Society

I’ve found myself strangely drawn to the videos made by the 22-year-old assassin Elliot Rodger just before he went on his killing spree in his university town of Santa Barbara, California, last week. In a series of stabbings and drive-by shootings Rodger killed seven people, including finally himself, and wounded 13 more. The son of a film director, he had spent the first few years of his life in England, moving to America at the age of four. Rodger had been preparing for his murderous spree and made a series of videos, many of which are accessible on the internet as I write. The last was recorded by himself the

Well, how worried should we be about racism? The British Social Attitudes Survey says 3 in 10 Brits describe themselves as “a little “ or “a lot” prejudiced against people of other races. It wasn’t just white people either. This brings us back to levels in the Eighties, though to be honest it’s only five per cent above the all-time low of 25 per cent in 2001. Not particularly surprisingly those most likely to admit to racial prejudice were male manual workers, though there was a rise in the numbers of male professionals in the category. Young people were less likely to admit to being racist – a quarter, by

In the past few minutes, Vince Cable has issued this statement on the leaked ICM polling: ‘Lord Oakeshott’s actions are totally inexcusable and unacceptable. I have made it very clear repeatedly that he does not speak or act for me. ‘Commissioning and publishing polls without the consent of the Member of Parliament, as in the case of Sheffield Hallam, is utterly reprehensible. ‘There are undoubtedly raw feelings in the wake of poor local and European election results. We need to respond in a measured way. Public speculation about the leadership is an unwelcome distraction and as I made absolutely clear yesterday there is no leadership issue as far as I’m

Nigel Farage hasn’t just been enjoying today, he’s been using it as a springboard for a professional, grown-up Ukip. He told a press conference in London that his party would challenge Ed Miliband’s focus on the cost-of-living crisis and do so in the Labour leader’s own town. He also said the party had been doing ‘substantial work on the NHS’. Even though he’s had a torrid few weeks of scrutiny on every reach of his party and his own views, you can’t fault Nigel Farage for continuing to plug away at trying to make his party grow up. But while more prominent policies than just Europe are an important part

As Charles Moore has reported in his Spectator’s Notes this week, changes are afoot at equestrians’ favourite publication, Horse and Hound. Speculating on the decision to replace their editor with a new ‘content editor’, Charles worries that the recent upheaval could damage the ‘brand’ rather than strengthen it. But neither H&H nor its departing editor, Lucy Higginson, are strangers to controversy. Let’s not forget that when Lucy took up the reins in 2002, the arrival of the first female (and the youngest) editor of the 130-year-old publication caused an almighty kerfuffle amongst the old-guard, who worried that her plans to ‘spice up’ the magazine would prove detrimental. The magazine’s new

While Americans swooned over Thomas Piketty and his thesis about ever-rising inequality it has taken a Brit, the FT’s Chris Giles, to expose the corruptions in his data. What he has found – on the cover of today’s FT and in detail on a blog here – is shocking because the errors are so basic. And yet on this, Piketty has built a manifesto for all kinds of tax rises. It makes you wonder how his publisher, Harvard University Press, allowed such flaws to enter print. Chris Giles’ report is worth reading in full, but here are a couple of examples should give you a flavour of what he has found.

The footage of fire tearing through the Mackintosh building of the Glasgow School of Art on Renfrew Street is more than unnerving. Though it’s too early to say how much damage has been caused to the building, it is evident that much of the original architecture has been destroyed. No building is replaceable, but this one is particularly precious. It is without doubt the most important building Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) designed. We are more inclined today to think of Mackintosh’s stylish interior designs – the kind of monochrome-and-rose prints that remain ubiquitous in interior design shops – but his Art School has also stood the test of time. As one