When Benjamin Franklin remarked that all would live long, but none would be old, he could hardly have known how apt a description of today’s pensioners this would turn out to be. Fitter, healthier and more in tune with the times than any previous generation, they are determined not to allow their age to hold
On Gordon Brown’s bookshelf stands a new title likely to stand out from the others: In Our Hands: a Plan to Replace the Welfare State. It is a detailed proposal to abolish all benefit payments, from pensions to child support, and instead make a cash payment to every adult in the country. Its author is
Michael Moorcock writes in praise of the Texan preference for bolshie individualism over social conformity, and hails the true ‘fundamentalism’ of the US Constitution Lost Pines, Texas This year in the US they’re holding an election and I’m planning to become an American citizen. Happily, as a dual national, I can now also remain a
At Easter, Christians bear witness to the Resurrection. But, as The Spectator has discovered, some are more robust than others in their belief — and some prefer not talk about it at all Easter is the most important feast in the Christian calendar. ‘If Christ be not risen,’ wrote St Paul, ‘then is our preaching
Luxembourg A sleeping sickness is sweeping the chancelleries of Europe. This Monday, in the space of a single day, Italy and France became the latest nations to succumb to the symptoms of this nasty disease — headaches, confusion, and finally a descent into paralysed slumber. As this article goes to press, the Italian election results
Next month’s local elections will be a grave test of the Prime Minister’s authority. Peter Oborne goes on the stump with BNP campaigners who believe they are heading for great gains — and Labour politicians who fear they are right Phil is wearing an England football shirt. He lives in a quiet crescent in central
