New year predictions, p24 & p27

Into Africa, p46

The original celebrity politician, p35

5 Leading article 9 Portrait of the Week 11 Diary Harry Mount 12 Politics James Forsyth 15 Barometer 17 Rod Liddle 18 Ancient and modern 23 Matthew Parris 24 James Delingpole 25 Letters 27 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer

14 Russia’s new dissidents Is Putin finally facing a real opposition? Anne Applebaum 16 The audacity of Obama

The President is posing as the ‘fair shake’ candidate Freddy Gray 18 The missionaries are coming

The Catholic Church in England is full of foreign priests Dennis Sewell 19 Julia Copus

‘Memories, When Fixed’: a poem 20 On the wrong track

Will High Speed 2 be the downfall of David Cameron? Melissa Kite 22 Meryl, me and Mrs T In conversation with Phyllida Lloyd,

director of The Iron Lady Lloyd Evans

Boks 30 Philip Hensher Body of Work, edited by Giles Foden 32 David Crane Lisbon, by Neill Lochery Thomas Hodgkinson Shock Value, by Jason Zinoman 33 Jane Brown on futuristic architecture 34 William Leith The Locked Ward, by

Dennis O’Donnell 35 Jane Ridley John Bright, by Bill Cash 36 Stuart Wheeler Taking a Stand, by Juan E. Méndez

John Greening ‘Compleat’: a poem 37 Ysenda Maxtone Graham The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall,

by PaulTorday Bookends Lewis Jones

Cover by Christian Adams. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Ian Tovey, Holland, Paul Wood, Bill Proud, Tom Husband, RGJ, Adam Singleton, Nick Newman, Bernie and Grizelda. www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator for £104 a year, turn to page 11 Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7961 0250, Email: editor@spectator.co.uk (editorial); letters@spectator.co.uk (for publication); advertising@spectator.co.uk (advertising); Advertising enquiries: 020 7961 0219 Advertising fax: 020 7961 0020 Subscription and delivery queries Spectator Subscriptions Dept., 800 Guillat Avenue, Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne ME9 8GU; Tel: 01795 592886 Fax: 0870 220 0290; Email: spectator@servicehelpline.co.uk Newsagent queries Spectator Circulation Dept, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7961 0057, Email: dstam@spectator.co.uk Distributor COMAG Specialist, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX Vol 317; no 9566 © The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952 The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Editor: Fraser Nelson

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the spectator | 31 December 2011 | www.spectator.co.uk