European Union
Norway is hard on migrants – but tough love works
When Angela Merkel invited refugees to Germany in 2015, tearing up the rules obliging migrants to seek asylum in the…
No deal is a good deal
So Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker enjoyed a ‘broad and constructive exchange’ during their working dinner in Brussels. Last time…
The Spectator’s Notes
You can see why Theresa May said in Florence that the British wished the European Union well in its plans…
Seeing the light
‘You can’t lie… on radio,’ says Liza Tarbuck. The Radio 2 DJ was being interviewed for the network’s birthday portrait,…
Call Barnier’s bluff
There is a growing perception that Britain is floundering in its EU negotiations, with a professional team from Brussels running…
Playing chicken
Besides being important in themselves, the trade talks between Britain and the United States which began this week are symbolic…
The dark clouds threatening Brexit
It’s summertime and the living is easy… unless you’re a civil servant working on Brexit. Whitehall has recognised that the…
Poor conduct
Last weekend Daniel Barenboim brought the Staatskapelle Berlin to perform at the BBC Proms for a cycle of Elgar’s symphonies.…
Britain’s winning hand
On the morning after the European Union referendum, Britain looked like a country in crisis. The Prime Minister had resigned,…
In this EU referendum, every vote will be a leap in the dark
Complaining about the EU referendum campaign has become an integral part of the referendum; even Delia Smith has got in…
How Leave can win (or at least lose with honour)
It may be too late. But with only about three weeks before our referendum on EU membership I am itching…
Sorry, Chancellor, but the economic argument for the EU has not been won. Here’s why
A Ryanair plane in a Stansted hangar was not the best backdrop for George Osborne’s claim that the economic argument…
Don’t rule out Referendum Two: the Tory ‘Leave’ genie’s out of the bottle
As the Queen read out her government’s agenda on Wednesday morning, David Cameron could have been forgiven for thinking about…
David Cameron is heading for a hollow victory in the EU referendum
‘Nothing except a battle lost can be half as melancholy as a battle won,’ wrote the Duke of Wellington after…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, having continued talks through the night in Brussels, announced that he had achieved a ‘special status’ for…
I'm voting 'leave' to go back to the 1970s. What's wrong with that?
I don’t remember the last European referendum being nearly as dramatic as the current one. In 1975, we were being…
David Cameron is presenting all the wrong arguments for staying in the EU
It is normally in the final, frantic days of a campaign that a multitude of dubious claims are made. But…
Go back and get more from the EU, Prime Minister
Throughout his negotiations with the European Union, David Cameron was fatally undermined by his own lack of resolve. He was…
The ‘in’ side’s shockingly bad start in the EU referendum campaign
David Cameron wants to get the European Union referendum over with quickly — and understandably so. Things are still going…
What Brexit would look like for Britain
Life outside the EU would be good for Britain
The secret life of Sir John Major
Putting old or contaminated petrol in a car needn’t be catastrophic, but in the Golf’s case it was. With 37,000…
Charles Moore’s Notes: Are we really going to try Lord Janner’s corpse?
At the end of next week, a judge will decide whether the ‘trial of the facts’ can proceed now that…
Can Cameron really offer the best of both worlds in the EU referendum?
By this time next year Britain will, if the government has its way, have voted on whether or not this…
Portrait of the week
Home Two groups were launched, one in favour of remaining in the European Union and the other in favour of…
Merkel's crisis is Cameron's opportunity
Merkel’s crisis is David Cameron’s opportunity
