History
How ancient Rome turned immigrants into citizens
In the migration crisis, the EU is currently acting just like the ancients, as if border controls did not exist,…
Forget Chilcot. Here’s the inquiry we really need
What we really need is an inquiry into why so many of us are so eager to support ‘humanitarian’ wars
A.N. Wilson’s diary: VJ Day and the Virginia Woolf Burger Bar
Should we have celebrated VJ Day? Hearing the hieratic tones of the Emperor Hirohito on Radio 4 the other day,…
Labour always lurches left when it loses. But this time is worse
The party always swings left after defeats. But this time is worse
Wealthy, cosmopolitan – and sometimes rough: the secrets of Hamburg (and my grandmother)
‘What was it like growing up in Liverpool?’ a journalist asked John Lennon. ‘I didn’t grow up in Liverpool,’ he…
Who dares lies: why do so many men pretend to have been in the SAS?
Why do so many men (including Sir Christopher Lee) fib about serving with the SAS?
Which political souvenirs are worth hanging on to
My first reaction on hearing of Margaret Thatcher’s death in 2013 was: ‘Great — now my autograph from her will…
Labour’s austerity tradition
The spirit of 1945 No one would have been more surprised at the sight of 100,000 people marching in London…
Charles Moore’s notes: Grexit isn’t like Brexit (and that’s why it won’t be allowed to happen)
People write about ‘Grexit’ and ‘Brexit’ as if they were the same, but they need not be. Grexit is about…
Trials of the century: sex, sodomy, espionage, theft and fraud
Jeremy Hutchinson was the doyen of the criminal bar in the 1960s and 1970s. No Old Bailey hack or parvenu…
A political history of The Clangers
Dropping the Clangers The Clangers made a comeback on BBC television. Some Clanger facts: — The actors doing the voices…
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…
From surfing to takeovers: the story behind the richest man in Brazil
The tectonic plates of economic life rumble and shift. As ever, market watchers are obsessed by big themes — and…
We should celebrate Magna Carta by abolishing the European Arrest Warrant
The European Arrest Warrant is incompatible with our tradition of justice
How the French won Waterloo (or think they did)
The French would still prefer to think of Napoleon’s last defeat as a moral victory
From ambrosia to zabaglione — now with added slavery
This Oxford Companion ranges from the sweet to the decidedly salty, while being the most politically correct reference book you will ever consult, says Paul Levy
Driving test advice from 80 years ago
First test The driving test celebrated its 80th anniversary. The first person to take the test, R.E.L. Beene of Kensington,…
Cunard – a triumph of steam-age privatisation
Steam privatisation Cunard celebrated its 175th birthday by sailing three liners down the Mersey. The formation of the Cunard Line…
BBC2’s Armada has something for everybody - including three yummy female historians
It has been a while since the BBC really pushed the boat out on the epic history documentary front. Perhaps…
Despair after VE day… the men left behind by victory
The ex-officers left behind after VE day
The carpet-bombing of Hamburg killed 40,000 people. It also did good
The carpet-bombing of Hamburg killed 40,000 people. It also did good
Joseph Goebbels: Hitler’s ‘little doctor’ was devoted unto death
It is ironic that this weighty biography of Hitler’s evil genius of a propaganda minister is published on the day…
This election has made me understand how it felt to be a lefty under Thatcher
On the weekend of 25 April 2015 I started to believe that the party I supported might not win an…
Spectator letters: England’s defining myth, and another forgotten genocide
Enemies within Sir: I thought Matthew Parris was typically incisive in his last column, but perhaps not quite as much…
A 1992 election-day lunch with the young David Cameron
Lunch with a young Cameron on polling day, 1992
