The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Bulgarian tragedy

From our UK edition

From ‘Bulgaria and Greece’, The Spectator, 9 October 1915: The fact that the British people will in all probability soon be at war with Bulgaria is a matter of very deep regret, for this nation has always watched the development of the peasant state with strong sympathy… But though we can and do sympathise with the Bulgarian people, it will be quite impossible to prevent the consequences of their king’s evil deeds from falling upon them. War is a stern business, and the allies cannot alter their course of action even though they understand Bulgaria’s difficulties. Regret it as we may, the Bulgarian people will have to reap the harvest they have sown, or allowed to be sown.

Wednesday

The Spectator

Full text: David Cameron’s 2015 Conservative conference speech

From our UK edition

I am so proud to be standing here in front of you today – back in government...and not just any government – a majority Conservative Government. To the people in this hall, I want to say thank you. You are the greatest team a Prime Minister could ever have. And to the British people: When you put your cross in the Conservative box, you were putting your faith in us. To finish the job we started. To back working people. To deliver security for you and your family. And I’ll tell you now: we will not let you down. But just for a moment, think back to May 7th. I don’t know about you, but it only takes two words to make me smile. Exit poll.

Tuesday

The Spectator

Full text: Boris Johnson 2015 Conservative conference speech

From our UK edition

Thank you Zac, and thank you for just showing once again that you have exactly the qualities of originality and drive that will help you win in London in May. https://soundcloud.com/spectator1828/boris-johnsons-tory-conference-2015 I tell you when I knew we were going to be all right in that amazing election and it wasn’t the Ed stone — the heaviest suicide note in history — or the mysterious second kitchen.

Monday

The Spectator

Full text: George Osborne’s 2015 Conservative conference speech

From our UK edition

Let me tell you how proud I am to stand before you the first Conservative Chancellor in a Conservative Government to address a Conservative Conference in eighteen years. If I’d told you twelve months ago that the Member of Parliament for Morley and Outwood was going to come onto this stage and speak in our economy debate you’d have called security. Andrea, your win capped off a night that no-one here will ever forget. Can you all remember where you were when that exit poll came through? I certainly can. I was just a few miles away from here, waiting to go to my count at the Macclesfield leisure centre. I was completely calm. No I wasn’t. I was completely nervous. Unable to sit down. Unable to stand still. I was pacing around.

Saturday

The Spectator

In memory of Denis Healey, saviour of the British economy

From our UK edition

Denis Healey, who has died at the age of 98, never led the Labour Party - but it still owes as much to him as to any post-war politician. And not just because of his time at the Treasury. The statements released by Labour figures tonight scarcely do him justice. Of course, he was a "towering figure" - but he was much more than that. He saved the Labour Party from itself, and saved Britain from the worst of the Labour Party. And when the crunch came, he rose to the challenge: bringing expenditure reform more radical than any Tory Chancellor has been able to enact.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters | 1 October 2015

From our UK edition

Cold-calling ET Sir: Alexander Chancellor has called for Spectator readers to suggest a message to send into space on behalf of the world, in response to some Russian billionaire’s prize of £1 million for the best (Long life, 19 September). Given that the nearest form of intelligent life is at least 60,000,000,000,000 miles away, it had better be a good ’un, as we all know what we Earthlings tend to do with cold-callers. Moreover, given that the bulk of the world’s population cleave to the notion that our life-form is God-given and unique among the planets, it should probably be penned by a consummate ad man; someone steeped in the art of dissembling while remaining, of course, legal, decent, honest and true.

The Spectator

Will Spain learn?

From our UK edition

One of the unforeseen consequences of the reunification of Europe after the Cold War has been a resurgence of independence movements in western Europe. Emboldened by a greater sense of security and influenced by the rebirth of independent nations to the east, separatist parties have begun to challenge the boundaries of nation states which a quarter of a century ago we took for granted. Scotland’s near miss — a 45 per cent vote for ‘yes’ — inspired the leader of Spain’s Catalonia region, Artur Mas, to launch his own vote on secession. This week, forbidden by Madrid from calling a referendum, he called regional elections in which pro-independence parties formed a bloc: effectively a test, they claimed, of voters’ desire for independence.