Conservatives
Of course the old Tory hatreds are back. That’s referendums for you
Of course it’s vicious. It was always going to be. Sure, they’ve spent decades living peacefully side by side, but…
I want to see President Trump – if only because of who he’d annoy
I suppose spite and schadenfreude are thinnish reasons, intellectually, for wishing Donald Trump to become the next American president (and…
The political wisdom of people who don’t even know what a circle is
Why are liberals morons? I’m sure that this question has rattled around your mind before, perhaps when watching one of…
Tearing tax credits away from the working poor is a battle of choice, not necessity
Just over 30 years ago, Margaret Thatcher’s government decided to look at local government finance. A young aide, John Redwood,…
The spectre haunting George Osborne
Rather more attention was paid last week to the strange position of George Osborne’s feet than to the dark shape…
Bring back the bungalow!
We’re not building the right houses for our ageing population
You won't believe this story about my friend, Jeremy Corbyn and the owl
A friend of mine once watched Jeremy Corbyn try to rape an owl. This was the early to mid-1980s. The…
Charles Moore’s Notes: Why Labour keeps failing to choose a woman leader
Watching the very pleasant Liz Kendall on television this week, I was struck by how extraordinary it is that more…
We don’t need an elected Lords – just a much smaller one
Something needs to be done about the overstuffed House of Lords
Why won't Cameron seize his chance on the EU?
Few European leaders have been luckier than David Cameron. First he was sent Ed Miliband. Now events in Greece may…
Cameron’s EU referendum tactics make Harold Wilson look clever
David Cameron is now facing the biggest challenge of his leadership: how to renegotiate Britain’s membership of the EU without…
Revealed: David Cameron's rehearsed resignation speech
At 6.30 p.m. on 7 May, the Camerons invited guests at their home in Oxfordshire into the garden for a…
There’s no date yet for an EU referendum. But the ‘yes’ campaign has started
Forty years ago this week, Britain voted to remain part of the European Community. That remains the only direct vote…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, soon got used to the surprise of the Conservatives being returned in the general…
How did the polls get it so wrong? Jim Messina knows
Jim Messina, Cameron’s data supremo, explains all
David Cameron's big secret: he's not a great politician
This was a vital election. A Tory failure would have been an act of political treason. Five years ago, the…
Do you think the age of boom and bust is over? All our party leaders are betting that it is
After working for Bill Clinton, the political strategist James Carville said he had changed his mind about where power really…
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…
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 wealth gap has been allowed to get too big.’ Ed Miliband? No, Boris Johnson
Whoever wins the election, the London Mayor is going to be all right
Five arguments for voting Tory (and one for anything but)
Five Spectator contributors on why they’re voting for Cameron (and one on why he isn’t)
If you thought politics was boring, you should check out today’s political theatre
How has political theatre fared during the coalition? Not very well, writes Lloyd Evans
Portrait of the week
Home The prospect of a parliamentary alliance between Labour and the Scottish National Party injected an element of fear into…
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…
Why so many bankers secretly like Labour’s non-dom proposal
The interesting thing about Labour’s pledge to abolish non-dom tax status — a squib designed to trap Tories into expressing…
