Portrait of the week
Home The population of the United Kingdom rose by 420,000, to 63.7 million, by the middle of last year, with…
Barometer
Ward ceremony There have been 29 health secretaries since 1948. How many have wards that — though not necessarily named…
Letters: James Whitaker’s widow answers Toby Young
Absent friends Sir: Alec Marsh (‘Welcome to Big Venice’, 10 August) accurately observes that Londoners are priced out of central…
Books and Arts
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Causes and effects
When spending money is declared to be a good in itself, it is certain that much of it will be…
Portrait of the week
Home Retail sales enjoyed their fastest July growth in seven years, thanks to demand for beer, sun cream, swimwear and…
Barometer: Spain’s own version of Gibraltar
Other people’s rocks Spain threatened to introduce a €40 border-crossing charge and find other ways of making life difficult for…
Books and Arts
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The only way the Tories can show they care about the North is to permit fracking in Sussex
David Howell never really succeeded as energy and then transport secretary in Mrs Thatcher’s governments. After she sacked him in…
Letters: How IQ is handed down
IQ and social mobility Sir: It seems not to have occurred to our leaders that ability is not evenly distributed…
Barometer
Art by the seaside The Kent seaside resort of Herne Bay staged the parade of a urinal through the town…
Portrait of the week
Home Barclays decided to issue £5.8 billion in shares to meet capital reserve requirements from the Bank of England. Lord…
Books and Arts
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Google is part of the free press. So hands off, Prime Minister
It is not quite clear what Google did to David Cameron, but the Prime Minister seems to be exacting some…
Portrait of the week
Home The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a boy, weighing 8lb 6oz, an heir to the crown, third in…
Letters: The EU diplomats hit back at Norman Lamont
EU diplomacy Sir: Lord Lamont’s article ‘The EU’s scandalous new army of overpaid diplomats’ (Politics, 20 July) revisits his oft-repeated…
Books and arts
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Leader: Ring-fencing the NHS is only making matters worse
According to popular wisdom on the left — and even among some in the Conservative party — this ought to have been…
Portrait of the week
Home Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, put into ‘special measures’ 11 hospitals among the 14 with the worst death rates…
Barometer
Running scared Three participants were gored at the Pamplona bull run. The event has reputation for danger, but how risky…
Letters: The Met Office answers Rupert Darwall, and a defence of Bolívar
Wild weather Sir: Weather and climate science is not an emotional or political issue — even though emotions and politics run…
Letters: David Gower defends bats
The Spectator 10 August 2013 9:00 am
In defence of bats Sir: I am saddened by the ‘us versus them’ stance taken by Melissa Kite (‘Bats vs…