The Week
If you really love the NHS, you know it needs to change
To adapt Aeschylus’s aphorism on war and truth, the first casualty in a general election campaign is objectivity. Over the…
Portrait of the week
Home The man seen in several Islamic State videos of hostages being beheaded, nicknamed Jihadi John by the British press,…
Miriam Gross’s diary: Why use Freud and Kurt Weill to promote Wagner?
Last week I went to the exhilarating English National Opera production of Wagner’s The Mastersingers — five hours of wonderful…
The perils of planespotting
A dangerous hobby Three men from Greater Manchester were arrested and held in the UAE after being seen writing down…
Cicero’s advice for Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw
In responding as they did to the Daily Telegraph ‘sting’, Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind may well have done…
Too short for the trenches?
From ‘The “Willing” Badge’, The Spectator, 6 March 1915: A final ground for giving badges to those who have offered themselves…
Australian letters
Vale of Praise Sir: Michael Baume’s article on Iron Ore’s Vale of Tears (Business/Robbery etc 28 February) was the best…
Hyperides vs Jack Straw
In responding as they did to the Daily Telegraph ‘sting’, Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind may well have done…
Barometer
A dangerous hobby Three men from Greater Manchester were arrested and held in the UAE after being seen writing down…
The real problem with our MPs: they’re obsessed with the super-rich
Had the public been asked, before Monday morning, to identify two MPs who stood for honesty and decency, the names…
Portrait of the week
Home Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Conservative foreign secretary, resigned as chairman of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee and promised…
Paul Mason’s diary: My Greek TV drama
It’ll be a Skype interview, says the producer from Greek television, and not live. In TV-speak that usually means not…
Five more MPs making Malcolm Rifkind’s day rate
Golden league Some MPs who earn Sir Malcolm Rifkind’s rate of £5,000 a day: — Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury): £3,333…
Today’s TV debates are pointless – here’s the real thing
Ancients would have been astonished that parties never debate against each other in open, public forum except on the telly…
From the archives
From The Spectator, 27 February 1915: Observers of birds have been much interested by the evidence, which seems to be fairly…
Australian letters
Bad behaviour Sir: A good number of years ago I was at the University of NSW with a pleasant fellow…
Let Greece leave the eurozone
To listen to Greek government ministers addressing the outside world during their breaks from negotiations with eurozone leaders this week,…
Portrait of the week
Home The annual rate of inflation fell to 0.3 per cent as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (or to 1.1…
Virginia Ironside’s diary: Fifty Shades is a story of redemption (but I still won’t watch it)
All this fuss about Fifty Shades of Grey! I wonder how many people have actually read all three books? Sado-masochism…
Why did the House of Lords ever have a rifle range?
Gun lords The House of Lords shooting range is to be turned into a cupboard, having previously survived an attempt…
Julius Caesar could teach Isis a thing or two
Isis disseminates videos of beheaded captives to spread simple terror. Julius Caesar knew all about it. In his diaries of…
From the archives
From ‘The psychology of drill’, The Spectator, 20 February 1915: One is tempted to divide all men under drill into…
Australian letters
Japanese numbers Sir I refer to the article No Aussie Knighthood for Winston (31 January). Whilst I agree with the…
In this election, won't someone please weaponise defence?
Britain is forfeiting its position on the world stage. With no national debate, we are surrendering our claim to be…
Portrait of the week
Home Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, told Parliament that Britain reserved the right to supply arms to Ukraine, as ‘We…
