The Spectator

The Spectator at war: Italy’s contribution

From ‘What Italy Brings To The Allies‘, 29 May 1915: THE more the entrance of Italy into the war is contemplated the more romantic and gratifying it seems. Italy has joined the forces of Freedom with whom her heart has long been beating. It is her right and natural place. Why, then, it may be asked,

The Spectator at war: A room of one’s own

From ‘Flat-hunting’, The Spectator, 29 May 1915: ECONOMY is just now a fashion set by necessity. The professional class are eagerly reducing their outlay, and the most obvious thing to save on is the rent. The immediate result of this determination to live at less cost is that all the cheap flats and small houses

The Spectator at war: Rational optimism

From ‘News of the Week‘, The Spectator, 29 May 1915: The past fortnight, partly perhaps owing to the uncertainty of the political situation, has been marked by a great deal of anxiety and pessimism of a very unworthy kind. Yet there is no real cause for grumblings and lamentings, but strong cause for the reverse.

The Spectator at war: Strikes and scraps of paper

From ‘Scraps of Paper‘, The Spectator, 22 May 1915: Fifty years ago Parliament was far more conscious collectively of the sanctity of contract than it is at the present time, and the change of attitude can only be attributed to the change of constituency. The House of Commons of previous generations was elected by a

The Spectator at war: Has Kitchener gone mad?

From ‘Array the Nation’, The Spectator, 22 May 1915 THERE have been many surprising things in this war, but perhaps the most surprising of all is Lord Kitchener’s speech in the Upper House on Tuesday afternoon. In it he told the nation that he wants three hundred thousand more recruits “to form new armies.” If

The Spectator at war: The future of Italy

From ‘The Future of Italy‘, The Spectator, 22 May 1915: WHEN the King of Italy found himself unable to accept the resignation of Signor Salandra at the end of last week the intervention of Italy on the side of the Allies became almost certain. The cause of the neutralist party had flared up for a

Barometer | 21 May 2015

Cake discrimination A bakery in Northern Ireland was found guilty of discriminating against a gay couple for whom it refused to bake a cake celebrating gay marriage. Cake-baking has become the epicentre of gay rights. — In April a lesbian couple were awarded $135,000 in damages against Melissa’s Sweet Cakes, in Oregon, after shop owners

Portrait of the week | 21 May 2015

Home The annual rate of inflation turned negative in April, for the first time since 1960, with deflation of 0.1 per cent as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, so that a basket of goods and services that cost £100 in April 2014 would have cost £99.90 in April 2015. But, measured by the Retail

Isis rising

[audioplayer src=”http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/michaelgovesfightforjustice/media.mp3″ title=”Fraser Nelson and Freddy Gray discuss the march of the Islamic State” startat=1785] Listen [/audioplayer]In recent months, as the country went through a general election, our focus has been on our own domestic debates. Meanwhile, the situation in Iraq has deteriorated significantly. After intense fighting, the jihadist group Isis has now taken the