The Spectator

The Spectator is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving 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. It had an average circulation of 107,812 as of December 2023, excluding Australia.

Editorship of the magazine has often been a step on the ladder to high office in the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. Past editors include Boris Johnson (1999–2005) and other former cabinet members Ian Gilmour (1954–1959), Iain Macleod (1963–1965), and Nigel Lawson (1966–1970). The former Conservative MP Michael Gove took over from Fraser Nelson as editor on 4 October 2024.

Today, the magazine is a print-digital hybrid. In 2020, The Spectator became the longest-lived current affairs magazine in history (overtaking The Gentleman's Magazine, which published from 1731 to 1922), and was also the first magazine ever to publish 10,000 issues. In September 2024, The Spectator was acquired by British investor Paul Marshall, owner of UnHerd and major investor in GB News.