Moore for less Sir: Niru Ratnam (Arts, 19 January) is wrong on a number of counts and omits much else. The sale of Henry Moore’s ‘Draped Seated Woman’ would be most unlikely to raise the £20 million he claims; £5 million is thought to be much nearer the market value — 0.3 per cent of
Four sworn Barack Obama achieved a remarkable feat last week: he managed to take the oath of office for a fourth time. Under the 22nd Amendment to the US constitution, which was passed in 1947, no president may be elected to office more than twice. — In 2009 Obama took his oath a second time,
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, at last delivered his speech on Europe, postponed during the Algerian hostage crisis. He wanted to ‘negotiate a new settlement with our European partners’, and before the end of 2017, ‘when we have negotiated that new settlement, we will give the British people a referendum with a very simple
It was almost worth the wait. The substance of David Cameron’s speech on Europe was disclosed in this magazine a fortnight ago, but his delivery was excellent. He offered a clear-headed and almost touchingly optimistic vision of the type of union that the British public would find acceptable: one based on free trade, not bureaucratic
Just for Coffee House readers, here is a sneak preview of the leading article from this week’s Spectator. Download our iPad and iPhone app to read the rest of the magazine first thing tomorrow. It was almost worth the wait. The substance of David Cameron’s speech on Europe was disclosed in this magazine a fortnight
While David Cameron’s EU speech today made all the front pages, it is far from fresh news. Two weeks ago, James Forsyth revealed to Spectator readers what the Prime Minister would say in his speech. But as far back as last May, we revealed that a referendum on EU membership was almost certain: A referendum
This morning I want to talk about the future of Europe. But first, let us remember the past. Seventy years ago, Europe was being torn apart by its second catastrophic conflict in a generation. A war which saw the streets of European cities strewn with rubble. The skies of London lit by flames night after
Journalist and film director Michael Winner passed away today aged 77. He was a popular diarist in the pages of The Spectator, with his most recent offering appearing in January 2010. In that column, he described the filming of his TV series ‘Michael Winner’s Dining Stars’, and mused about what might happen if it flopped:
By the time the Prime Minister cancelled his Europe speech yesterday evening, extracts had already been briefed to journalists. A new date has yet to be announced, but here are the extracts that have been released: Britain should play an active part in Europe: ‘I want to speak to you today with urgency and frankness
‘How demeaning — I’ve actually heard of some of these people.’
‘Apparently they come as standard for all new builds.’
‘You can’t beat the gun lobby — we’re loaded.’
‘Oh, for goodness sake. Mummy’s going to have to pay for that now!’
‘We have to move with the times, captain — mechanisation is here to stay.’
‘Why does my parent have to be a professional chef?’
‘Statement jumpers are everywhere this season.’