There are more pressing financial concerns than this

Yet another poll for the mix

After the Ipsos MORI hullabaloo, it's tempting to treat the YouGov/Telegraph poll on Westminster voting intentions in Scotland with extreme caution.  But, for the record, here are the headline

Cult classic

I may have put the kiss of death on The Thick of It but lightening won’t strike twice. I second Liz Anderson’s praise of Gavin and Stacey; It’s

The smoking iceberg?

Data that has been hacked from the Hadley Centre’s Climatic Research Unit at East Anglia University – one of the principal academic centres behind anthropogenic global warming theory

The peace to end all peace

The first world war was the last major conflict to be brought to an end in the traditional fashion, with a formal treaty of peace. Or, rather, several treaties of

Spectator sport

The X Factor (ITV, Saturday and Sunday) is the most popular show on television at the moment. I felt I should watch it so that you don’t have to.

It’s

Buckets and Spades

Southwest London – leafy, quiet streets of Victorian houses. North Cornwall – the bone-chilling Atlantic wind, massive breakers and tiny beach houses clinging onto the cliffs for dear life. What

Poetry reading, 25 November (more fine words from The Spectator)

On Wednesday 25 November 2009, The Spectator continues its series of successful poetry evenings showcasing some of the biggest and brightest names in contemporary poetry. The reading will take place in The Spectator Boardroom, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP between 6:30pm and 9pm.

Religion is like a jigsaw: it makes a picture out of puzzling chaos

It hardly struck me, as I set out for a couple of days in Somerset, that they would lead me to Bridport in Dorset, thence to Dame Margaret Drabble, to