Patience Wheatcroft
20 November 2024
The devastating failure of Justin Welby
The church, both Anglican and Catholic, has conspicuously failed to provide the leadership the UK craves
Read the full article12 November 2024
Kemi Badenoch has already wrecked the Tories
In making them a carbon copy of Reform, the new leader of the opposition shows she is neither thoughtful nor serious
Read the full article04 November 2024
The EU are baffled by the Budget and Starmer
Concerns over youth mobility and Northern Ireland are growing in Brussels
Read the full article29 October 2024
Prison doesn’t work. Here’s what to do instead
Early release is a sticking plaster, not a solution. We need a wholly new approach to sentencing
Read the full article23 October 2024
Is Britain ready for its inevitable tax rises?
Clearly, the chancellor has no intention of courting short-term popularity as the budget looms
Read the full article09 October 2024
The Conservatives are about to enter the abyss
By the time another election looms, Conservative MPs will sniff potential doom and ditch their leader for a more Machiavellian individual
Read the full article02 October 2024
Time for Reeves to face the budget conundrum
As October 30 looms, Reeves must prepare to perform a fiscal juggling act
Read the full article25 September 2024
Can slow news really rescue old news?
With readers increasingly moving away from newsprint, the format’s future could be in jeopardy
Read the full article17 September 2024
What’s the point of buying the Spectator?
A little influence over a national publication may be enough to keep Sir Paul Marshall, yet another would-be media mogul, happy
Read the full article11 September 2024
The neverending Tory leadership race
The next leader will be unlikely to take the Tories into the next election
Read the full article04 September 2024
Reeves needs to be a bit braver with her accounts
If Rachel Reeves wants to be a truly reforming chancellor, she should embrace a more radical approach to accounting
Read the full article28 August 2024
Tone-deaf Tory six are leading the party towards oblivion
The new crop of MPs are faced with a Hogwarts-style parliament as the Tories’ leadership crisis rumbles on unabated
Read the full article21 August 2024
Shame in public life seems to have vanished
The government has demonstrated a conviction that dangerous behaviour has to have consequences
Read the full article07 August 2024
The Tories are finished for good if they lurch any further right
If Labour fails in its declared missions, the Conservatives could have another chance – but not if they veer to the right
Read the full article31 July 2024
A cull of hereditaries and elders in the Lords is not the answer. So what is?
A term limit, rather than an age limit, is key to reforming the upper house
Read the full article24 July 2024
It’s the contradictions that may trip up the PM
Legislating is the relatively easy part, particularly given a massive Commons majority. Implementation is another matter entirely
Read the full article17 July 2024
If you’ve got it, share it – or else we’ll come for you
After the election, Rachel Reeves is in the perfect position to exert a little gentle blackmail
Read the full article17 July 2024
Can Keir Starmer’s government find a new role for Britain?
With action rather than empty words, the new government could make Britain into a happier country, content to enjoy its advantages
Read the full article10 July 2024
The Conservatives’ long game of thrones begins
The election rendered a moderate Conservative Party redundant
Read the full article03 July 2024
Parliament has a chance to be relevant again
There must be something better than the juvenile name-calling that has come to characterise our way of government
Read the full article26 June 2024
Freezing out Farage
The best way to fight the Reform leader’s populism is to produce a united front
Read the full article19 June 2024
Farage and the politics of anger
With an overdose of incompetence, Rishi Sunak has driven right wing Tories back to Nigel Farage
Read the full article16 June 2024
It’s time to talk Brexit
Our political leaders will barely utter the B-word – but they can’t avoid it forever
Read the full article12 June 2024
The strange death of the Conservative Party
On July 4, I will be celebrating the defenestration of the Tory party, but not without regrets over what has been lost
Read the full article05 June 2024
Britain has had enough of political gimmicks
Voters want stability, rather than novelty, from the next government
Read the full article29 May 2024
What Starmer should say about Brexit
Skilled European workers are deserting the UK and Starmer could find a route to bring them back
Read the full article22 May 2024
Demonising a Labour moderate didn’t work in ’97. It won’t work now
The electorate will see through any attempt to frighten them into yet another period of government by the doomed Tories
Read the full article15 May 2024
Forget the Garrick, what about the Freemasons?
The secretive group seems more worthy of scrutiny than a club for elderly thespians
Read the full article08 May 2024
The UK’s private equity sector is ready to implode
If the Bank of England is right, the reverberations will be felt around the country
Read the full article05 May 2024
The Tories could be heading for extinction
Defeat is certain, a total wipe-out possible – and don’t underestimate the role of Brexit in this meltdown
Read the full article30 April 2024
A stubborn and stupid betrayal of British youth
Younger generations are paying the price for Rishi Sunak’s stubbornness and pride
Read the full article24 April 2024
The country has had enough of amateurs
David Cameron’s return to frontline politics resembles a grown-up arriving at a children’s party
Read the full article