Spectator Briefings

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Pioneering innovation: launching the world’s first graphene-enriched carbon fibre facility to advance vision 2030 and global innovation

As I reflect on the monumental achievement that we’ve reached with GIM GrapheneFibre, I am both humbled and energised by the possibilities this milestone brings. Together with our partners in Saudi Arabia, Organized Chaos, we have officially launched the world’s first commercial production of graphene-enriched carbon fibre – a groundbreaking leap that firmly places Saudi

How can we unlock longer working lives?

How do we get Britain back to work? Tackling our high rates of economic inactivity has been described by Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, as ‘the greatest employment challenge in a generation’. The challenge is indeed a serious one. Since the pandemic, the proportion of workers who are economically inactive

A perfectly modern education

Walking through Sherborne’s streets, it is clear there is something special about this gorgeous Dorset town. Routinely named in lists of the UK’s most beautiful places to live, it has a tangible air of history, with a glorious abbey standing at its heart. But it’s the two full-boarding senior schools and two local prep schools

Urgent action is required to address pensions adequacy

Since its introduction just over a decade ago, automatic enrolment has undoubtedly transformed retirement savings in the UK, allowing millions of workers to effortlessly save for their future.  Some 22.6 million people now contribute to a workplace pension, an increase of 47 per cent before auto enrolment’s inception in 2012. That is a significant achievement.

Where next for pensions auto-enrolment?

Since its introduction just over a decade ago, automatic enrolment has undoubtedly transformed retirement savings in the UK, allowing millions of workers to effortlessly save for their future.  Some 22.6 million people now contribute to a workplace pension, an increase from 47 per cent prior to auto enrolment’s inception in 2012. That is a significant

Adani Green Energy accelerates decarbonisation of India’s grid by developing world’s largest renewable energy project

With India’s economy due to grow almost 7 per cent this year and an environmental necessity for clean energy, the country urgently needs to decarbonise its energy system at scale. The dual challenge of satisfying the rising demand for energy while ensuring a cleaner and greener future requires extraordinary ambition and scope. Adani Green Energy

Joining forces

It is a cold evening in the picturesque Dorset town of Sherborne. The Sherborne Astroturf pitch twinkles, diamonds of condensed fog glinting on its blue surface. Through the mist drifts the low chatter of girls and boys, smartly attired in military fatigues and readying for the sternest test of their cadet lives. This evening is

The vaping industry: time to step up

You may have recently seen billboard or newspaper adverts calling for better regulation of the vaping industry, to help combat the levels of underage vaping and the sale of illegal vapes. These are the work of BAT, the biggest vaping manufacturer based in the UK. As a FTSE 10 UK company, our call for the

It’s Time for Major Exam Reform

A complete overhaul of the UK’s examination system is needed urgently, argues Samantha Price, headmistress at Benenden School. Clearly, the age of handwritten exams will soon come to an end – but we owe it to future generations to be far bolder than simply filling exam halls with laptops. This should be the moment that,

Latest from Coffee House

Starmer is in denial about the high cost of defence

It is hard to think of a recent prime minister whose first months in office have seen defence in the headlines more often than Sir Keir Starmer. Even John Major, coming to power in 1990 as a United States-led coalition prepared to eject Saddam Hussein’s army from Kuwait, was dealing with an expeditionary adventure which

Bring back shortwave!

Aeschylus is credited first for the time-worn aphorism that in war, truth is the first casualty. But in the next major conflict, truth could find itself joined by virtually all information.  As a society at war, we face becoming blind, deaf and dumb once the balloon goes up. Britain and most western countries have put

Mark Galeotti

How seriously will Putin take Ukraine negotiations?

We have no idea whether Vladimir Putin is serious about peace negotiations with Ukraine. He may simply be going through the motions while enjoying the spectacle of the West engaging in mutual recrimination and performative outrage, or he may genuinely feel there are grounds for some kind of agreement. More likely, given his track record

JD Vance’s criticism of Europe is hard to take

JD Vance certainly knows how to grab people’s attention. In a landmark address to the Munich Security Conference, he accused Europe’s leaders of being scared of voters and failing to defend democracy. In a fiery speech, he criticised Europeans for abandoning their roots as ‘defenders of democracy’ and of shutting down dissenting voices. Vance even

James Heale

James Heale, Andrew Kenny, Lara Prendergast, Ysenda Maxtone Graham and Nina Power

41 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: James Heale wonders what Margaret Thatcher would make of today’s Conservatives (1:28); Andrew Kenny analyses South Africa’s expropriation act (6:13); Lara Prendergast explores the mystery behind The Spectator’s man in the Middle East, John R Bradley (13:55); Ysenda Maxtone Graham looks at how radio invaded the home (30:13); and, Nina