Fraser Nelson 
Why Eurovision needs to be saved from the BBC
Britain is a stickler for tradition and on Saturday night we will observe a relatively new one: we will bomb in the Eurovision Song Contest. The protocol now is well-established.… Read more
Why The Spectator won’t sign the Royal Charter
Whatever else is said about David Cameron’s hand-ling of press regulation, there can be no doubt that the deal he struck on Monday demonstrated masterful sleight of hand. Just days… Read more
Budget 2013: How George Osborne ran out of ideas
Before every Budget, George Osborne always seeks the advice of various MPs. He usually doesn’t heed it but it’s a good way, he thinks, to keep the troops happy. As… Read more
The unlikely revolutionary
Behind Michael Gove’s desk stands an imposing McCarthy-era poster which says: ‘Sure I want to fight Communism — but how?’ In their less charitable moments, Tories may argue that his… Read more
The coming showdown
Angela Merkel is running out of nice things to say about David Cameron and the Tory rebels who are dictating his European policy. Der Spiegel magazine recently compared the British… Read more
Dave’s going down
By now, it will be clear even to David Cameron that he is on course to lose the next general election. The British electoral system always was rigged against the… Read more
It has to be Boris
The government’s failings have hampered his campaign but he must prevail A few weeks ago, Michael Gove addressed a crowd of Tory activists in the basement of a London hotel.… Read more
Sweden’s secret recipe
When Europe’s finance ministers meet for a group photo, it’s easy to spot the rebel — Anders Borg has a ponytail and earring. What actually marks him out, though, is… Read more
Travel – Sweden: Ice pick
Now is the time to skate Stockholm’s archipelago, says Fraser Nelson There are two times to visit Sweden: the height of summer or the depths of winter. If you have… Read more
Flight of the black swan
Nassim Taleb is banging a glass against a table to demonstrate his notion of ‘anti-fragility’. ‘This glass is fragile,’ he says. ‘Vulnerable to nasty surprises.’ The glass survives his test.… Read more
The trick Osborne missed
The politically mobile American entrepreneur is a species which has no real equivalent in British politics. We tend to separate the moneymakers from the policymakers at an early age. And… Read more
Europe’s hit squad
If you thought the EU couldn’t get any less democratic, meet the Frankfurt Group The Old Opera House in Frankfurt — once Germany’s most beautiful postwar ruin and now its… Read more
To catch a spy
When Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opens next week, it is likely to have all the spooks in London flocking to the cinema. John Le Carré, who wrote the book and… Read more
Michael Gove’s free schools are a triumph – but can they keep up with the baby boom?
When Michael Gove first proposed ‘free schools’ four years ago, he could have been written off as another Tory daydreamer. The idea of creating an education market, with independent state… Read more
Primary contest
The independent advantage starts early – frighteningly early, if you’re a parent, says Fraser Nelson Fifty per cent of children are of below-average intelligence, but try telling that obvious fact… Read more
Strike and counterstrike
For years, David Cameron has known that he would have to fight the trade unions and that the outcome of the battle would define his premiership. But neither side expected… Read more
Poverty porn
British poverty is normally a subject for comedy, rather than documentary. Scotland gave the world Rab C. Nesbitt with his string vest and indecipherable accent. Channel 4 had Shameless, the… Read more
Salmond’s treasure map
Since oil was struck in the North Sea in 1970, it has fuelled dreams of Scottish independence. ‘Rich Scots, or poor Britons?’ ran the Scottish Nationalist Party’s slogan two years… Read more
Enemies of the Crown
Prince Andrew’s follies have shown the royal family who its friends are To enemies of the monarchy, Prince Andrew presents the perfect target. He has an array of vices: a… Read more
Blogs
-
Andrew Feldman denies calling Tory activists ‘swivel-eyed loons’
What a strange day. Lord
-
Britain’s great university rip-off
The mis-selling of higher education
-
How Cameron’s only black adviser was ‘frozen out,’ by his ‘friend’…
The Daily Telegraph has an
-
To stay in the global race, British universities may have to go private.
If the devil were to
-
Peter Hain wants more debt — another policy stolen from the Tories
Peter Hain is pessimistic about
-
Tonight: Charles Moore in conversation with Andrew Neil
You know something is going
-
The coalition should have extended anonymity on rape cases
No one can ever recover
-
Local elections: UKIP’s ‘phenomenal performance’
What few results there have
-
The report the Department for Education does NOT want you to read
One of the better policies
-
Britain and America face a new enemy: the lone wolf terrorist
Yesterday, thousands of runners in
-
Skills are the problem. But does anyone have a solution?
For years, words ‘skills’ and
-
Westminster School opens a free school
Guests at The Spectator’s schools
-
Thatcher didn’t really save Britain. She allowed Britain to save itself.
Thatchermania has died down now,
-
Why Fitch downgraded Britain from AAA, in three graphs
Fitch has today followed Moody’s
-
Is Gove’s school reform genie out of the bottle?
Will Michael Gove’s reforms outlast
-
Exclusive: James Harding to be new BBC Director of News
A BBC source tells me
-
Andrew Lansley, like Andrew Marr, was almost killed by exercise
The old joke — ‘my
-
Is UKIP posing as the new party of the British working class?
How seriously should we take
-
Situations vacant
I hope CoffeeHousers will forgive
Latest blogs
- Andrew Feldman denies calling Tory activists ‘swivel-eyed loons’ Fraser Nelson
- The swivel-eyed loons in the Conservative party are revolting. And they are right to revolt. Alex Massie
- Top Tory calls party activists ‘mad swivel-eyed loons’ James Forsyth
- Spectator Play: what’s worth watching, listening to or going to this weekend Camilla Swift
- Hammond on manoeuvres? The other Tory MPs who fancy a crack at the leadership Isabel Hardman
- Some anti-fascists are very fascistic Douglas Murray
- What Gove should know about Singapore schools Clarissa Tan
