election 2019
Portrait of the year: From May to a December election
January ‘If parliament backs a deal, Britain can turn a corner,’ Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said. The Commons defeated…
Boris Johnson: Perhaps my campaign was ‘clunking’. But sometimes, clunking is what you need
You may wonder why I am up at 4.45 a.m. writing this diary when I have a country to run, Queen’s…
Boris’s Britain: How the PM intends to deliver for his new friends in the North
The era of uncertainty has ended. Boris Johnson’s decisive victory has not only broken the Brexit deadlock created by Theresa…
Gay giraffes and dead in ditches: The Spectator 2019 quiz
They said it In 2019, who said: 1. ‘You have stolen my dreams and my childhood.’ 2. ‘I didn’t sweat…
Politics has fractured along new fault lines – those elected must repair the cracks
It’s easy to see why the Labour party tried so hard to avoid this general election. They looked certain to…
How common are volcanic eruptions?
Volcanic eruptions At least six people were killed when White Island, a volcano off New Zealand’s North Island, erupted. How…
Letters: Why have the Conservatives decided Chesterfield is a lost cause?
Given up on Chesterfield? Sir: Matthew Parris makes some interesting and accurate points about growing Tory support in the north…
The battle for the soul of the Labour party
In the days before the election, senior Labour people were already discussing how to replace Jeremy Corbyn should the party…
I’ll take Russian democracy over ours
Staraya Russa. About two thirds of the way from Moscow to St Petersburg, in the historic Novgorod Oblast, once the…
Changing the script: the shifting character of our political parties
Elections should be carnivals of democracy. The campaign we have just been through, though, has felt more like amateur dramatics.…
All the world’s a stage: this election has echoes of Shakespeare and Dickens
The Christmas election has unfolded like a series of mini-dramas from panto, Dickens and other popular classics. Boris has come…
Tories benefit from no-show at chaotic TV debate as election enters final days
Believe it or not, there was yet another televised election debate tonight, this time on Channel 4, called the ‘Everything…
This is the most important election in modern history – so vote, and vote Tory
Next week, voters will decide the future of the government, of Brexit, and perhaps of the Union. Jeremy Corbyn has…
Remembering the genius of Clive James
‘Clive James Stirs.’ That was the standard subject line for the emails I used to get from the great Australian…
Letters: Governments should be promoting marriage, not discouraging it for the sake of equality
Look closer to home Sir: In your interview with Boris Johnson (‘Austerity was not the way forward’, 30 November) he…
Six weeks is too long for an election campaign
The number of parties represented in national election debate multiplies. There are now seven crowding on to television podiums and…
The Tories are right to be nervous
Despite their consistent poll lead, the Tories are anxious. There is only a week to go and in many seats…
The Tories will win – but with no thanks to the North
It’s time to stick my neck out. What follows is anecdotal and my hunches have often been wrong. But I…
What the Tories don’t understand about Corbyn voters
Until recently, the Tories seemed pretty confident about next week’s election. Despite spending three and a half years blundering over…
‘Corbyn is led by ideology, I’m led by economics’: Sajid Javid’s spending plan
If Boris Johnson wins next week, it will be on a manifesto of change. He will not deliver the fourth…
Viral videos, not leaders’ debates, could decide this election
You might well expect the final election debate, Johnson vs Corbyn head-to-head on primetime BBC, to provide the most watched…
This election will change Britain – and Europe – for good
This election campaign feels unreal. Commentators focus on spending plans and personal foibles, but what will make next week’s vote…
It’s possible to talk to children about politics without leading them in one direction
My six-year-old son announced, from the back of the car, that he was backing Boris Johnson. My wife, who’s voting…
Must try harder: Labour wants to reverse a decade of progress in education
If education rather than Brexit or the NHS was the biggest issue in this election campaign, the Tories would be…
Politics of a certain vintage – and wine to match
I wonder how they do things now at Tory headquarters. For the ’79 election, the preparations had been completed weeks…
