Tony Benn
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…
The couple behind the world’s most famous chair
Peter Mandelson, in his moment of pomp, had his portrait taken by Lord Snowdon. He is sitting on a fine…
Will anyone fight, fight and fight again to save what’s left of New Labour?
Five years ago this Saturday, Ed Miliband was crowned Labour leader. Three days later, he had to deliver his first…
Charles Moore’s Notes: what the Labour party needs is a parliamentary representation committee
When the Labour party began, its purpose was the representation of labour (i.e. workers) in the House of Commons. Indeed,…
We Are Many reviewed: does anyone think this anti-Iraq War film will change anything?
Big-screen documentaries never change the world. Blackfish has not shortened the queues to see maltreated killer whales leap through hoops…
Spectator letters: Bereaved parents against press regulation, and a defence of Tony Benn
Why we need a free press Sir: As bereaved parents and (to borrow from some signatories of last week’s advertisement)…
Portrait of the week
Home In the Budget, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that the economy was working but the job…
How I became editor of The Spectator - aged 27
Thirty years ago this Saturday, I became editor of this magazine. In the same month, the miners’ strike began, Anthony…
We have to tell the truth about Tony Benn now. Who will hear it later?
I could start by remarking that we should not speak ill of the dead, quoting the pertinent Latin phrase: de…
Six months as a TV critic, and I’ve seen enough corpses to last a lifetime
It was Shetland that tipped me over the edge. Not the place, but the TV series. Although that’s set in…
Big changes in little words
I managed to grab the TLS last week before my husband stuffed it in his overcoat pocket and lost it…
Why Doctor Who is secretly Tony Benn
Through the ages, the Time Lord has been a political weathervane
