The latest issue of the Spectator is out today, and here are my top four features:
1. Britain on the brink. Allister Heath, the editor of City AM, blogged about his cover story earlier. But the full article really is a must-read: it explains just why hung parliaments don’t work in Britain and why the AAA rating is now a red herring. There is a real risk of Britain following Greece into the vortex.
2. Why do we let South Africans play cricket for England? Peter Oborne cares deeply about cricket – and has written an impassioned piece about what he sees as a South African invasion of our national side. Sure, players like Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen may be brilliant, but they are not British. Why are they allowed to play in the first place?
3. Cameron needs to remain in “crisis mode”. James follows up his cover story on the Tories’ campaign wobble last week. Cameron has recovered, he said, but his MPs have still not forgiven him for coming so close. If he had behaved every day as if it was a crisis, he might have taken advantage of Labour’s internecine warfare to build an unassailable advantage.
4. China’s African Empire. This is a subject that I can’t read enough about: the way that China, in its global hunt for resources, is snapping up parts of Africa – a kind of resource colonialism. The FT’s Alex Russell has written a superb piece about Jacob Zuma and South Africa. Don’t be fooled by Zuma’s flamboyance, his five wives and 20 kids. This is a deadly serious political player who is looking to China. A lively account of what looks set to be one of the defining global-political trends of the next few decades.
All the above are free to view for our subscribers – plus plenty more besides. ‘Olden and Golden’, for example, has a great debate about whether Carole King’s Tapestry is a better album than Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark. After much agonising, I think Tapestry has it.
For those who are not subscribers – do come and join us. Or choose another way of accessing the magazine here.
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