The Spectator
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He gabbled awkwardly about how university and apprenticeships were the same.
✍️ Madeline Grant
www.spectator.co.uk/article/keir...
✍️ Madeline Grant
www.spectator.co.uk/article/keir...
Keir Starmer goes walkies to McLaren
‘Nurse! Nurse! He’s out again!’ That’s right, Sir Keir had escaped his handlers and was mingling with the public once more. This time he was ruining the coffee break of some workers at McLaren to…
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 6:01 PM
He gabbled awkwardly about how university and apprenticeships were the same.
✍️ Madeline Grant
www.spectator.co.uk/article/keir...
✍️ Madeline Grant
www.spectator.co.uk/article/keir...
Ravec might still decide to maintain the status quo: cue weeping and gnashing of teeth if so.
✍️ Alexander Larman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-h...
✍️ Alexander Larman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-h...
Is Harry about to spend a lot more time in Britain?
Ravec has ordered that its risk management board be prepared to reassess Harry’s threat level for the first time since February 2020.
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Ravec might still decide to maintain the status quo: cue weeping and gnashing of teeth if so.
✍️ Alexander Larman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-h...
✍️ Alexander Larman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-h...
This is devolution in action. All the powers necessary to transform the health service, none of the political will to make even modest tweaks.
✍️ Lucy Dunn
www.spectator.co.uk/article/scot...
✍️ Lucy Dunn
www.spectator.co.uk/article/scot...
Scotland is getting sicker
Scotland’s NHS is in crisis and Scotland’s government is in denial. A new study by the former head of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow presents a grim diagnosis of the nation’s…
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 5:15 PM
This is devolution in action. All the powers necessary to transform the health service, none of the political will to make even modest tweaks.
✍️ Lucy Dunn
www.spectator.co.uk/article/scot...
✍️ Lucy Dunn
www.spectator.co.uk/article/scot...
The UK defence sector is one of the most advanced in the world.
✍️ Eliot Wilson
www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-t...
✍️ Eliot Wilson
www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-t...
Is the navy prepared to fend off Russia's underwater threat?
The Royal Navy plans to use this combination of warships, aircraft and sensors to detect and monitor Russian activity.
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The UK defence sector is one of the most advanced in the world.
✍️ Eliot Wilson
www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-t...
✍️ Eliot Wilson
www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-t...
Public anger at both Labour and the Tories remains palpable and Farage remains overwhelmingly the greatest beneficiary of the protest vote.
✍️ Tim Shipman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/has-...
✍️ Tim Shipman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/has-...
Has Reform peaked?
The week ends as it began, with Keir Starmer outlining plans to curb child poverty, news that Rachel Reeves won’t face a formal investigation into whether she misled the markets over her Budget,…
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Public anger at both Labour and the Tories remains palpable and Farage remains overwhelmingly the greatest beneficiary of the protest vote.
✍️ Tim Shipman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/has-...
✍️ Tim Shipman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/has-...
However Polanski’s comments about why Britain needs migrants have, er, rather raised eyebrows – to put it mildly.
✍️ Steerpike
www.spectator.co.uk/article/watc...
✍️ Steerpike
www.spectator.co.uk/article/watc...
Watch: Zack Polanski's bizarre migration remarks
To BBC Question Time, where the leader of the Green party made a rather interesting intervention on migration last night. Zack Polanski’s party preaches that billionaires, not Britain’s borders, are…
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 4:15 PM
However Polanski’s comments about why Britain needs migrants have, er, rather raised eyebrows – to put it mildly.
✍️ Steerpike
www.spectator.co.uk/article/watc...
✍️ Steerpike
www.spectator.co.uk/article/watc...
The bookmakers would soon catch on and terminate the accounts. But it didn’t matter.
✍️ Gus Carter
www.spectator.co.uk/article/insi...
✍️ Gus Carter
www.spectator.co.uk/article/insi...
Inside the world of Reform’s mystery money man
New court documents reveal George Cottrell’s role in high-stakes gambling schemes linked to professional syndicates.
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The bookmakers would soon catch on and terminate the accounts. But it didn’t matter.
✍️ Gus Carter
www.spectator.co.uk/article/insi...
✍️ Gus Carter
www.spectator.co.uk/article/insi...
Labour needs to show it has listened – even if that means taking recommendations from its political opponents.
✍️ Lucy Dunn
www.spectator.co.uk/article/will...
✍️ Lucy Dunn
www.spectator.co.uk/article/will...
Will Starmer take up Badenoch's grooming gangs advice?
Plans for a national inquiry into grooming gangs are underway, but will the inquiry actually happen?
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Labour needs to show it has listened – even if that means taking recommendations from its political opponents.
✍️ Lucy Dunn
www.spectator.co.uk/article/will...
✍️ Lucy Dunn
www.spectator.co.uk/article/will...
Did West Midlands Police simply make stuff up? It’s difficult to avoid that conclusion.
✍️ Stephen Pollard
www.spectator.co.uk/article/jewi...
✍️ Stephen Pollard
www.spectator.co.uk/article/jewi...
Jewish fans deserve the truth about Maccabi Tel Aviv's Villa Park ban
Did West Midlands Police simply make stuff up to keep Israeli football fans away from Villa Park? It’s difficult to avoid that conclusion
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Did West Midlands Police simply make stuff up? It’s difficult to avoid that conclusion.
✍️ Stephen Pollard
www.spectator.co.uk/article/jewi...
✍️ Stephen Pollard
www.spectator.co.uk/article/jewi...
In a silent, deep-sea war, Europe and its allies are already counting the cost of Russian damage to its vital undersea cables.
✍️ Andy Jones
www.spectator.co.uk/article/irel...
✍️ Andy Jones
www.spectator.co.uk/article/irel...
Ireland is a weak spot in Russia's undersea cable war
In a silent, deep-sea war, Europe and its allies are already counting the cost of Russian damage to its vital undersea cables
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 3:00 PM
In a silent, deep-sea war, Europe and its allies are already counting the cost of Russian damage to its vital undersea cables.
✍️ Andy Jones
www.spectator.co.uk/article/irel...
✍️ Andy Jones
www.spectator.co.uk/article/irel...
Public opinion is against Lammy’s reforms, according to Opinium polling for The Spectator.
✍️ James Heale
www.spectator.co.uk/article/lamm...
✍️ James Heale
www.spectator.co.uk/article/lamm...
Lammy’s jury reforms face an uphill battle
If you speak to Labour MPs about looming battles in the new year, most are quick to mention the elections in May. But an almighty scrap is shaping up beforehand over David Lammy’s bid to strip back…
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Public opinion is against Lammy’s reforms, according to Opinium polling for The Spectator.
✍️ James Heale
www.spectator.co.uk/article/lamm...
✍️ James Heale
www.spectator.co.uk/article/lamm...
The Australian media has relished the unexpected chance to put the boot into the beleaguered England side.
✍️ Terry Barnes
www.spectator.co.uk/article/auss...
✍️ Terry Barnes
www.spectator.co.uk/article/auss...
Aussies are enjoying England's Ashes meltdown
What a letdown for lovers of Test cricket in England and Australia. After just 6 days, the Ashes series between the two old enemies is over
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 11:30 AM
The Australian media has relished the unexpected chance to put the boot into the beleaguered England side.
✍️ Terry Barnes
www.spectator.co.uk/article/auss...
✍️ Terry Barnes
www.spectator.co.uk/article/auss...
Worryingly, a government minister seems blind to both the conflation of different treatments, and the fuzziness of the terminology.
✍️ Debbie Hayton
✍️ Debbie Hayton
Why this trans person is troubled by a conversion therapy ban
Emotional accounts about trans conversion therapy are being conflated with so-called conversion practices in the modern era
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Worryingly, a government minister seems blind to both the conflation of different treatments, and the fuzziness of the terminology.
✍️ Debbie Hayton
✍️ Debbie Hayton
When the taps run dry in Tunbridge Wells you know something is wrong in the heart of Albion.
✍️ Alex Klaushofer
✍️ Alex Klaushofer
Britain's water crisis is getting worse
When the taps run dry in Tunbridge Wells you know that something has gone very wrong in the heart of Albion
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 8:10 AM
When the taps run dry in Tunbridge Wells you know something is wrong in the heart of Albion.
✍️ Alex Klaushofer
✍️ Alex Klaushofer
The BBC parades this training module as evidence of institutional responsibility, yet it only exposes the depth of its institutional evasion.
✍️ Jonathan Sacerdoti
✍️ Jonathan Sacerdoti
The BBC's antisemitism training is an offensive parody
The BBC parades this training module as evidence of institutional responsibility, yet it only exposes the depth of its institutional evasion
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 8:00 AM
The BBC parades this training module as evidence of institutional responsibility, yet it only exposes the depth of its institutional evasion.
✍️ Jonathan Sacerdoti
✍️ Jonathan Sacerdoti
It’s time to leave the group alone and enjoy what we have – which is an absolutely colossal body of work.
✍️ Rob Crossan
✍️ Rob Crossan
Let the Beatles be
The latest 'new' releases – from the Disney reboot of the Beatles Anthology documentary to the fourth volume of the Anthology Collection album – are scraping the barrel.
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 7:30 AM
It’s time to leave the group alone and enjoy what we have – which is an absolutely colossal body of work.
✍️ Rob Crossan
✍️ Rob Crossan
I recently met a Gen Z Sloane who told me he had just bought a flat in Stoke Newington. As a millennial Sloane I could ill contain my surprise at the postcode.
✍️ Arabella Byrne
✍️ Arabella Byrne
The Sloane Ranger is in dire straits
Every few years, an obituary for the Sloane Ranger appears. In 2015, the Telegraph proclaimed their death. In 2022, Peter York himself, co-author of The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook, wrote a...
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 7:15 AM
I recently met a Gen Z Sloane who told me he had just bought a flat in Stoke Newington. As a millennial Sloane I could ill contain my surprise at the postcode.
✍️ Arabella Byrne
✍️ Arabella Byrne
‘Your parcel has been delivered.’ Why are we told this? In my experience, it actually means ‘Your parcel is in a hedge/in the recycling/in a puddle in the woodshed’.
✍️ Matthew Dennison
✍️ Matthew Dennison
The tyranny of parcel delivery companies
Once upon a time, post was delivered by a postman or postwoman. Over the past two centuries, this quaint initiative augmented a sense of community and invested early mornings with at least fleeting human...
www.spectator.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM
‘Your parcel has been delivered.’ Why are we told this? In my experience, it actually means ‘Your parcel is in a hedge/in the recycling/in a puddle in the woodshed’.
✍️ Matthew Dennison
✍️ Matthew Dennison
‘I adore receiving cards. Even ones from people I cordially dislike, or frankly loathe, are welcome.’
✍️ Druin Burch
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...
✍️ Druin Burch
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...
The joy of receiving Christmas cards – even from people I loathe
I adore receiving Christmas cards. Even ones from people I cordially dislike, or frankly loathe, are welcome
www.spectator.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 5:15 PM
‘I adore receiving cards. Even ones from people I cordially dislike, or frankly loathe, are welcome.’
✍️ Druin Burch
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...
✍️ Druin Burch
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...
‘The Andrew debacle has had the unintended side-effect of blowing open the royal coffers and inviting scrutiny that many would prefer had never occurred.’
✍️ Alexander Larman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/andr...
✍️ Alexander Larman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/andr...
The Andrew debacle has blown open the royal coffers for all to see
It is unlikely, based on previous evidence, that the royal family will relish cooperating with such an inquiry.
www.spectator.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 4:10 PM
‘The Andrew debacle has had the unintended side-effect of blowing open the royal coffers and inviting scrutiny that many would prefer had never occurred.’
✍️ Alexander Larman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/andr...
✍️ Alexander Larman
www.spectator.co.uk/article/andr...
When the story intensifies, the volume rises to match it. www.spectator.co.uk/article/ivo-...
Ivo van Hove tries and fails to destroy Arthur Miller
All My Sons, set in an American suburb in the summer of 1947, examines the downfall of Joe Keller, a wealthy and patriotic arms manufacturer. During the war he was falsely accused of selling wonky…
www.spectator.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 3:01 PM
When the story intensifies, the volume rises to match it. www.spectator.co.uk/article/ivo-...
In his introduction, the editor James Schiff, a lifelong Updike scholar, whisks us past the landmark of a literary career. www.spectator.co.uk/article/john...
John Updike’s letters overflow with lust, ambition, guilt and shame
When John Updike died in 2009, aged 76, he left behind the last great paper trail. Novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist and art critic, he published with unstoppable fluidity in every genre.…
www.spectator.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 2:30 PM
In his introduction, the editor James Schiff, a lifelong Updike scholar, whisks us past the landmark of a literary career. www.spectator.co.uk/article/john...
‘Of the eleven who took the field in the match that finished today, I’d retain only Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Will Jacks.’
✍️ Jim Lawley
www.spectator.co.uk/article/most...
✍️ Jim Lawley
www.spectator.co.uk/article/most...
Most of the England cricket team should be dropped
England’s cricketers have just crashed to a second humiliating defeat against Australia, leaving them 2-0 down in the five-match series. With occasional exceptions, we have batted, bowled and fielded…
www.spectator.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 2:17 PM
‘Of the eleven who took the field in the match that finished today, I’d retain only Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Will Jacks.’
✍️ Jim Lawley
www.spectator.co.uk/article/most...
✍️ Jim Lawley
www.spectator.co.uk/article/most...
It is hard for us to imagine a world in which portraiture of such quality did not exist – and then suddenly arrived. www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...
How Hans Holbein brought portraiture to England
On the evening of 6 May 1527, Henry VIII entertained an embassy from France at a lavish party in Greenwich. The festivities took place in a banqueting house and a theatre, both built for the…
www.spectator.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 11:30 AM
It is hard for us to imagine a world in which portraiture of such quality did not exist – and then suddenly arrived. www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...