Toby Young 
Give profit-making schools a chance
Rick Muir, an associate director of the IPPR, published a paper this week called ‘Not For Profit: the role of the private sector in England’s schools’ in which he argues… Continue reading
24 CommentsAllan Bloom: Prophet of Doom
Allan Bloom’s famous book, The Closing of the American Mind, opens with the following sentence: ‘There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering… Continue reading
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The new generation of Tory rebels
There’s a new member of The Spectator family, and she’s called Spectator Life. This is our new quarterly magazine focusing all the more civilised aspects of life — the arts,… Continue reading
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The Sun shone yesterday
According to early figures from wholesalers and retailers, the first edition of the Sun on Sunday has sold over three million copies, a big win for Rupert Murdoch and the… Continue reading
41 CommentsDavid Miliband’s never-to-be-made best man speech
Good afternoon. I’d like to thank you all for coming to this godforsaken hell hole – sorry, I mean, Ed’s constituency. Believe it or not, I once expressed an interest… Continue reading
20 CommentsForget Mandarin. Latin is the key to success
As promised, here is an extended version of an article from the skills supplement in this week’s issue of the Spectator. On the face of it, encouraging children to learn… Continue reading
78 CommentsAn anti-sleaze party should fight 100 seats
A week ago, I blogged about the possibility of running for Parliament as an anti-sleaze candidate and the response has been overwhelming — overwhelmingly negative, that is. “When Toby Young… Continue reading
14 CommentsThe anti-sleaze party
I got a curious email yesterday from my friend James Evans, who runs Hustings.com: "Why don’t you stand as an independent at the general election? Never will be a better… Continue reading
33 CommentsLet him who casts the first stone…
Few sights are more stomach-churning than the British press in one of its perennial fits of moral outrage. Judging by the leader columns of the past few days, the whole… Continue reading
23 CommentsBicycle accident
I got knocked off my bike on Tuesday night. Ambulance, hospital, general anaesthetic … the whole nine yards. No nerve damage and brain seems to be functioning okay, but hopes… Continue reading
55 CommentsLeave Derek alone
Reading these “reviews” of Derek Draper’s new book on Amazon.co.uk, I’m beginning to feel a bit sorry for him. Yes, he’s made some silly mistakes, but I’m not sure he… Continue reading
85 CommentsThe school of my dreams
My friend Barry Isaacson has just sent me an email about the Renaissance Arts Academy, a Charter School in Los Angeles that he’s just been to look at with a… Continue reading
12 CommentsObama isn’t black
I don’t get it. I mean, am I the only person in the world who’s noticed that Barack Obama isn’t black? He’s bi-racial. I don’t see why his election has… Continue reading
130 CommentsThe Muhammad Ali of British Politics
Has David Cameron rope-a-doped Gordon Brown? “Rope-a-dope” was the phrase coined by Muhammad Ali to describe the strategy he used to achieve his famous victory over George Foreman in the… Continue reading
5 CommentsToby Young’s video diary of the Boris campaign
Toby Young presents his latest video diary of the Boris Johnson campaign. You can watch previous entries here and here.
1 CommentSpeaking of Gordon
In honour of Gordon Brown becoming Prime Minister, I’ve posted an article that I wrote for the Spectator seven years ago in which I describe my disastrous Best Man speech… Continue reading
0 CommentsA cunning apprentice
I’m becoming increasingly intrigued by Katie Hopkins, the contestant on The Apprentice who has emerged as a national hate figure. (See Richard Curtis’s aside during his Bafta Fellowship speech.) On… Continue reading
2 CommentsBlair’s Legacy
“Blairaq” screamed the headline on the front page of Tuesday’s Independent. This was a reference to a poll that revealed 69 per cent of Britons believe Blair will be remembered… Continue reading
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