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The Spectator’s annual Parliamentarian of the Year awards took place at the Rosewood Hotel in London this evening. The awards were presented by the guest of honour, former defence secretary Penny Mordaunt. Here are the winners: Parliamentarian of the year – Boris Johnson Comeback of the year – Priti Patel Minister to watch – Michael
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To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 14 February for the next in this year’s series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Nicole Rolet, owner of Chêne Bleu, the boutique estate in the southern Rhône celebrated for its organic, biodynamic ‘couture’ wines which Decanter Magazine declared to
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The Japanese are fond of poeticising the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossom season, which no sooner reaches its full glory than is gone, leaving behind nothing but bare branches, scattered petals, and a sense of wistful regret and nostalgic yearning. It’s the theme of countless haikus and mournful folk ballads. But if the cherry
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On child care Sir: Your recent editorial deplores, among other things, the cost of child care, to which you attribute the loss of female skills to the workplace (11 January). I would agree that pursuing a career is easier if one has no children. I also agree that the cost of child care is a
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Royal flush The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have registered the trademark ‘Sussex Royal’ as part of their plan to become financially independent. Some ideas from eBay for how they could make their brand pay: Photograph of Harry, Meghan and Archie (from the couple’s Christmas card) £2 China thimble from the Duke and Duchess’s
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Home The Queen agreed to ‘a period of transition’ during which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would spend time in Canada and Britain. The Queen had summoned a family conference at Sandringham five days after the Sussexes issued a statement saying: ‘After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make
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When fossil fuel divestment was merely a gesture by universities, the Church of England and the Prince of Wales it was easy to ignore; it is rather less so when the head of the world’s largest fund management company says that he is going to start ‘exiting investments’ in coal producers and other companies he
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Daniel Hannan Roger Scruton changed the course of my life. He addressed my school’s philosophy society when I was 16, speaking so compellingly about Wittgenstein and language that, when he finished, no one wanted to ask the first question. So, more to fill an awkward silence than anything else, I stuck my hand up and
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The government has wisely kept away from the Harry and Meghan story so far. Despite that, no one should imagine that the latest royal farrago causes anything other than extreme concern for HMG, which will be worried at the potential for a rogue royal to upset the direction of government policy. There is still much
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It’s no surprise the Ministry of Defence is struggling to recruit and retain drone pilots. The psychological burden of operating these remote-controlled killing machines can be considerable. Although thousands of miles separate the target and the person pulling the trigger, there is no escape from the fundamental point that drone operators – for right or
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Can a royal who grew up third in line to the throne marry a rich American and move over there? Swedes have been here before: Princess Madeleine, sister to the Crown Princess, did this a few years ago. She now lives in Florida, and her example could be instructive to Prince Harry and Meghan. Like
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The Iranian government has faced growing internal pressure following the downing of a civilian jet last week. The Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down on Wednesday shortly after takeoff, killing all 176 passengers on board. The regime has since taken responsibility for the deaths, blaming ‘human error’ amid rising tensions with the US following
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‘Same old problem — battery life.’
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Lock, stock and double barrels In Rebecca Long Bailey, who sometimes hyphenates her name and sometimes doesn’t, the Labour party may soon have a leader with a double-barrelled surname. Is such a name still an indication of elevated social class? — According to an Opinium poll in 2017, 11 per cent of couples now use
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Wonder and gratitude Sir: Roger Scruton, in a very personal and moving portrait of his year (‘My Strange Year’, 21 December), reminds us that crisis is opportunity; and concludes that the meaning of life is gratitude — something we may only realise when, as Virgil put it, ‘mentem mortalia tangunt’. I think that language may
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Home Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, who had not been told in advance of America’s killing in Iraq of Qassem Soleimani, the leading Iranian military leader, said that America ‘had a right to exercise self-defence’. British troops were put on standby to be sent to the region, and the frigate Montrose and the destroyer Defender
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What is the point of a Conservative majority? The answer might once have been to implement Conservative policies. But now it’s not so clear. Budgets are normally the way to judge a government, but we didn’t have one last year. On 11 March, we will learn how Sajid Javid intends to govern the public finances
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The unclued lights are PAINTING terms. First prize Martina Fabian, Bourne End, Bucks Runners-up Phillip Wickens, Faygate, West Sussex; A.H. Harker, Oxford
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