Stuart Reid (born 1943, Bradford, Yorkshire) is an English writer and editor. An alumnus of Ampleforth College, he has authored the "Charterhouse" column for The Catholic Herald , and previously served as deputy editor of The Spectator under former editor Boris Johnson, who was later elected Mayor of London.
He was highly praised in a 2022 column by Matthew Parris: ""From the columnist’s point of view, Johnson had been the perfect editor, often absent, even when present disinclined to interfere, and happy to let a thousand flowers bloom, plus a fair quotient of weeds too. His deputy at the time was an under-sung hero, Stuart Reid, a kind, scholarly and careful man, and an unobtrusively deft editor with a good eye for quality – besides being a patient clearer-up of his boss’s messes. So whenever anyone starts telling you about Johnson’s glorious reign at The Spectator, spare a thought for the man who made it possible. Indeed, whenever anyone starts telling you about any significant achievement in our Prime Minister’s career, spare a thought for the somebody-else who made it possible." [1]
The Spectator is a weekly British news magazine focusing on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. The Spectator is politically conservative, and its principal subject areas are politics and culture. Alongside columns and features on current affairs, the magazine also contains arts pages on books, music, opera, film, and TV reviews. In 2021, it had an average circulation of just under 98,000 as of 2023, excluding Australia.
Matthew Francis Parris is a British political writer and broadcaster, formerly a Conservative Member of Parliament. He was born in South Africa to British parents.
Stanley Patrick Johnson is a British-French author and former politician who was Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wight and Hampshire East from 1979 to 1984. A former employee of the World Bank and the European Commission, he has written books on environmental and population issues. His six children include Boris Johnson, who was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022. He is a member of the Conservative Party.
Paul Bede Johnson was an English journalist, popular historian, speechwriter and author. Although associated with the political left in his early career, he became a popular conservative historian.
The Number 10 Policy Unit is a body of policymakers based in 10 Downing Street, providing policy advice directly to the British Prime Minister. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone through a series of guises to suit the needs of successive prime ministers, staffed variously by political advisers, civil servants and more recently a combination of both.
Rod Liddle is an English journalist, and an associate editor of The Spectator. He was an editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme. His published works include Too Beautiful for You (2003), Love Will Destroy Everything (2007), The Best of Liddle Britain and the semi-autobiographical Selfish Whining Monkeys (2014). He has presented television programmes, including The New Fundamentalists, The Trouble with Atheism, and Immigration Is A Time Bomb.
Toby Daniel Moorsom Young is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of The Spectator, creator of The Daily Sceptic blog and a former associate editor at Quillette.
Charles Hilary Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham is an English journalist and a former editor of The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator and The Sunday Telegraph; he still writes for all three. He is known for his authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher, published in three volumes. Under the government of Boris Johnson, Moore was given a peerage in July 2020, thus becoming a member of the House of Lords.
Panagiotis "Taki" Theodoracopulos is a Greek writer and publisher who founded Taki's Magazine and co-founded The American Conservative. His column "High Life" appeared in British weekly The Spectator from 1977 to 2023. He has lived in New York City, London, and Gstaad.
Simon James Heffer is an English historian, journalist, author and political commentator. He has published several biographies and a series of books on the social history of Great Britain from the mid-nineteenth century until the end of the First World War. He was appointed professorial research fellow at the University of Buckingham in 2017.
Henry Francis Mount is a British author and journalist who is editor of The Oldie magazine and a frequent contributor to the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph.
Matthew Robert Ralph d'Ancona is an English journalist and editor-at-large of The New European. A former deputy editor of The Sunday Telegraph, he was appointed editor of The Spectator in February 2006, a post he retained until August 2009.
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He was previously Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 2001 to 2008 and Uxbridge and South Ruislip from 2015 to 2023.
Munira Mirza is a British political advisor who served as Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 2019 until she resigned in February 2022. She previously worked under Johnson as Deputy Mayor for Education and Culture when he was Mayor of London.
James Forsyth is a British political aide and former political journalist. After serving as political editor of The Spectator magazine since 2009, he was Political Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, from 2022 until July 2024.
The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History is a book by Boris Johnson, in which he details the life of former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. It was originally published on 23 October 2014 by Hodder & Stoughton.
Mary Elizabeth Lalage Wakefield is a British journalist, and a columnist and commissioning editor for The Spectator.
Jack Doyle is a British journalist who served as Downing Street Director of Communications from April 2021 to February 2022.
The Chris Pincher scandal was a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Conservative Party Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher. In early July 2022, allegations of Pincher's misconduct emerged, including allegations that pre-dated his appointment as Deputy Chief Whip.
The public image of Boris Johnson has attracted commentary throughout his political career. As Mayor of London, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and in various ministerial positions, Johnson has been considered a controversial or polarising figure in British politics.