The Week
Athenians didn’t need coalition negotiations. We should learn from them
Whatever the result of the election, it has become clearer by the day that our ‘democracy’ is run by politicians…
Chemical weapons
From ‘War by Poison’, The Spectator, 8 May 1915: By the consent of all men who are not savages, the use…
Spectator letters: Why not vote like Belgians?
Bees vs Belgians Sir: To answer Rory Sutherland and Glen Weyl’s question: yes, everyone should vote and no, just because…
Bond villains
After working for Bill Clinton, the political strategist James Carville said he had changed his mind about where power really…
Coalitions of the willing
Whatever the result of the election, it has become clearer by the day that our ‘democracy’ is run by politicians…
Barometer
Party packs Is it possible to form a stable coalition with more than one political party? The Conservative/Lib Dem coalition…
Chemical weapons
From ‘War by Poison’, The Spectator, 8 May 1915: By the consent of all men who are not savages, the use…
Portrait of the week
Home The country went to the polls. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, prepared by going around with his sleeves rolled…
The Tories are now the party of the many — Labour is the party of the few
When election day dawns, it’s worth bearing in mind that two million more people will be going to work than when…
Portrait of the week
Home The British economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, the slowest quarterly growth for…
Nigel Lawson’s diary: Escaping election tedium in la France profonde
I have escaped this rather depressing election campaign by retreating to my home in la France profonde — to be…
One-way streets are a surprisingly old (and dangerous) idea
One-way stretch A study at Louisville University in Kentucky concluded that collisions are twice as likely in one-way streets as…
The ‘start-up cities’ of Ancient Greece
Honduras wants to establish start-up cities to experiment with alternative economic, regulatory, and legal systems. Could this concept help stop…
An empire for Islam
From ‘The Khalifate’, The Spectator, 1 May 1915: It seems that the Ottoman Empire is likely to crumble away, and in that…
Spectator letters: What has happened to the instinctive Tory faith?
An instinctive Tory faith Sir: For once Bruce Anderson does not exaggerate: David Cameron did indeed win golden opinions for…
The right choice
Listen http://az592690.vo.msecnd.net/media/channels/viewfrom22/acasts/theelectionwhereeverybodyloses/ALL/ALL/ALL/viewfrom22-theelectionwhereeverybodyloses.mp3 When election day dawns, it’s worth bearing in mind that two million more people will be going to work…
Start-up culture in Ancient Greece
Honduras wants to establish start-up cities to experiment with alternative economic, regulatory, and legal systems. Could this concept help stop…
Barometer
One-way stretch A study at Louisville University in Kentucky concluded that collisions are twice as likely in one-way streets as…
An empire for Islam
From ‘The Khalifate’, The Spectator, 1 May 1915: It seems that the Ottoman Empire is likely to crumble away, and in that…
Portrait of the week
Home The British economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, the slowest quarterly growth for…
Cameron is the only leader who can deliver an EU referendum. Why is he ashamed to say so?
The election campaign is becoming increasingly dominated by a small party whose raison d’être is to preach independence from membership…
Portrait of the week
Home The prospect of a parliamentary alliance between Labour and the Scottish National Party injected an element of fear into…
Justin Marozzi’s diary: Lunch with Saddam’s hangman, and a democratic revolution in Kensington
Lunch with the man who hanged Saddam. My irrepressible old Baghdad friend Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Ealing neurologist turned Iraqi national security…
What happens to politicians who insult the audience? Ask Dan Quayle
Any answers? Nigel Farage accused the audience in the BBC opposition leaders’ debate of being left-wing. Need insulting an audience…
Plutarch and Aristotle vs Lynton Crosby
Attack Ed Miliband and sing up the long-term economic plan: that is the now obviously useless scheme devised by the…
