Two ex-Tory MPs defect to Reform

You spend ages waiting for a defection then two come along at once. On the same day that former Tory health minister Maria Caulfield defected to...

yesterday 8

Steerpike

China hawks demand spy probe answers

Oh dear. It seems that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has blundered again. The latest furore is about the agency’s decision to drop a China...

yesterday 9

Steerpike

One in, one out / Labour is in a migration trap of its own making

The failure to deport any illegal migrants at all on the first designated flight to France yesterday under the agreement the government struck with...

yesterday 30

Andrew Tettenborn

If Tony Radakin couldn’t reform the MoD, who can?

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, having handed over his responsibilities last week after four years as chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), began his new...

yesterday 10

Eliot Wilson

Rachel Reeves: destroyer of jobs

Over the past year, some 142,000 payrolled jobs have been lost, according to the latest labour market figures from the Office for National...

yesterday 9

Michael Simmons

Film legend / We won’t see the likes of Robert Redford again

In the end, the Sundance Kid died in his sleep. The death of the actor, director and Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford at the age of 89...

yesterday 8

Alexander Larman

Migrant deportations fail for second day in a row

It’s not been Sir Keir Starmer’s week. After a 100,000-strong march at the weekend saw Brits protest issues like Britain’s borders, the news...

yesterday 7

Steerpike

Why Britain can’t build

The government promised to build 1.5 million new homes over the course of this parliament. How close are they to reaching the annualised rate? We...

yesterday 9

Ross Clark

Leap of faith / Elon Musk’s Tesla investment is a big gamble

Tesla does not look like a great investment right now. The competition from better and cheaper Chinese electric vehicles is savage and Elon Musk’s...

yesterday 2

Matthew Lynn

Real Life / The anarchy of a breakfast buffet

The Portuguese guest wanted an egg, but she didn’t want it to look like an egg. She came down to breakfast with her seven-year-old son and asked me...

yesterday 20

Melissa Kite

Books / Horoscopes and horror – the reign of Septimius Severus

Rome’s first African emperor, Septimius Severus, was renowned during his reign (193-211 AD) for the mass killings of his rivals (ruthlessness even...

yesterday 10

Peter Stothard

Gag reflex / Miriam Margolyes has nothing to say and is determined to say it

Miriam Margolyes is on the road, bringing joy to every corner of the kingdom, and aren’t we the lucky ones? It’s a kingdom she no longer has much...

yesterday 10

Michael Henderson

Is Danny Kruger right that the Tory party ‘is over’?

It’s been widely – and rightly – said that Danny Kruger’s defection to Reform is a highly significant moment, both for his new party and for the...

yesterday 10

Stephen Pollard

Last orders / Cask ale is running dry

Given that almost 1.7 billion litres of beer were poured in British venues in the past year, you’d think we’d be able to keep the country’s biggest...

yesterday 7

Jimmy Nicholls

Slippery slope / Save our satire

When Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, musician and satirist Tom Lehrer famously quipped that political satire had become...

yesterday 6

G.v. Chappell

Trump is living in Putin’s world

It all began with such promise. Donald Trump would sweep away all the failures of past administrations, sit astride the globe like a Nobel Prize...

yesterday 4

Michael Evans

Military / Barring Israeli soldiers from the Royal College of Defence Studies is a mistake

The government has announced that owing to the war in Gaza, students from the Israeli Defence Forces will no longer be welcome at the UK’s Royal...

yesterday 4

Edward Stringer

The long history of Peter Mandelson’s scandals

The politician now known as Lord Mandelson is an unmitigated stranger to the truth who has been prepared to use the power of office to bully and...

yesterday 3

Andrew Hogg

Thin gruel / Cutting prison education is a calamity

Prisons across the country are slashing education funding. According to the Guardian, public money for prison education courses is being reduced by...

yesterday 2

David Shipley

Sketch / Only the Bottom Crawlers will defend Mandelson now

Despite the Prime Minister presumably going to bed each night, trotters crossed, eyes screwed up and wishing hard as if trying to reanimate...

yesterday 1

Madeline Grant

Architecture / A gallery that refuses to dumb-down

The DNA of Dulwich Picture Gallery is aspirational, in the sincerest sense. Opening in 1817 when private collections were still the norm, it’s the...

yesterday 3

Calvin Po

Obituary / What Hollywood owes Robert Redford

Robert Redford was more than a film star, though he knew that was how he would be remembered. He didn’t like fame all that much, especially when he...

yesterday 1

Christopher Tookey

Alastair Campbell apologises over false Charlie Kirk claim

Well, well, well. It’s not often that onetime New Labour spinner Alastair Campbell expresses any form of contrition. But after he made a pretty...

previous day 10

Steerpike

Politics / Danny Kruger defects to Reform

Another day, another defector joins Reform. This time it’s Tory MP Danny Kruger, who has joined Nigel Farage’s outfit to lead the party’s ‘...

previous day 9

Steerpike

Why Danny Kruger’s defection matters

This morning Nigel Farage unveiled his latest defector: Danny Kruger. The Wiltshire MP boasts impeccable Tory credentials. He served as David...

previous day 30

James Heale

Elections / The AfD’s mission to seduce West Germany is paying off

The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party continued its westward march in popularity across Germany yesterday, securing third place in the local...

previous day 2

Lisa Haseldine

Tommy Robinson’s ascent was entirely avoidable

There’s a certain thrill in saying, ‘I told you so.’ We all relish the moment when our warnings are vindicated, when the world finally catches...

previous day 10

Gareth Roberts

Can Trump force Nato to get tough on Russian sanctions?

The pipelines would be sealed off. The supertankers would be left in the ports, and the wells would have to be capped. When Russia invaded Ukraine...

previous day 10

Matthew Lynn

Holy See / Pope Leo is naive about Europe’s migrant crisis

Giorgia Meloni has not cracked Italy’s migrant crisis. On the contrary, the number of migrants crossing the central Mediterranean is on the rise...

previous day 10

Gavin Mortimer

Politics / The return of Keir vs Andy

When Labour MPs met to hear from their leader on Monday, there was one group who felt particularly aggrieved. In the government’s reshuffle...

previous day 10

James Heale

America / Was Charlie Kirk’s murder the senseless act of an internet troll?

We are in the grip of old habits. We assume, most of us, that when a prominent political figure is assassinated, the motive for the killing is...

previous day 1

Sam Leith

Will Prince Harry’s charm offensive work?

Over the weekend, Prince Harry attracted the best headlines and coverage in this country that he has received for months – possibly since he and...

previous day 2

Alexander Larman

Pride of place / How to raise a patriot

‘Good news for patriots,’ said one of our most celebrated national newspapers this week: ‘Your numbers are likely to swell.’ This was on the...

previous day 30

Mary Wakefield

Small minded / Bring back the big family

As a species we are richer than we’ve ever been before. We live longer. We have more food to eat than is good for us. We have abundance in all...

previous day 10

Alec Marsh

Books / Exploring the enchanted gardens of literature

‘If Eve had had a spade in paradise, we should not have had all that sad business with the apple,’ claims the narrator of the novel Elizabeth and...

previous day 3

Ruth Scurr

Labour is gunning for GB News

GB News has had a good summer. Buoyed by a summer of small boat crossings and immigration protests and arrests for free speech, the People’s...

previous day 9

Laurie Wastell

Recipe for success / Meghan Markle’s TV show is a balm for desperate housewives

The Duchess of Sussex has achieved something quite remarkable. After the brickbats hurled at the first season of her Netflix show With Love,...

previous day 1

Joanna Marchong

The truth about the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march

On Saturday morning, I skipped synagogue and went to the Tommy Robinson march instead. By the time I arrived at Whitehall to collect my press pass...

previous day 40

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Pen pals / The greatest writer you’ve never heard of

The recent commemorations surrounding the 150th anniversary of John Buchan’s birth – not least in The Spectator – have stirred up literary memories...

previous day 10

Robin Ashenden

Starmer aide quits over explicit Diane Abbott messages

When it rains for Starmer, it pours. As if the Prime Minister didn’t have enough on his plate – what with his deputy Angela Rayner resigning over...

previous day 3

Steerpike

Full list: Labour MPs slamming Starmer

Oh dear. If Sir Keir Starmer thought his first 12 months in office had been rocky, his second year in power is shaping up to be an even bumpier...

previous day 3

Steerpike

The NHS is right to drive a hard bargain for new drugs

It is not often that the NHS gets accused of being too good at negotiating down costs. But that seems to be gist of the case levelled against it...

previous day 4

Ross Clark

Danny Kruger is Reform’s best scalp yet

In fairness, I suspect plenty of Tory MPs are looking for reasons to get out of party conference this year. East Wiltshire MP Danny Kruger – who...

previous day 5

Madeline Grant

The listener / Why are there so few decent French symphonies?

Grade: B Grade: B Here’s a blind-listening game for you: spot the difference between proficiency and genius. Kazuki Yamada and his Monte-Carlo...

previous day 3

Richard Bratby

Right priorities / I like Pope Leo

The Pope has given his first interview, with the news agency, Crux, and the nice thing about it is there are no surprises. Pope revolted at obscene...

previous day 4

Melanie Mcdonagh

Politics / Tories granted emergency debate on Mandelson

Peter Mandelson is no longer US ambassador to the UK, but tough questions remain for Keir Starmer about why he appointed the ‘Prince of Darkness’...

previous day 2

Lucy Dunn

Progressives can never be wrong

The progressive and idealistic left will never admit that they are wrong. That’s because, possessed with a sense of mission and unshakable...

previous day 3

Patrick West

Pop / The problem with Chappell Roan

There is a downside to being fast-tracked into the position of this season’s newest pop sensation, and it became more and more obvious the longer...

previous day 3

Graeme Thomson

Best life / Nick Ferrari’s big fat Provençale wedding

It was the morning after the night before and I was picking glass out of my leg by a pool, blotting the blood trickling down my calf with a navy...

previous day 3

Rachel Johnson

It’s time to admit that high-speed rail is a dead end

For those who think there could never be a worse disaster than HS2, or hope that governments can learn from their mistakes, I have disappointing...

previous day 3

Categories

Sources

Newspaper Columnists

Two ex-Tory MPs defect to Reform

Steerpike

China hawks demand spy probe answers

Steerpike

One in, one out / Labour is in a migration trap of its own making

Andrew Tettenborn

If Tony Radakin couldn’t reform the MoD, who can?

Eliot Wilson

Rachel Reeves: destroyer of jobs

Michael Simmons

Film legend / We won’t see the likes of Robert Redford again

Alexander Larman

Migrant deportations fail for second day in a row

Steerpike

Why Britain can’t build

Ross Clark

Leap of faith / Elon Musk’s Tesla investment is a big gamble

Matthew Lynn

Real Life / The anarchy of a breakfast buffet

Melissa Kite

Books / Horoscopes and horror – the reign of Septimius Severus

Peter Stothard

Gag reflex / Miriam Margolyes has nothing to say and is determined to say it

Michael Henderson

Is Danny Kruger right that the Tory party ‘is over’?

Stephen Pollard

Last orders / Cask ale is running dry

Jimmy Nicholls

Slippery slope / Save our satire

G.v. Chappell

Trump is living in Putin’s world

Michael Evans

Military / Barring Israeli soldiers from the Royal College of Defence Studies is a mistake

Edward Stringer

The long history of Peter Mandelson’s scandals

Andrew Hogg

Thin gruel / Cutting prison education is a calamity

David Shipley

Sketch / Only the Bottom Crawlers will defend Mandelson now

Madeline Grant

Architecture / A gallery that refuses to dumb-down

Calvin Po

Obituary / What Hollywood owes Robert Redford

Christopher Tookey

Alastair Campbell apologises over false Charlie Kirk claim

Steerpike

Politics / Danny Kruger defects to Reform

Steerpike

Why Danny Kruger’s defection matters

James Heale

Elections / The AfD’s mission to seduce West Germany is paying off

Lisa Haseldine

Tommy Robinson’s ascent was entirely avoidable

Gareth Roberts

Can Trump force Nato to get tough on Russian sanctions?

Matthew Lynn

Holy See / Pope Leo is naive about Europe’s migrant crisis

Gavin Mortimer

Politics / The return of Keir vs Andy

James Heale

America / Was Charlie Kirk’s murder the senseless act of an internet troll?

Sam Leith

Will Prince Harry’s charm offensive work?

Alexander Larman

Pride of place / How to raise a patriot

Mary Wakefield

Small minded / Bring back the big family

Alec Marsh

Books / Exploring the enchanted gardens of literature

Ruth Scurr

Labour is gunning for GB News

Laurie Wastell

Recipe for success / Meghan Markle’s TV show is a balm for desperate housewives

Joanna Marchong

The truth about the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Pen pals / The greatest writer you’ve never heard of