The Spectatoris a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph newspaper, via Press Holdings. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture. It is politically conservative. Alongside columns and features on current affairs, the magazine also contains arts pages on books, music, opera, film and TV reviews.
Editorship of The Spectator 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). Since 2009, the magazine's editor has been journalist Fraser Nelson.
The Spectator Australia offers 12 pages on Australian politics and affairs as well as the full UK magazine and has a website that reprints most articles and has an opinion column. This Australian edition has been printed and published simultaneously since 2008. Spectator US was launched as a website in early 2018. A monthly US print version debuted in October 2019.
In 2020, The Spectator became both the longest-lived current affairs magazine in history and the first magazine ever to publish 10,000 issues.
