in March, by playing down its importance — for his big ideas on fiscal…
Britain and its allies are opening the way for yet another Iraq war
After the most intensive street-by-street combat since 1945, Isis’s so-called caliphate is no more. Last weekend, the Iraqi government won…
Does Theresa May’s zombie government even want to survive?
Dealing with a hung parliament was never going to be easy, but no one quite foresaw the decay which now…
Gordon Brown’s memoirs show he is good at blowing his own trumpet – but nothing else
Gordon Brown has pitched his memoirs as the honest confessions of a decent man. He failed to win the one…
Identity issues
It was always going to be difficult for Theresa May’s government to secure a legacy beyond Brexit. With the negotiations…
The Kurds are on their own
The routing of Isis in northern Iraq ought to be a time of international celebration, but as ever in the…
The new tycoons
The giants of the internet have long said that they are not publishers but mere platforms — or couriers —…
Tory blues
Theresa May’s conference speech — interrupted by coughing fits and with part of the set falling apart behind her —…
It’s time to talk trade
Thirty years ago, the Conservatives would have had no problem countering what Jeremy Corbyn had to offer in Brighton. But…
A fallen idol
Few world leaders have fallen from grace as quickly as Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel prize-winner, who also holds…
Red Tories
Jeremy Corbyn has never been very keen on parliamentary democracy. He may be changing his mind now. The British electoral…
Keeping faith
For Church of England vicars who worry less about what they will preach on Sunday than whether there will be…
Call Barnier’s bluff
There is a growing perception that Britain is floundering in its EU negotiations, with a professional team from Brussels running…
Hard lessons
George Tomlinson, the post-war education secretary, declared that politicians should leave exams to the teachers because ‘the minister knows nowt…
America’s identity crisis
Long before student activists started talking about pulling down statues of Cecil Rhodes, a cultural war was being waged in…
Corbyn’s fallen idols
Jeremy Corbyn finally broke his silence on Venezuela this week, but in the manner of a man who has his…
Crunch time
For anyone considering a career in economic forecasting, the Bank of England’s inflation report for August 2007 ought to be…
Playing chicken
Besides being important in themselves, the trade talks between Britain and the United States which began this week are symbolic…
