Margaret Thatcher
Solving the mystery of mass almost ruined Peter Higgs’s life
In 1993 William Waldegrave, the science minister, was looking into a project being planned on the continent. Cern, the European…
Liz Truss is no Margaret Thatcher
The late Senator Lloyd Bentsen was 26 years older than the young Senator Dan Quayle when in 1988 they crossed…
Inflation is a social evil, so why don't our leaders care?
It was a ‘destroyer of society’, a ‘tax on ordinary people’s savings’ and a threat to social order. You don’t…
Has liberalism destroyed itself?
According to Vladimir Putin, liberalism is an ‘obsolete’ doctrine, a worn-out political philosophy no longer fit for purpose. In this…
How Britain was misled over Europe for 60 years
Just as one is inclined to believe Carlyle’s point that the history of the world is but the biography of…
Spies shouldn’t be political
Now that events in Ukraine are restoring a sense of proportion about the difference between aggressive autocracies and free countries,…
What would have happened in the Falklands if Thatcher had been a man?
Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands 40 years ago. I had joined the Daily Telegraph as a reporter in 1979 and…
What I really said to Gordon Brown: Field Marshal Lord Guthrie sets the record straight
A headline in the Mail on Sunday, taken up eagerly by the BBC’s Todayprogramme, claimed recently: ‘The SAS is getting…
Wrapped up in satire, a serious lesson about the fine line between success and scandal
Have you heard of champing? Neither had I. Turns out it’s camping in a field beside a deserted church. When…
A dutiful exercise carried out in a rush
The final volume of Peter Ackroyd’s History of England feels like a dutiful exercise carried out in a hurry, says Philip Hensher
Margaret Thatcher vs everyone else: the making of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement
Diplomatic negotiations are rarely fully described by their participants in books, for two reasons. They are usually secret until much…
This play is a wonder: Bach & Sons at the Bridge Theatre reviewed
Bach & Sons opens with the great composer tinkling away on a harpsichord while a toddler screeches his head off…
My voyage back through the landmarks of my life
I was looking forward to my dinner at Daquise in South Kensington, a Polish restaurant that’s been there for ever…
Confessions of a lifelong bitch
The return of the bitch is long overdue
The greatest threat to Boris's legacy
The government is starting to have an opinion poll problem, but it has nothing to do with any great threat…
Social mobility has become a meaningless mantra
‘Whatever your background,’ Margaret Thatcher told the Sun’s readers in 1983, she was determined that ‘you have a chance to…
My memories of Sir David Barclay
Even with its 27 amendments, the US Constitution is only 7,591 words. I keep it beside me, and find in…
The politics of handbags
‘Of course, I am obstinate in defending our liberties and our law — that is why I carry a big…
What if Thatcher won the 1990 leadership challenge?
Thirty years ago today, Margaret Thatcher was in 10 Downing Street. For almost eleven and a half years, it had…
Why academics hold Thatcher and Trump in such contempt
‘Has that orange baboon gone yet?’ asked a senior professor in the teacher’s room at my university yesterday. The remark…
The Spectator’s proud history of standing up for Hong Kong
This week in 1989, the Chinese authorities massacred protestors in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. I was editing this paper. It struck…
How much are people eating during lockdown?
People power Boris Johnson said that the reaction to the coronavirus crisis showed ‘There really is such a thing as…
How Boris Johnson can emulate Margaret Thatcher
An open letter to Boris Johnson: People, even including your opponents, are getting used to the idea that you are…
Labour’s failure isn’t necessarily the Tories’ success
A moment arrives when one does just have to admit defeat. We shall leave the European Union and there isn’t…
My friend Margaret Thatcher
By the time you read this it will all be over, but will it? I’ve had a bad feeling all…
