
What do you do?
I own and run a farming and property business.
Where do you live?
In the Shropshire marches.
Do you vote?
Yes.
How long have you been a subscriber?
Ten or more years.
What made you start?
As a subscriber to the Spectator, I felt I needed an alternative perspective.
Is the NS bug in the family?
Like Covid, the bug affected us differently: I have the mild, long version; my wife’s symptoms have been more serious.
What pages do you flick to first?
John Gray.
How do you read yours?
In the kitchen. I start standing up and finish sitting down.
What would you like to see more of in the NS?
Wit.
Who are your favourite NS writers?
John Gray, Nicholas Lezard, Jason Cowley.
With which political figure would you least like to be stuck in a lift?
The peer Mary Bousted – more because as a lockdown champion she would probably enjoy being locked in a lift.
All-time favourite NS article?
The last article by John Gray.
The New Statesman is…
often wrong – but not always.
[See also: Louis Theroux: The Settlers is a deathly warning]
This article appears in the 30 Apr 2025 issue of the New Statesman, The War on Whitehall