Editing The Spectator (section)

==Political ideology and policy positions==
''The Spectator'' is politically [[conservative]].<ref name="othor" /><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Landler |first1=Mark |last2=Castle |first2=Stephen |date=31 May 2020 |title=Rogue Trip by Boris Johnson Aide Makes U.K.'s Spectator Part of the Story |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/world/europe/dominic-cummings-spectator-magazine.html |url-status=live |access-date=30 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730125624/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/world/europe/dominic-cummings-spectator-magazine.html |archive-date=30 July 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McCreesh |first=Shawn |date=14 February 2020 |title=A Visit With Andrew Neil, The Spectator's Publisher and Boris Johnson's Old Boss |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/a-visit-with-the-spectators-andrew-neil-boriss-old-boss.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730125624/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/a-visit-with-the-spectators-andrew-neil-boriss-old-boss.html |archive-date=30 July 2021 |access-date=30 July 2021 |website=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Menden |first=Alexander |date=27 July 2021 |title=Nigel Farage macht jetzt Fernsehen |work=[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]] |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/nigel-farrage-tv-sendung-rechtspopulisten-1.5365184 |url-status=live |access-date=30 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730125624/https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/nigel-farrage-tv-sendung-rechtspopulisten-1.5365184 |archive-date=30 July 2021 |quote=Andrew Neil, einer der schärfsten Interviewer der BBC und zugleich Herausgeber des rechtskonservativen Spectator.}}</ref> Historically, the magazine was [[Liberalism|liberal]] in outlook, and over the course of its first century supported the [[Radicals (UK)|Radical]] wing of the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]], the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], and the [[Liberal Unionists]] who eventually merged with the Conservatives. In 1957, the magazine was nicknamed "the Bugger's Bugle" by ''[[The Sunday Express]]'' following a sustained campaign  by ''The Spectator'' to [[Sexual Offences Act 1967|decriminalise homosexuality]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 July 2017 |title=Persistent buggers |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/persistent-buggers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516145327/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/persistent-buggers |archive-date=16 May 2021 |access-date=16 May 2021 |website=The Spectator}}</ref> It was the only national publication to endorse and support [[Margaret Thatcher]] for leadership of the Conservative Party in the [[1975 Conservative Party leadership election|1975 leadership election]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cosgrave |first=Patrick |date=1975-01-23 |title=Margaret Thatcher: clear choice for the Tories |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/archive-margaret-thatcher-clear-choice-for-the-tories/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=[[The Spectator]] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nelson |first=Fraser |date=2015-02-15 |title=The Spectator on Thatcher's election as party leader, 15 Feb 1975 |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-spectator-on-thatcher-s-election-as-party-leader-15-feb-1975/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=The Spectator |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1979-04-28 |title=Be brave |url=https://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/28th-april-1979/3/be-brave |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=The Spectator Archive}}</ref>

Particularly since the [[7 July 2005 London bombings|7 July 2005 Islamic terrorist attacks]] on the [[London Underground]], ''The Spectator'' has been critical of [[multiculturalism]], arguing that it undermines Britain’s [[national identity]] and endangers its security through [[sectarianism]] and growing [[Islamic extremism]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Molek-Kozakowska |first=Katarzyna |date=2008-01-01 |title=Between Multiculturalism and Nationalism - A Discursive Construction of Britishness in the Spectator in the Wake of the London Bombings |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.2478/v10016-008-0015-1/html |journal=Lodz Papers in Pragmatics |language=en |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=293–309 |doi=10.2478/v10016-008-0015-1 |issn=1898-4436}}</ref> 

As with its sister publication ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Spectator'' is generally [[Atlanticist]] and strongly [[Eurosceptic]] in outlook,<ref name="othor">{{Cite journal |last1=Bessie Mitsikopoulou |last2=Christina Lykou |date=2015 |title=The discursive construction of the recent European economic crisis in two political magazines |url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/OTH-05-2015-0022/full/html |url-status=live |journal=On the Horizon |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=190–201 |doi=10.1108/OTH-05-2015-0022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310084310/https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/OTH-05-2015-0022/full/html |archive-date=10 March 2022 |access-date=1 September 2020}}</ref> favouring close ties with the [[United States]] and [[NATO]] rather than with the [[European Union]]. The magazine is a strong supporter of [[Israel]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sacerdoti |first=Jonathan |date=2024-10-07 |title=Israel's triumphant response to 7 October |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/israels-triumphant-response-to-7-october/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=[[The Spectator]] |language=en-GB |issn=0038-6952}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Henry |first=Charlotte |date=2024-10-04 |title=Israel's enemies always underestimate its sheer bloody-mindedness |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/israels-enemies-always-underestimate-its-sheer-bloody-mindedness/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=The Spectator |language=en-GB |issn=0038-6952}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Liddle |first=Rod |author-link=Rod Liddle |date=2023-10-11 |title=I stand with Israel |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/i-stand-with-israel/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=[[The Spectator]] |language=en-GB |issn=0038-6952}}</ref> Some of its articles have opposed the creation of a Palestinian state,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Daisley |first=Stephen |date=2024-01-31 |title=David Cameron is in a muddle over Palestine |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/david-cameron-is-in-a-muddle-over-palestine/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=The Spectator |language=en-GB}}</ref> with one article arguing that a Palestinian state would be a "[[Trojan Horse]]" to destroy Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karsh |first=Efraim |date=2023-10-08 |title=The death of the two-state solution |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-death-of-the-two-state-solution/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=The Spectator |language=en-GB}}</ref> It has also supported Ukraine following its [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion by Russia]] in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Radchenko |first=Sergey |date=2023-02-04 |title=It's time to talk about Nato membership for Ukraine |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/its-time-for-nato-to-admit-ukraine/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=The Spectator |language=en-GB |issn=0038-6952}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Service |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Service (historian) |date=2023-02-24 |title=Putin's fatal miscalculation over Ukraine |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/putins-fatal-miscalculation-over-ukraine/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=The Spectator |language=en-GB |issn=0038-6952}}</ref> 

Ahead of the [[2019 United Kingdom general election]], the leading article in the magazine argued that illegal migrants living in the UK should be offered British citizenship.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 November 2019 |title=The case for amnesty: why it's time to offer citizenship to illegal immigrants |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-case-for-amnesty-why-it-s-time-to-offer-citizenship-to-illegal-immigrants |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516145325/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-case-for-amnesty-why-it-s-time-to-offer-citizenship-to-illegal-immigrants |archive-date=16 May 2021 |access-date=15 May 2021 |website=The Spectator |language=en-US}}</ref> ''The Spectator'' has been one of the most outspoken supporters of Brexit. The magazine campaigned against Britain joining the European [[European Economic Community|Common Market]] in the [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|1975 referendum]], and was one of only two national titles (alongside the ''[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Morning Star]]'') to back a ‘Leave’ vote in the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|2016 United Kingdom referendum]], though it also provided a platform for ‘Remain’ campaigners to argue for their side in the magazine and hosted a number of debates.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-06-16 |title=Out – and into the world |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/out-and-into-the-world-2/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=The Spectator |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-12-26 |title=Out – and into the world: Why The Spectator backed Brexit |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/out-and-into-the-world-why-the-spectator-backed-brexit/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=[[The Spectator]] |language=en-GB}}</ref>