The Spectator
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Politics, culture, cartoons and more.
Having got the ball rolling, it would be ironic if it was the more centrist wing of Labour that finished off the job. ✍️ James Heale
spectator.com/article/star...
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Starmer is shedding support across Labour
By inclination, tradition and design, the Labour Party is much less prone to toppling leaders than their Conservative counterparts. There is no equivalent to the 1922, Sir Graham Brady’s grin and the…
https://spectator.com/article/starmer-is-shedding-support-across-labour/
18 days ago
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For a leadership election to be set in motion, 20 per cent of Labour MPs – 81 people – would have to back a single challenger. Can West do that? ✍️ James Heale
spectator.com/article/labo...
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Labour MP: I’ll challenge Starmer for leader
Former minister Catherine West has this afternoon announced that she is prepared to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership.
https://spectator.com/article/labour-mp-ill-challenge-starmer-for-leader/
18 days ago
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In the four years since invading Ukraine, the Victory Day parade in Moscow has gone through various iterations that have reflected the Russian army’s performance on the front line in Ukraine. This year was distinctly different. ✍️ Lisa Haseldine
spectator.com/article/puti...
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Putin’s paranoia was plain to see at Moscow’s Victory Day parade
According to multiple reports, Putin has grown increasingly paranoid in recent months over the possibility of an assassination attempt.
https://spectator.com/article/putins-paranoia-was-plain-to-see-at-moscows-victory-day-parade/
19 days ago
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What all these framings capture is a sense that an elite class has tried to tell us little people how things should be done. ✍️ Ameer Kotecha
spectator.com/article/the-...
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The simple truth at the heart of Reform UK’s success
People want a politics grounded in home, not a Prime Minister in it for a leaders’ family photo and a chilled glass of Chasselas.
https://spectator.com/article/the-simple-truth-at-the-heart-of-reforms-success/
19 days ago
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Dr. Frankenstein would understand that it was his duty to put down the hideous creature his foolishness and vanity unleashed on the world. ✍️ Stephen Daisley
spectator.com/article/will...
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Will Labour ever admit that Scottish devolution was a mistake?
They had opposed the creation of a Scottish parliament, predicting that it would become a bulwark of nationalism and undermine the Union.
https://spectator.com/article/will-labour-ever-admit-that-scottish-devolution-was-a-mistake/
20 days ago
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If they want to continue to win Red Wall seats, Reform UK can forget about some of the policies their top people have dabbled with in the past. ✍️ Ross Clark
spectator.com/article/nige...
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Nigel Farage has inherited Boris Johnson’s Red Wall problem
The instincts of Farage, Richard Tice, Danny Kruger and others are far less aligned with the people who are voting for their party.
https://spectator.com/article/nigel-farage-has-inherited-boris-johnsons-red-wall-problem/
20 days ago
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When it isn’t desecrating houses with cheap, misunderstood versions of what they think children will like, the National Trust is literally wrecking them. ✍️ Harry Mount
spectator.com/article/poke...
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The National Trust’s Pokémon hunt is a new low
Some of the greatest combinations of house and landscape on the planet. Now just ace settings for children’s games.
https://spectator.com/article/pokemon-hunting-at-the-national-trust-is-a-new-level-of-dumb/
21 days ago
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All of this would matter less if Putin were popular. He is not – or at least not as he was. ✍️ Alexander Kolyandr
spectator.com/article/what...
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What Putin’s Victory Day says about war-time Russia
That is still less than 1.5 per cent of the 67 trillion rouble household deposit base across Russia's banks, but the pace is rising.
https://spectator.com/article/what-putins-victory-day-says-about-war-time-russia/
21 days ago
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Did European rule in Asia and Africa really make colonised people poorer? ✍️ Tirthankar Roy
spectator.com/article/did-...
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Did European rule in Asia and Africa really make colonised people poorer?
Few questions in economic history generate more heat than asking if European rule in Asia and Africa made colonised peoples poorer
https://spectator.com/article/did-european-rule-in-asia-and-africa-really-make-colonised-people-poorer/
26 days ago
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The martini is making a comeback ✍️ Ameer Kotecha
spectator.com/article/the-...
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The martini is making a comeback
Bar trends have finally shifted back to the classic martini coinciding with trends that focus on affluence and opulence.
https://spectator.com/article/the-martini-is-making-a-comeback/
26 days ago
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‘Purdah’ purged from Whitehall. ✍️ Steerpike Article |
spectator.com/article/official-purdah-purged-from-whitehall
about 2 months ago
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In his never-ending mission to reboot his premiership, Keir Starmer has found a great new cause: Europe. ✍️ Steerpike Article |
spectator.com/article/starmers-hypocrisy-on-henry-viii-powers
about 2 months ago
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The supermarket has suffered quite a public relations blow recently with its actions involving its former employee, Walker Smith. ✍️ Alexander Larman Article |
spectator.com/article/will-genteel-customers-desert-waitrose
about 2 months ago
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There has been a surge in fuel theft at forecourts since the US-Iran war, according to a report in the Times this weekend. ✍️ Patrick West Article |
spectator.com/article/why-...
about 2 months ago
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Over the past few months, I’ve been training for the London Marathon, so most weekends I’ve been out running more than 20 miles at a stretch. ✍️ Chas Newkey-Burden Article |
spectator.com/article/why-exercise-music-stops-you-from-throwing-in-the-towel
about 2 months ago
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Samuel Beckett, with his quizzically peering gaze and handsome, hawk-like appearance, has long been the academic’s pin-up. ✍️ Ian Thomson Article |
spectator.com/article/samuel-becketts-bleak-humour-lives-gleefully-on
about 2 months ago
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You set off on a spring morning, windows down, full of hope. Sunglasses, flasks of tea and a picnic rug are packed. ✍️ Simon Heptinstall Article |
spectator.com/article/the-british-road-trip-is-tourism-without-the-infrastructure
about 2 months ago
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Even if the risks can never be totally eliminated, the Grand National is a life-enhancing event. ✍️ Neil Clark
spectator.com/article/we-m...
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We must never ban the Grand National
The modern Grand National is still a race worth defending against the (sadly) increasing numbers who would like to ban it.
https://spectator.com/article/we-must-never-ban-the-grand-national/
about 2 months ago
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The voters of Stoke Newington should perhaps know more about Shaheen before they make up their minds. ✍️ Andrew Gilligan
spectator.com/article/why-...
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Why is Ifhat Shaheen a Green party candidate?
Let me introduce you to Ifhat Shaheen who is likely to become a Green party councillor in Hackney next month.
https://spectator.com/article/why-is-ifhat-shaheen-a-green-party-candidate/
about 2 months ago
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These were never ‘peace talks’ – they were just another pressure point. ✍️ Jonathan Sacerdoti
spectator.com/article/wash...
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Washington and Tehran are locked in a jungle fight
These were never ‘peace talks’. For both the US and Iran, they were just another moment, another strategy, another pressure point.
https://spectator.com/article/washington-and-tehran-are-jungle-beasts-locked-in-a-deadly-fight/
about 2 months ago
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In these quieter corners of local government, some of the more curious examples of public spending can be found. ✍️ Matthew Bowles
spectator.com/article/the-...
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The curious case of the £10 toilet
I was sent documents suggesting that a single visit to a local public toilet in West Oxfordshire cost the taxpayer £8.69.
https://spectator.com/article/the-curious-case-of-the-10-toilet/
about 2 months ago
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As is often the case, advertising's decline was slow, then sudden and mostly self-inflicted. ✍️ Paul Burke
spectator.com/article/is-t...
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Is this how the ad industry dies?
Advertising's decline was slow, then sudden and mostly self-inflicted. From the 2000s, the business has been stifled by dullards.
https://spectator.com/article/is-this-how-the-ad-industry-dies/
about 2 months ago
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To assume Iran would ever agree to Washington’s terms strains even Gottfried Leibniz’s optimism. ✍️ Irwin Stelzer
spectator.com/article/of-c...
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Of course these peace talks would fail
The US and Iran have failed to reach an agreement after peace talks. But we didn’t have to wait for them to finish to guess the outcome.
https://spectator.com/article/of-course-these-peace-talks-would-fail/
about 2 months ago
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The blame game is already under way. ✍️ Jawad Iqbal
spectator.com/article/what...
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What will happen to Iran now?
The gap between the two sides on Iran’s nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz proved too big in the end.
https://spectator.com/article/what-will-happen-to-iran-now/
about 2 months ago
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Reputation is measured by deeds rather than an accident of birth at this school. ✍️ Ivo Delingpole
spectator.com/article/why-...
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Why Prince George should go to Eton
After three years of theatrical um-ing and ah-ing, the Waleses have seemingly acceded to the obvious: Prince George is going to Eton.
https://spectator.com/article/why-prince-george-should-go-to-eton/
about 2 months ago
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Back in 2023, the resistance was pushing the military to the brink. But now there's a different feeling. ✍️ Caleb Quinley
spectator.com/article/on-t...
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On the road with a Myanmar revolutionary leader
Since 2023, I’ve spent months alongside Khu Reedu, living among a platoon of his men and women who had been with him since the beginning.
https://spectator.com/article/on-the-road-with-a-myanmar-revolutionary-leader/
about 2 months ago
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‘Harry might be wondering where it has all gone wrong over the past six years.’ ✍️ Alexander Larman
spectator.com/article/why-...
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Why is Prince Harry being sued by Sentebale?
It must be unpleasant to be Prince Harry at the moment. Not only is he waiting on the judgement of Mr Justice Nicklin for his class action lawsuit for privacy infringement against Associated…
https://spectator.com/article/why-is-prince-harry-being-sued-by-sentebale/
about 2 months ago
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‘This is a pause, not an end. Parliamentarians should press the government to abandon its policy altogether.’ ✍️ Richard Ekins
spectator.com/article/this...
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This isn’t the end of the Chagos debacle
The policy that seems closest to the government’s heart – the surrender of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius – is in real trouble. The treaty with Mauritius, signed in May last year, cannot be ratified…
https://spectator.com/article/this-isnt-the-end-of-the-chagos-debacle/
about 2 months ago
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‘We clever and logical Terfs will not be taken out by the likes of Bash Back. We will live to fight another day.’ ✍️ Julie Burchill
spectator.com/article/bash...
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Bash Back are thugs posing as victims
There are times when it seems that violence against women and girls – forever these days being hand-wrung over by useless politicians as their alleged absolute priority – is like a game…
https://spectator.com/article/bash-back-are-thugs-posing-as-victims/
about 2 months ago
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‘It’s often said in Spain that you need only scratch the surface to uncover Civil War-era grievances: the Guernica dispute shows how true this is.’ ✍️ Mark Nayler
spectator.com/article/pica...
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Picasso’s Guernica has reopened old wounds in Spain
A row has erupted in Spain over what to do with Pablo Picasso’s 1937 Cubist masterpiece ‘Guernica’. Since 1992, this gigantic black-and-white painting – which depicts the bombing of the Basque town…
https://spectator.com/article/picassos-guernica-has-reopened-old-wounds-in-spain/
about 2 months ago
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EXCL: Starmer referred to UN over ‘crime against humanity’ ✍️ Steerpike
spectator.com/article/star...
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Starmer referred to UN over ‘crime against humanity’
It seems that the Chagos deal is the grift which keeps on giving. The government last night confirmed that it had been forced to pause the legislation granting the islands’ handover, following a…
https://spectator.com/article/starmer-referred-to-un-over-crime-against-humanity/
about 2 months ago
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‘Pakistan should beware the revolving carousel of mediators who have tried and failed to broker an end to the world’s persistent conflicts.’ ✍️ Damien Phillips
spectator.com/article/how-...
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How Pakistan became central to ending the Iran war
When the Iran war kicked off in late February, if you’d been asked to place a bet on which country would have the Herculean task of mediating between the combatants, Pakistan would have been a long…
https://spectator.com/article/how-pakistan-became-central-to-ending-the-iran-war/
about 2 months ago
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‘The Irish are not, generally, a nation of protesters – pro-Palestine demos in recent years notwithstanding – so both the scale of the protest and the fury behind it caught the government off-guard.’ ✍️ Liz Walsh
spectator.com/article/irel...
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Ireland shouldn’t send in the army against fuel protestors
When a government’s answer to protesting truckers is to send in the army, something has gone badly wrong. At present, truckers and farmers in Ireland are blocking roads around the country as part of…
https://spectator.com/article/ireland-shouldnt-have-sent-in-the-army-against-fuel-protestors/
about 2 months ago
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‘The Iranians have always proven a tough bunch when it comes to negotiations, with the default position of always making maximalist demands as a starting point for discussions.’ ✍️ Jawad Iqbal
spectator.com/article/what...
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What can we expect from the Iran negotiations?
The eyes of the world are on Pakistan’s capital Islamabad as it plays host to this weekend’s make or break negotiations between the United States and Iran. The Pakistanis, whose mediation efforts…
https://spectator.com/article/what-can-we-expect-from-the-iran-negotiations/
about 2 months ago
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The current phase of the disaster rolling through the Middle East hinges on whether a ceasefire in Lebanon should be a prerequisite for a ceasefire in the Gulf. ✍️ Jonathan Brown Article |
spectator.com/article/lebanon-should-be-excluded-from-the-iran-peace-deal
about 2 months ago
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Melania Trump’s bombshell statement yesterday on the Jeffrey Epstein affair needed subtitles. As she spoke it was all so odd. ✍️ Melissa Kite Article |
spectator.com/article/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-melania-trump
about 2 months ago
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Kemi Badenoch has said she will ban doctors from striking. Health Secretary Wes Streeting refused to rule it out. The police aren’t allowed to strike and nor is the military. Why should doctors be different? ✍️ Druin Burch Article |
spectator.com/article/should-doctors-be-banned-from-striking
about 2 months ago
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What are the odds that Vladimir Putin is going to be cowed when British Defence Secretary John Healey warns him ‘we see you. ✍️ Mark Galeotti Article |
spectator.com/article/the-problem-with-john-healeys-tough-talk-on-russia
about 2 months ago
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Four astronauts aboard the Artemis II spacecraft achieved the distinction of travelling further from the Earth than any humans before them – 252,000 miles away. Barometer |
spectator.com/article/how-many-humans-have-landed-on-the-moon
about 2 months ago
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More youth clubs won’t fix London’s crime woes. ✍️ Alexander Baker Article |
spectator.com/article/more-youth-clubs-wont-fix-london-crime
about 2 months ago
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Reform’s approach to these local elections seemed to be a variation on a wedding classic: ‘something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.’ ✍️ Steerpike Article |
spectator.com/article/ex-tory-mps-line-up-for-reform
about 2 months ago
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It’s hard to believe that Starmer is getting tough on Russia. ✍️ Owen Matthews Article |
spectator.com/article/its-hard-to-believe-that-starmer-is-getting-tough-on-russia
about 2 months ago
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Four migrants drowned in the Channel yesterday when they were swept away by strong currents. ✍️ Gavin Mortimer Article |
spectator.com/article/frances-migration-hypocrisy
about 2 months ago
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Imagine there was a virulently Francophobic militia on the doorstep of the French Republic. Imagine it had fired nearly a hundred thousand missiles into France these past three years. ✍️ Brendan O’Neill Article |
spectator.com/article/the-shameful-lies-about-israels-attack-on-hezbollah
about 2 months ago
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Our invertebrate government has struck again. ✍️ Ross Clark Article |
spectator.com/article/the-ons-should-not-work-from-home
about 2 months ago
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Ever fancied an extra family member or new best friend supplied on demand and available for as long as required? ✍️ Philip Patrick Article |
spectator.com/article/can-you-rent-a-family-in-japan
about 2 months ago
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Letters: The uncomfortable truth about Gen Z churchgoers ✍️ The Spectator Article |
spectator.com/article/letters-the-uncomfortable-truth-about-gen-z-churchgoers
about 2 months ago
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What do you do with a captured soldier? ✍️ Peter Jones Article |
spectator.com/article/what-do-you-do-with-a-captured-soldier
about 2 months ago
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Ladies and gentlemen, drum roll please, no pushing at the back, let’s hear it for… The Bunch! If you don’t know who I’m talking about, you’re in for a treat. ✍️ Jonathan Ray Article |
spectator.com/article/the-pick-of-the-bunch-wines-from-six-of-the-uks-top-merchants
about 2 months ago
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Regular readers of this column will be familiar with my promoting an idea called a ‘Paceometer’. Once you have seen a Paceometer, you will drive in a completely different way. ✍️ Rory Sutherland Article |
spectator.com/article/the-real-reason-we-should-be-burning-our-own-gas
about 2 months ago
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