Lara Prendergast is executive editor of The Spectator. She hosts two Spectator podcasts, The Edition and Table Talk, and edits The Spectator’s food and drink coverage.
The long-awaited Chilcot report has finally been published today. It comes during a very tumultuous time in British politics – and while its publication was always going to be fractious, it remains to be seen how the Tories – and more interestingly, Labour, use it to their advantage. The 12-volume report, which is 2.6 million words long and can
Since Brexit became a reality early on Friday morning, my Facebook feed has been filled with mournful posts written by friends who voted Remain. Those who voted Leave seem to be staying quiet. This is understandable. Most of my friends are in their twenties. They tend to be educated and globalist in their outlook. They have enjoyed
It is, at times, unclear that George Osborne is aware that the under-30s are voting in this EU referendum. When he talks about house prices plummeting post-Brexit, he talks as if this will strike fear into everyone’s hearts. For older people seeking to downsize, this might be true – but for almost everyone else, it’s
A year or so ago, I inherited a cardboard box filled with plants. It was an offshoot from an enormous collection that belonged to a young botanist from Stockwell. He was about to be turfed out of the derelict building he lived in and hundreds of plants were being spread across London. I offered to
Labour’s Lisa Nandy has just been on the Daily Politics, where she suggested that Naz Shah should be suspended from the party. When asked about Bradford West MP Naz Shah’s comments about Israel, Nandy told Jo Coburn that the Labour party should ‘suspend anybody who makes anti-Semitic comments in line with our policy and investigate
After months of waiting, the Electoral Commission has announced that Vote Leave has been given the official designation for the EU referendum. This means that MPs including Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and Frank Field will now become the official faces of the Leave campaign, while Nigel Farage and Ukip donor Arron Banks, who were behind
‘Amid the cobbled passageways and tumbling tenements of the Italian city of Perugia, it’s possible to daydream you are in the middle ages. You are surrounded by medieval art and architecture. And then you think: hold on, what happened to the Renaissance?’ So begins Paul Mason’s article for the Guardian on Monday about the Panama Papers, in which
I’m technically 3/4 Kiwi and 1/4 British, although having lived in the UK most of my life, it doesn’t often feel this way. But when it comes to rugby, I support the All Blacks, and when I go walking in the mud, I wear gumboots, not wellingtons. So I’ve taken a vague interest in the fact that New
At least 14 dead after two explosions by ‘suicide bombers’ at American Airlines check-in desk at Brussels airport. 81 injured. Firemen are said to have found a third unexploded device. Separate explosion at Maelbeek metro station in Brussels city centre, 500 metres from an EU institution. At least 20 dead and 55 injured. Islamic State have claimed responsibility for
Baby George was born into a happy family. His mother and father love him dearly. He lives in a cottage in a pretty village, with a six-year-old sister who adores him, and his grandmother lives nearby. His parents both have good jobs and his nursery is filled with toys. By most measures, George has had
Has a new art installation opened up at the Capitoline museum? One might be forgiven for thinking so: nude sculptures were recently encased in white wooden boxes so that only their heads could be seen. So modern! So fresh! So radical! Except there was nothing radical about it. Instead, Italian authorities took the decision to cover
The young nannies arriving for their morning lectures at Norland College in Bath make quite a sight. Although the road is empty, they bank up along the pavement waiting for the lights to change. They are in their winter uniform of brown hat and gloves, hair in a neat bun; some push old-fashioned Silver Cross
Regardless of the background of the men who carried out the attacks in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, it is a pretty horrific story. A series of sexual attacks took place in the city centre by a group of around 1,000 men. More than 150 women have filed criminal complaints, three-quarters of them for sexual assault.
Simon Danczuk’s lightning-fast suspension from Labour – as they investigate whether he sent ‘lewd’ texts to a seventeen-year-old girl – is an embarrassing note to end the year on. Especially for an MP like Danczuk who has spent much of the last few years positioning himself as a campaigner against child abuse. He has described today’s story in the Sun as being ‘not entirely
In the new year the EU referendum battle will heat up, and it seems the Conservative party are already starting to shuffle things around in preparation. Stephen Gilbert, the party’s current deputy chairman, has today announced that he is standing down from this position. When Gilbert originally became deputy chairman, it was agreed that he
Uber aren’t going to be thrilled to hear that Muhaydin Mire, the man who has been arrested on suspicion of knifing a man at Leytonstone station, while shouting ‘This is for Syria’, was reportedly one of their drivers. On social media, London cabbies have already started to capitalise on this, by making the case that you’re better
‘What’s worse: people who add French flags to their Facebook profiles, or those who sneer at them?’ asks my colleague Isabel Hardman on Coffee House today. ‘Haven’t we always offered small gestures to commemorate sad events? Or to show respect? Why do we buy poppies in November, and feel under-dressed without them?’ In some ways,
Last night, terrorists launched a total of six coordinated attacks at high-profile sites across Paris. French prosecutors have put the current death toll at 128, with 99 critically injured. There were two suicide bomb attacks at a bar near the Stade de France where President Hollande was watching the match. One witness told the Mail: He felt like
The news that the V&A had rejected an offer of Margaret Thatcher’s wardrobe was met with dismay yesterday. ‘Shame the V&A has turned down Thatcher’s personal collection. I for one would have loved to see it!’ said the business secretary, Sajid Javid, on Twitter. Conor Burns MP suggested that the collection’s breakup would be a ‘tragedy’.
The V&A have defended their decision to turn down the offer of Margaret Thatcher’s wardrobe on the basis that it only collects items of ‘outstanding aesthetic or technical quality’ rather than those with ‘intrinsic social historical value’. Yet in the same statement, they also suggest that the museum is responsible for ‘chronicling fashionable dress’. I’m not entirely sure
