Spectator

Tuesday

Fraser Nelson

The Spectator 2010

Hogmanay is still a couple of days away, but it’s proving to be a very happy old year for us at 22 Old Queen St. The Spectator just been named political magazine of 2009 by readers of Iain Dale’s blog. Normally, we’d maintain a bashful silence: but I’d like to say a quick thanks to anyone out there who voted for us. Matthew Parris and myself also picked up gongs in the political writer category, and that other chap lurking around the building, Andrew Neil, was named broadcaster of the year, and This Week was voted no.2 political programme of the year. My question: how do we make The Spectator

Wednesday

The Spectator

Happy Christmas | 23 December 2009

Barring major political catastrophe, Coffee House will be falling silent over the next few days as we all celebrate Christmas.  Many thanks to CoffeeHousers for your contributions over the past year.  We hope you enjoy a happy holiday. If you’re looking to fill your time, then Paul Johnson’s and Lloyd Evans’ pieces from the Christmas issue of the magazine are well worth a read.  We’ll be uploading more magazine content over the next week.

Monday

Fraser Nelson

A new addition to the family

It’s said that every newborn either looks like Winston Churchill or a pound of mince. But this gorgeous, wee creature, I’m sure you’ll agree, looks like neither. Born at 5.52am this morning, after a wait of what felt like an eternity, he weighed in at 9lbs 1 ounce. The staff at the hospital (Kingston-upon-Thames) were absolutely wonderful: we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Interestingly, the midwife said they are at their busiest here during a full moon or during a storm. So I won’t be blogging for a while. It’s time to lavish attention on our other son and persuade him that he has been presented with a

Friday

The Spectator

Apologies | 11 December 2009

We’ve been experiencing a few technical difficulties on Spectator.co.uk this morning, which mean some of you may not have been able to access the site We’re hoping that things will be fully fixed shortly. But, in the meantime, blogging may be a little sporadic.

Thursday

The Spectator

In this week’s Spectator | 10 December 2009

The latest issue of The Spectator is released today. If you are a subscriber you can view it here. If you have not subscribed, but would like to view this week’s content, you can subscribe online here, or purchase a single issue here. A selection of articles from the latest issue are available for free online to all website users: James Forsyth argues that David Cameron could learn a lot from Boris.   The Spectator condemns Gordon Brown’s toxic legacy. Allister Heath believes that Alistair Darling’s budget was bad; but George Osborne’s complicity was worse. Rod Liddle wants everyone to calm down and understand what the internet is about. And

Saturday

Fraser Nelson

The truth about global warming

Anyone interested in climate change should buy The Spectator today. We don’t normally make such naked plugs here on Coffee House, but our global warming special has a line-up of the variety and quality which I guarantee you will find in no other British magazine or newspaper. As the FT’s Samuel Brittan says: we dare to debate. You’ve seen the piece about why the Maldives aren’t sinking, from a world-leading sea levels expert who has made six field trips to the islands. We also have the Freakonomics guys showing how geo-engineering has such potential, even though the environmentalists don’t seem interested. We unearth a never-seen-before CIA file from 1974 which

Thursday

Fraser Nelson

Congratulations, Michael Heath

Last night, Michael Heath, The Spectator’s brilliant cartoon editor, won a lifetime achievement award at the Cartoon Art Trust Awards – and what a lifetime. His first illustrations for The Spectator appeared in the mid-1950s, and have long since become a mainstay of the magazine. To mark this special talent, we’ve pasted a selection of his cartoons, from across the decades, below. So congratulations, Michael. And here’s to the next 55 years. 1950s: 11 December, 1959 1960s: 24 April, 1974 1970s: 1 April, 1978 1980s: 3 April, 1982 1990s: 22 March, 1997 2000s: 21 November, 2009

Wednesday

Peter Hoskin

Rod Liddle is giving out champagne

Over at his blog, Rod has a simple plea: “let’s start a mass campaign of disobedience”.  The target: the type of council bureaucracy which stops parents taking their kids to a playground unless they’ve been CRB checked.  The method: well, that’s where you come in.  There’s a bottle of champagne for the best suggestion.  Just head over to Rod’s blog to have your say.

Tuesday

The Spectator

Nominate a young entrepreneur

Spectator Business, the sister magazine of The Spectator, is on the lookout for talent again.  We’re tracking down Britain’s best young entrepreneurs of 2009. Last year, we profiled ten young people who had made their mark in industries ranging from media and entertainment to food production and social networking. They included Marc Burton, a partner in exclusive London nightspot Whisky Mist, and Victoria Lennox, who was then president of Oxford Entrepreneurs and has since gone on to head up the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs. This year, we are inviting readers and contributors to nominate entrepreneurs under the ago of 30 who have impressed you with their vision and determination.

Thursday

Peter Hoskin

The genius of Michael Heath

Michael Heath’s Flash Gordon cartoon in the latest issue of the magazine is so good that we figured we’d share it with CoffeeHousers. Click on the image below for a larger version:

Monday

Peter Hoskin

Introducing Susan Hill

I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Susan Hill to Spectator.co.uk’s pantheon of guest bloggers.  Susan is, of course, a celebrated writer – the author of numerous works of fiction and non-fiction – but many of you will know her as an incisive commenter around these parts, as well as a frequent contributor to the print magazine.  As she herself puts it, her new blog will cover “what people do and talk about, how they think, local politics and local opinions, Westminster and the media as seen from a distance, country life, belief,” and, I’m sure, much more besides.  So do head over there, and let’s have a rousing welcome for this

Wednesday

Peter Hoskin

How Cameron responded

A quick post to point out that Fraser’s interview with David Cameron – to which CoffeeHousers contributed questions – will be appearing in tomorrow’s issue of the magazine.  We’ll also be making the article free to all website users tomorrow morning, so you can read the full thing then.  In the meantime, here’s a selection of the quotes within it, so you can get a sense of what the Tory leader had to say for himself: Thoughtful radicalism: “What you need is thoughtful radicalism. Prepared radicalism. It needs to come from a solid and strong base. Compare Margaret Thatcher’s trade union reforms with Ted Heath’s. It wasn’t that Ted Heath’s

Friday

Tuesday

Fraser Nelson

An empty chair for Monbiot

Why do the high priests of climate change alarmism fear debate so much? Part of their litany is a desire to avoid coming face to face with academics or scientists who are specialists in their subject and might be able to debunk their prejudices. I actually didn’t put George Monbiot in that category, regarding him as an “informed” opponent of what I regard as global warming realism. One of the things I inherited as editor was an invitation for him to come and debate Ian Plimer, whom James Delingpole interviewed for our cover recently. Today, in what is an act of desperation for any columnist, he has published private emails

The Spectator

Introducing the revamped Spectator.co.uk

We’ve revamped the design of Spectator.co.uk.  There are technical tweaks and improvements aplenty, but three will be of particular interest to CoffeeHousers. First, you can now register for comments by following the instructions here.  If you register, it means that any comments you make on Coffee House, and on other blogs, will appear instantly.  You can still make comments without registering, but they will enter the moderation queue as normal.  Once registered, you can sign-in using the “Login” button at the top right-hand side of any Spectator.co.uk page. Second, we’re delighted to welcome Rod Liddle on board as a blogger.  His Liddle Britain column is one of the most incisive,

Monday

Harry Weskin

An apology for Alan Turing

In early August this year, John Graham-Cumming, a computer programmer, presented a petition to the government asking to give the war time hero and scientific genius, Alan Turing, a posthumous apology for his prosecution in 1952. So far it has gained over 29,000 signatories (it only needed 500 to gain a response). Another petition was set up allowing people resident outside the UK to show their support, and there’s another 10,000 signatories on that one. I couldn’t urge you more strongly to add your own name to the list. Turing was one of the most important and innovative scientists of the 20th century- a genius and a national hero. Situated

Saturday

Fraser Nelson

A word about my new job

As CoffeeHousers may have heard, I am succeeding Matt d’Ancona as editor of the magazine. It’s a huge honour and an awesome task – but one made a lot easier by what he has accomplished in the role. The magazine passing 75,000 circulation is only the most visible aspect of a job well done on levels that editors seldom get credit for. Matt was, quite simply, the best boss a political editor could ask for: always supportive and keen that I pursued whatever line I wanted, even if it meant contradicting what was on the leader page. There are numerous others who will testify to his support, his eye for

Friday

Peter Hoskin

Another essential entry in the NHS debate

Last week, I urged CoffeeHousers to read Ian Birrell’s heartrending article in the Independent on the struggles he faced getting his disabled daughter treated in the NHS, and on the need for health service reform.  Today, Birrell returns to the subject, highlighting some of the many supportive email responses he has received over the past seven days.  Aside from just how moving many of the cases are, it’s striking that many of the voices agreeing with Birrell actually work in the NHS.  As he puts it: “When I last wrote about the NHS four years ago, I received a barrage of criticism from those working within it. Not this time;

Monday

Matthew Dancona

Introducing Cappuccino Culture

Just to introduce The Spectator’s new team blog on arts and cultural affairs – Cappuccino Culture. Spectator writers will be posting all day, every day on what’s new and what matters in the cultural landscape: from arthouse movies to X Factor, from modern poetry to the latest production of Hamlet, all the reviews and the rows. Above all, we want you, our readers, to join the debate by making your own comments on each post. So please head over to new.spectator.co.uk/culture, and let’s embark on a cultural odyssey.

Monday

The Spectator

August’s Book of the Month

We’ve just seleceted our new Book of the Month over at the Spectator Book Club: John Updike’s collection of short stories, My Father’s Tears & Other Stories.  The collection features recent material and some stories that were written in the author’s Sixties heyday, and was published just after his death in January.  It would be great to see some CoffeeHousers over at the discussion board we’ve set up here.