Society

Portrait of the week: Sue Gray resigns and the Chagos Islands are handed back 

Home Sue Gray resigned as chief of staff to Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister. She will become Sir Keir’s envoy for the nations and regions of the United Kingdom. She was replaced by Morgan McSweeney, 47. James Lyons, a former political journalist who has more recently worked for the NHS and TikTok, was brought in to take charge of strategic communications. Sir Keir paid back more than £6,000 for gifts and hospitality, including six Taylor Swift tickets, four tickets to the races and a clothing rental agreement with his wife. More people in the United Kingdom died than were born in the year to mid-2023, according to the Office for National

My plans for The Spectator

Shortly after Boris Johnson was selected as the Conservative candidate for Henley, he invited me to lunch at The Spectator. It was, he said, to be an intimate affair. The magazine’s then proprietor, Conrad Black, had made it known that he expected Boris to stand down as editor now that he was embarking on a political career. Speculation as to who might succeed him was intense among ambitious young journalists. And I was one of those at the time who harboured secret hopes. Was this invitation a sign of favour, a laying-on of hands, the anointing of an heir? On arriving at lunch I discovered that there were other guests.

The ladies who punch

Double jab, right, hook body, duck, right… Right, left, right, upper, four hooks… Ten straight punches… And ten more… Twenty roundhouse kicks… Now the other leg… When I tell people that I’ve started kickboxing, they tend to think they’ve misheard. It’s true I’m not who one might think of as a typical fighter. I’ve spent my life working with books and now along with the books I juggle three kids and a dog. The closest I usually get to fighting is when I drag my whippet away from a scuffle in the park, or get elbowed out of the way in the school bake-sale scrum. Although I always seem to

Ross Clark

How bad will Hurricane Milton be?

‘Astronomical’; the ‘strongest storm in a century’; ‘nearing the mathematical limit for a storm’ – the increasingly fraught descriptions of Hurricane Milton are coming through thick and fast even before it has struck Florida. But how strong is Milton really? The hurricane has been recorded as a category five hurricane – the highest classification – with maximum wind speeds of 180 mph. But it is still out to sea. By the time it makes landfall at the end of the week it is forecast to fall to category three. As for the ‘strongest storm in a century’, it may turn out to be the strongest hurricane to hit Tampa Bay

The Spectator is looking for a political cartoonist

Here’s your chance to have your illustrations featured in The Spectator.  We’re looking for fresh, funny, and original work. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this is your opportunity to submit your work, as we invite new cartoonists to join our ranks. Picture the cover of The Spectator. What would you put on it? Picture an article you have read recently in the magazine. How would you illustrate it?  If you are a terrific caricaturist, fantastic storyteller and wit who doesn’t take anything too seriously, please throw your hat in the ring. Submit your best cartoons and join the legendary illustrators who have graced the pages of

The art of swearing

Sometimes it’s the only word that will do. Every journalist at Max Verstappen’s press conference last month understood him perfectly when he said his car was ‘fucked’, the adjective chosen not to convey mechanical failings but rather Verstappen’s emotions. But the Formula 1 authorities were displeased, and the driver has been punished. Perhaps the FIA should listen to Billy Connolly. The comedian is a fan of the f-word, relishing its harsh consonants. He maintains there simply isn’t a polite equivalent to match it: ‘“Go away” just dissipates.’ Of course you can take it too far. Scattergun swearing is tedious, the words losing their power with each repetition. But sparing, well-timed

How I keep Question Time audiences under control

Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love – or it’s supposed to be. William Penn, good Quaker that he was, wanted his city to be a place of religious and political tolerance; a haven for those who’d been persecuted for their beliefs. There are quotations inscribed on walls everywhere about the power of love, selflessness and charity. Given how vicious and divisive this presidential election is, the message seems lost on both parties. I flew out to Philly this week for a special Question Time episode, the first time the programme has been to the US since 2008. One of our panellists has had to pull out at the last

Letters: AI isn’t the only threat to middle-class jobs

Poetic licence Sir: As a Welshman well-used to the prejudice and insults to which our ancient language and its speakers are often subjected, I read Lloyd Evans’s article (‘Language barrier’, 5 October) with some trepidation. Mercifully, my fears were allayed by a generally even-handed summary of some of the thorny issues that inspire debate in much of north-west Wales. I confess that I have never understood why so many Englishmen seem to treat as a personal insult the existence of a language of such noble and ancient pedigree on the shores of the British Isles, or why its continued usage in everyday life should inspire such consternation. I have always

Ed West

We have no idea how many people are living in Britain

A few years ago, a conspiracy theory was born, based on the idea that the population of Britain was far larger than the government claimed. This was known to be true because receipts from Tesco, the country’s largest supermarket, gave an indication of how many people were buying everyday necessities, and these sales were too high to be explained by the official figures. This supermarket conspiracy of Tesco truthers was mostly covered as entertainment, and Buzzfeed even did a de-bunking, lamenting ‘Rather than trusting the official stats which place the UK population at 64 million, this band of Ukip-ers, conspiracy theorists, and other assorted migration obsessives are adamant that you can really tell

Why Threads is still the most terrifying film ever made

As we inch ever closer to Halloween, the inevitable lists of the scariest films ever made have already begun to crop up. Whenever these lists are compiled by people who actually know what they’re talking about, there’s invariably an honourable mention of a small budget, in-house BBC production which aired on BBC 2 and was never shown in cinemas. It was written by the author of Kes and directed by a man who would go on to make Hollywood fodder such as L.A. Story and The Bodyguard. Yet when novelist Barry Hines and a director with the BBC’s science department, Mick Jackson, collaborated on Threads, they created what is now widely regarded as one of the disturbing,

Why is Labour ignoring Jewish academics over the Free Speech Act?

It is difficult to complain about the sentiments expressed by Bridget Phillipson, the Secretary of State for Education, in her article entitled ‘We will give teachers the resources to root out anti-Semitism for good’, published in the Telegraph on the anniversary of the Hamas pogrom in southern Israel. Universities have turned a blind eye to some atrocious behaviour by students who vocally support the call of Hamas for a ‘free Palestine’ stretching across the entire length and breadth of Israel. ‘Free’, if you look at Hamas propaganda, means free of Jews, though some Hamas leaders think it would be a good idea to keep science professors alive if Israel is destroyed, as

Are bankers still welcome in Paris?

In the wake of the UK’s departure from the European Union, French president Emmanuel Macron made a big effort to woo London’s bankers and hedge fund managers across the Channel. Macron wanted to use Brexit as an opportunity to turn Paris into the key hub for European finance. Trust me, he told Britain’s bankers: I’m one of you and will look after you. Those who did make the move may now be regretting their decision. France’s credibility as a welcoming place for top earners is on the line France’s prime minister Michel Barnier is pushing through a tough budget after discovering a ‘black hole’ in the finances that might even

Theo Hobson

The unlikely Christian conversion of Russell Brand

Questioning the sincerity of a fellow Christian’s faith is a big no-no. It would be wrong, then, to doubt the sincerity of Russell Brand’s Christianity, just as it would be wrong to pour scorn on the boy who broke out of Sunday school into the main church during the sermon, shouting of his joyful discovery that Jesus was his best friend. Young Christians like that need some helpful shepherding in the virtues of silence, not condemnation. The YouTube-star-turned-evangelist has been increasingly vocal about his recently-acquired faith Brand, who last year faced a string of allegations over his treatment of women (which he denies), revealed in April that he had been

Why Israel is expanding its operation against Hezbollah

As Israelis marked a sombre day commemorating the 7 October massacre, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) expanded their operation in Lebanon. Their aim is to weaken the Iranian-backed terror organisation Hezbollah, which has been attacking Israel from Lebanon for the past year. While the Israeli air force bombs specific targets deep inside Lebanon, including the Hezbollah-controlled neighbourhood Dahieh in Beirut, ground forces have been engaging terrorists close to the border. Yesterday, additional forces joined the fighting, concentrating on the south-western region, where there is still a considerable number of terrorists. It is estimated that there are now over 15,000 Israeli troops in Lebanon. As part of the operation, the IDF

Man City’s ‘victory’ against the Premier League leaves me cold

‘The Premier League has the champions it deserves’, read the message from an old pal in May, after Manchester City’s footballers had won the title for the fourth year running. Like many of England’s leading clubs, City are the playthings of foreign billionaires We were both born within two miles of Maine Road, where ‘the City’ played until 2003. We used to attend matches at that grim yet strangely characterful home, standing in ‘the Kippax’, a cavernous terrace which ran the length of the field. In the days before football became fashionable many grounds were lavatorial.  City didn’t win anything in those days. Between a League Cup triumph in 1976

Hell is driving in Paris

The latest move in Anne Hidalgo’s war on cars has left Paris motorists teetering on the edge of despair. Last week, the city’s left-wing mayor reduced the speed limit on the Périphérique, Paris’s critical eight-lane motorway, to a crawl-inducing 30 mph. For the thousands of suburban commuters who rely on it, it’s made the daily grind unbearable, cementing Hidalgo’s disdain for anyone daring to drive in the capital. And just to make life even harder, she’s banned diesel sales near the ring road. London motorists better hope Sadiq Khan doesn’t steal any of Hidalgo’s latest ideas for his own crusade against cars. Paris has become a ‘gridlock city’, where driving has

How New Zealand managed to sink a tenth of its naval fleet

New Zealand just lost one tenth of its naval defence fleet. The HMNZS Manawanui – the jewel in the nation’s small military crown – ran aground near Samoa this past weekend after hitting a reef and catching fire.  The £75 million specialist survey vessel sank on Sunday morning off Samoa’s southern coast of Upolu. An order to abandon ship was made the previous evening after it got into trouble. It was only the ship’s third deployment in the southwest Pacific, after the onetime commercial ship was purchased with much political hoopla from Norway in 2019 by the government of former prime minister Jacinda Ardern.  Arriving in the south seas, the vessel was retooled as a state-of-the-art

Was Abraham Lincoln gay?

Given the idolatry with which Americans worship the man widely seen as their greatest president, Abraham Lincoln, and the obsessive place that identity politics now occupies in the public spaces of the US, it was probably inevitable that the sexuality of American civil war winning ‘honest Abe’ would come under revisionist scrutiny sooner or later. And now it has happened. A current documentary film Lover of Men and a hit Broadway comedy Oh Mary! both suggest that America’s first Republican party president, who won the American civil war and emancipated America’s black slave population, was gay. So what does the evidence say? There is no direct proof that Lincoln ever enjoyed any physical sexual

Gareth Roberts

Why is Gary Lineker worth all the bother?

There’s been another development in the wearying saga of Gary Lineker, the over-salaried presenter of football on the BBC and banal takes on Twitter/ X. An email leak suggests that a draft BBC statement preparing to announce his departure from Match Of The Day is in the works, but he has laughed this off on screen and told a reporter to ‘f-off’ in the street.  I strongly suspect that not a single viewer would be lost if he departed from Match Of The Day The leaked message, seen by the Daily Mail, purports to be from the broadcaster’s director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, and features a statement announcing the former England striker’s departure after 25 years