World
The perpetual pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic was a black-swan event the likes of which this planet hadn’t seen in almost a hundred years.…
The SNP’s England obsession
There is a whiff of something in the current Scottish Parliament elections. It’s not quite strong enough to call it…
What's the problem with Apu?
Remember Apu, the kindly Indian shopkeeper from The Simpsons? Well, in the time since most people have stopped watching that…
Is the UK taking advantage of its vaccine success?
UK GDP ever so slightly edged up in February, growing 0.4 per cent according to today’s update from the Office…
David Cameron has done nothing wrong
To paraphrase the old adage, truth can still be pulling on its boots when a misconception is already half way…
Crime and no punishment in Minneapolis
So far in the 2020s, American citizens have been hectored endlessly about wearing masks, staying safe indoors and standing apart…
Now even Nick Clegg turns on Brussels
The last four months have not been a happy time for those in power in Brussels. The unedifying squabbles over…
How the West can respond to Putin’s military build-up
In the last few weeks, Russia has been flaunting its military build-up in and around Ukraine, sending 20,000 extra troops,…
The problem with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's war on obesity
With his little round spectacles and earnest expression, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is the Penfold to Jamie Oliver’s Dangermouse. Both men have…
Biden backs extending regulation of fentanyl ‘lookalikes’
As the pandemic accelerated, an epidemic seemed to recede from headlines. But it did not stop. More than 40 states reported an…
Biden is wrong on Putin
I am no fan of Trump, but what Joe Biden said in a recent interview with George Stephanopoulos made me…
Why Merkel's party is backing a political lightweight to replace her
The run-up to the German federal elections in September was supposed to be dull and predictable. Merkel would name a…
Israel's shadow war with Iran explodes into 'nuclear terrorism'
If time flows at an even pace, then history does not. Joe Biden may still be new in the job,…
Shirley Williams: a woman apart
Shirley Williams, the Liberal Democrat politician, died peacefully at her home this morning, aged 90. In 2009, our columnist Matthew Parris reviewed her…
The UK’s vaccine roll-out has ended the Brexit debate
The country would remain implacably divided for a generation, with Remain and Leave replacing class and geography as the new…
Downing Street is clueless on Scottish independence
It has been pointed out before that the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives have something of a symbiotic relationship. Bitterly…
Teaching unions shouldn't be defining 'transphobia'
A year of disrupted schooling means there are plenty of issues facing our schools right now. But delegates at last week’s…
The West's shameful Iranian capitulation
On a sweltering day in July 2018, German police pulled over a scarlet Ford S-Max hire car that was travelling…
Simon McCoy's warning shot to the Beeb
It was just a fortnight ago that the BBC’s grumpiest new presenter Simon McCoy announced he was off to join…
Prince Philip's best public encounters
Prince Philip’s death on Friday has led to an outpouring of tributes over the weekend, often prompted by personal recollections…
The Lib Dems' campaigning loophole
Following the sad news on Friday of the Duke of Edinburgh’s death, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey tweeted out his condolences writing…
Britain sees world’s sharpest fall in Covid cases
At the Spectator’s data hub, updated daily, we keep track of the situation here and around the world. There have…
Salmond and Galloway are the worst of both worlds
The death of the Duke of Edinburgh has paused campaigning in the Scottish Parliament election, which provides an opportunity to…
Can Spain's Europhilism last?
‘Suppose a man be carried, whilst fast asleep, into a room where there is a person he longs to see…
Why I’m worried about the teenage cancer generation
As I sit here writing this, it’s just over one year ago since the first lockdown was imposed, without which…
