Features
The secret of David Cameron’s Europe strategy: he doesn’t have one
Shortly before the Conservative party conference last year, the head of the Fresh Start Group of Eurosceptic Conservative MPs went in to see the Prime Minister in Downing Street. The… Read more
Nadine Dorries interview: why I want to run as a UKIP-Tory joint candidate
It’s not often you see Tory MPs celebrating anything, but on Monday a bunch of them were packed into an office high in Portcullis House to toast the rehabilitation of… Read more
Arm Syria’s rebels? That would be pouring petrol on a fire
Syria is sliding rapidly into chaos. The supply of weapons to the opposition could only make matters worse, yet the Prime Minister seems to be -contemplating it. We have misjudged the… Read more
Boris’s Paris match: an interview with Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet
It’s Monday lunchtime, downstairs in the Spectator office, and Boris Johnson is trying to flog a bus to a Frenchwoman. ‘What about the new Routemaster? It’s absolutely great, yup, fantastic,… Read more
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
What Michael Gove should know about going to school in Singapore
I like to tease my friend Wei about being a tiger mother. She once told me of an incident where her daughter Shu was making an artwork for a friend… Read more
It's time to admit it: the NHS is unable to look after our elderly
I decided to become a hospital visitor last year, after being a patient and finding myself in something more like a factory than an old-fashioned ward. A terror of infection… Read more
Britain can’t afford to surrender to the greens on shale gas
The scandal of official reluctance to develop Britain’s shale gas potential is at last beginning to surface. It may prove to be the dress rehearsal for the ultimate drama —… Read more
Life among South Africa’s nouveaux riches
Not long ago Cyril Ramaphosa, probably South Africa’s future president and ANC leader, attempted to buy a buffalo. It was at an auction for hunters and game ranchers. He bid… Read more
Julie Burchill interview: ‘I don’t want to be normal’
Seeing Julie Burchill sitting at the back of the restaurant near Victoria Station, I feel a surge of affection. Chin up, sunglasses on, lips fixed in a pout, she is… Read more
The not-so-great Gatsby
You do not need to have read the book or even seen a film adaptation to feel a thrill at the word ‘Gatsby’. More than a novel, a film or… Read more
The Queen’s speech can’t repeal the Law of Unintended Consequences
Last week, the European Commission voted to ban three pesticides which are said to harm bees. Everyone loves bees, so perhaps we should all be rejoicing? Well, I’m afraid my… Read more
Geoffrey Wheatcroft’s diary: Peter King, terror hypocrite, and the joys of Longhorns
As we landed at Houston, I suddenly thought of my first visit to America, in 1965 during what we didn’t then call my gap year. Forty-eight years does seem a… Read more
War Stories
The mental battle over Sunday roast: mum, my brother and myself trying our best to look interested, so he wouldn’t be wounded.
Ukip vs the world
Ukip hope that this week’s county council elections are just the fireworks display before the big bang. In 2014 they think they can blow open British politics by winning a… Read more
A visit to Bulgaria with Nigel Farage
One Sunday evening, while I was trying to avoid ironing my shirts, it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to take Nigel Farage to Bulgaria or… Read more
We must save the bread-and-butter letter from extinction
When my parents received a thank-you letter from a good friend recently, we all read it with (I’m afraid) not affectionate pleasure but a rising sense of indignation. The trouble… Read more
The Free Syrian Army is being taken over by groups of jihadist thugs
Ghadi had spent the past two years on the run from the Syrian regime but it was the rebels fighting against the government, the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) who… Read more
If there was ever a time to intervene in Syria, it has passed
It is more than ten years since I first sat down with members of the Syrian opposition. Back then they included real moderates, but even these didn’t predict a bloodless… Read more
Don’t believe the hype: the French still live better than Americans
In recent months I’ve read at least ten articles about French malaise — all of it apparently due to some mysterious Gallic trait that makes the world’s luckiest people unable… Read more
Latest blogs
- The Liberal Democrats, the natural party of government? James Forsyth
- Lord Mandelson gives Miliband two big tasks Isabel Hardman
- Scotland’s 2013 Eurovision triumph Fraser Nelson
- 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
