Society

Wednesday

Madeline Grant

An unhappy Christmas PMQs for Keir Starmer

Thank God! Today was the last Prime Minister’s Questions before Christmas and so Sir Keir and Mrs Badenoch began their speeches with seasonal greetings. Was a Christmas truce about to break out? Unlikely; Sir Keir couldn’t resist a poke at Reform’s Russian problems. ‘If wise men from the East come bearing gifts, this time report it to the police’ he scoffed. Today, Nigel Farage, Sir Keir’s very own Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, loomed down on proceedings from the Commons viewing gallery. Even he chuckled at this opening gag. The death of Tiny Tim is genuinely more likely to bring about a smile than the Prime Minister’s gags Things got

David Shipley

The anti-Muslim hate definition will be bad for free speech

After a long wait, the government’s Islamophobia definition has finally taken form. There has been  plenty of criticism of the idea, and many warnings of the dangers it would pose to freedom and our ability to fight crime. But fear not, the state has come up with a brilliant solution: rebranding. Instead of ‘Islamophobia’ we are to be given a definition of ‘anti-Muslim hatred’. The draft text, apparently submitted to the government in October, reads: ‘Anti-Muslim hostility is engaging in or encouraging criminal acts, including acts of violence, vandalism of property, and harassment and intimidation whether physical, verbal, written or electronically communicated, which is directed at Muslims or those perceived to

Matthew Lynn

We don’t need a stealth tax on rotisserie chicken

It depends on whether you re-heat it when you get home, apparently. Or whether it is sold in a bag labelled hot food. The supermarket chain Morrisons has lost a fiendishly complex court battle over whether its rotisserie chickens should be subject to VAT or not. It will have to stump up an extra £17 million to the Treasury. But hold on. This is crazy. The last thing the UK needs right now is what amounts to a stealth tax on spit-roasted poultry.  This is crazy. The last thing the UK needs right now is what amounts to a stealth tax on spit-roasted poultry The tax lawyers will no doubt

Rory Hanrahan

It's no surprise that the Bondi Beach attackers are related

The sun had barely set over Sydney’s Bondi Beach, when horror unfolded at the Hanukkah celebration. A father and son, armed with licensed firearms, opened fire on a crowd of hundreds gathered for the Jewish holiday, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 40 others. The perpetrators have been identified as Sajid Akram, 50, who was killed by police at the scene, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, who remains in a critical condition in hospital after being shot by police. The father-son dynamic here is no coincidence; it speaks to how hatred is often inherited The attack is Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades, a stark

Alexander Larman

The Brompton bicycle has had its day

Anyone who has had the misfortune to be in central London at rush hour will be familiar with an unlovely spectacle: that of a middle-aged man solemnly making a fool out of himself on an ungainly-looking bicycle that seems slightly too small for him. This mode of transportation is none other than the Brompton bicycle, once a status symbol for any upwardly mobile professional but now, increasingly and unsurprisingly, regarded as an object of ridicule. The recent news that the company’s sales are declining, for the third year in a row, will come as a surprise to few; it is more of a shock to realise that this strange, overpriced

Tuesday

Rory Sutherland

Why religious societies succeed – with Rory Sutherland

35 min listen

Advertising guru – and the Spectator’s Wiki Man columnist – Rory Sutherland joins Damian Thompson for this episode of Holy Smoke. In a wide ranging discussion, from Sigmund Freud and Max Weber to Quakers and Mormons, they discuss how some religious communities seem to be predisposed to success by virtue of their beliefs. How do spiritual choices affect consumer choices? Between Android and Apple, which is more Protestant and which is more Catholic? And what can modern Churches learn from Capitalism? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Patrick West

The problem with Labour’s ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ definition

Some might say that trying to define ‘Islamophobia’ is a foolish enterprise, given that words these days are so wantonly manipulated. Yet this hasn’t stopped Labour from trying. In 2018, the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims called for the following definition to be adopted by the government: ‘Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness’. Now it has been reported that ministers are finalising a new wording which defines it more simply as ‘anti-Muslim hostility’. In our hypersensitive times, ‘hostility’ is likely to mean anything offence-seekers want it to be It could be argued that this definition

Joseph Dinnage

How to fix Oxfam

Amid stiff competition, Oxfam may be the British charity sector’s greatest hypocrite. The charity’s chief executive, Halima Begum, has been forced out by trustees over accusations of bullying. Since being appointed almost two years ago, Begum is alleged to have presided over a ‘culture of fear’ that prompted almost 70 members of staff to sign a letter calling on the board to investigate her. Begum – who earns over £130,000 a year – also stands accused of compromising Oxfam’s impartiality after appearing on stage with a Palestinian journalist who described the 7 October massacre as a ‘great day’. Naturally, Begum denies everything. Who’d have expected such conduct from the ‘be

Mick Davis

Diaspora Jews are no longer free

Jews had gathered on Bondi Beach to celebrate the first night of Chanukah, the festival of light and freedom. Uniquely among Jewish festivals, Chanukah is celebrated in public. Generations of families came to light candles on Sydney’s famous coastline and say: we belong here too. And then two gunmen opened fire: 15 people murdered; 40 wounded. The victims include London born Rabbi Eli Schlanger and Alex Kleytman, who survived the Holocaust but, 80 years later was murdered for being a Jew. On Bondi Beach, Jews celebrating that freedom were attacked and murdered. This was not ‘senseless violence’ – the very phrase stupefies us into passivity, unable to name, identify and

Gareth Roberts

Why I pity the liberals being mugged by reality

What a mess. This little phrase seems unequal to the task of describing the situation Britain finds itself in after decades of multiculturalism and liberalism. In a – perhaps surprising – spirit of compassion and generosity, I find myself feeling for some of the liberals who are now regularly being mugged at scale by reality. There is very little time to draw breath nowadays, to reset and forget, between what are still described as ‘incidents’. The Bondi Beach massacre followed on from the news of the two Afghan asylum seekers jailed for raping a girl of 15, which followed the news of the migrant hotel worker stabbed to death with a

Lawrence Goldman

The Reith lectures are a new low in BBC history

This year’s Reith lecturer is the historian and activist Rutger Bregman. Given the way things work in the BBC, it comes as no surprise that a Dutchman, however charismatic, has been chosen to lecture us on modern British history. There are dozens of extremely well-qualified historians in British universities who could have spoken rather more insightfully. Given the way things work in the BBC, it comes as no surprise that a Dutchman has been chosen to lecture us on modern British history It isn’t surprising either that in Bregman’s first lecture on ‘Moral Revolution’ he should have declared himself to be a social democrat. The BBC simply cannot understand real

Monday

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Why won’t the West defend Jews?

Bondi Beach is not occupied territory. Yet a Jewish celebration there ended in blood. It is not within a military zone, not contested land, not an ‘open air prison’, but still, among civilians, on a day marked for celebration, Jews were once again slaughtered, picked off by a Muslim father and son who were motivated to kill as if it were their God-given right. The images from Bondi are now etched into public memory, but the political reaction now taking shape confirms how little our leaders understand the nature of what they are facing. The war has not ended. It has migrated. The images coming out of Bondi as the

Patrick West

The Bondi Beach attack shows diversity is not our strength

In the wake of a tragedy it is only fitting that public figures issue words of condolence. But there’s a vast difference between making a statement that conveys condemnation and anger, sentiments that most ordinary people have felt after the attack on Bondi Beach yesterday, and proffering bland, evasive platitudes that ignore the grave problems that face us – in this case, anti-Semitism and Islamist terror. With every attack carried out by individuals beholden to an extreme interpretation of Islam, responses of the latter kind arrive with grim predictability. The reaction to the Sydney atrocity has proved no exception. Speaking to GB News last night, Lola McEvoy, Labour MP for

Tom Slater

Paul Lumber’s death isn’t funny. Why does that need saying?

Publicly mocking a man who has just died from falling off a ladder. This is what the ‘compassionate’ left has been getting up to on social media in recent days, in between retweeting conspiracy theories about the Bondi terror attack. ‘That knucklehead Paul Lumber who died putting up flags looks exactly like u imagined. The Master Race!!’, spat one person Paul Lumber, 60, fell to his death while putting up England and Union flags near his home in south Bristol. He was active in the Operation Raise the Colours campaign, which has taken many of Britain’s neglected high streets and dual carriageways by storm. Lumber suffered multiple injuries, including head injuries,

Sam Leith

Why was this old man fined £250 for spitting out a leaf?

‘I celebrate myself, and sing myself,’ wrote Walt Whitman in his rhapsodic celebration of freedom, Leaves of Grass. ‘And what I assume you shall assume,/ For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.// I loafe and invite my soul,/ I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.’ Dog walkers have complained of being asked to provide evidence of having poo-bags about their person A century and a half later Roy Marsh, 86, was leaning and loafing at his ease by a boating lake in Skegness when he, too, interacted with a spear of grass. This spear of grass was blown into the poor fellow’s mouth by a gust of wind. Mr Marsh did what everyone would do in the circumstances, which is

Druin Burch

Why are world leaders shocked by the Bondi Beach attack?

Micheál Martin, Ireland’s Taoiseach, said he is shocked by the anti-Semitic slaughter on Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, is shocked too. So is Christopher Luxon, the prime minister of New Zealand. Yet there is really nothing shocking about the Australian attack. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Australia’s ABC News is reporting this morning that one of the Bondi Beach gunmen was previously investigated over his ties to a Islamic State (IS) terrorism cell. An Isis flag was also reportedly found in the car of the gunmen. Islamic terrorist

Stephen Daisley

Why was this innocent doctor ever investigated for her 'anti-trans' posts?

This one has everything: drag queens, swastikas, X and freedom of speech. Dr Anne Woodhouse is a clinical psychologist in Inverness who has just been cleared of misconduct charges by her regulatory body, the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS). The accusation was that Dr Woodhouse’s ‘fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct’ because of two posts and three ‘likes’ from an X account she co-owned. Woodhouse denied all charges against her. Dr Anne Woodhouse is a clinical psychologist in Inverness who has just been cleared of misconduct charges by her regulatory body Post one: ‘The majority of trans women are the result of men’s sexual fetishes,

Daniel Norcross

What Australia's tabloids make of England's Ashes failure

No doubt even the cricket averse among you will be aware at some level that the England team is currently undergoing its traditional four yearly mauling at the hands of gleeful Australians under unforgiving, sun-drenched skies Down Under. Fans back home are enduring miserable nights, pock-marked by false hope, fever dreams and regret for engaging in the whole inevitable business of sporting despair but with added insomnia thrown in for good measure. Failure in Australia means that really it doesn’t matter what England do until they win The results on the pitch have once again been dismal, but in fairness to this team, they are simply following a trend that

Sunday

Rod Liddle

Why did Robin Ince have to leave The Infinite Monkey Cage?

It was with mild pleasure that I read of the decision of Robin Ince to end his association with the Radio 4 programme, The Infinite Monkey Cage. I enjoy the show, but have never been entirely sure what Ince brings to it. He is not terribly funny, nor erudite, although what he lacks in those qualities he makes for in self-regard. He is not terribly funny, nor erudite, although what he lacks in those qualities he makes for in self-regard Why did he go? Apparently the BBC think he is too outspoken on various political issues, such as Gaza and trans rights. As you might imagine, Ince is wrong (and

Rosie Lewis

The care system isn’t built for Afghan teenagers

The sentencing this week of Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal for the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Leamington Spa has reignited the immigration debate. The two 17-year-old Afghans arrived in the country by small boat, claimed to be minors, and were duly absorbed into the British care system before they committed this horrific crime. We continue to ask ordinary families, often single women like me, renting modest semis, to absorb adolescents who may speak no English, observe strict religious codes, and carry more trauma than most adults ever will But behind the justified outrage, a quieter, more uncomfortable truth has been forgotten: the care system we ask to absorb