Solution to 2575: Problem XIII
5 (the number of GOLD RINGS, from ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’: 34/22A) x 103 (the number of the PSALM…
Portrait of the week
Home Liz Truss said in a BBC interview as Prime Minister that she wanted to ‘say sorry for the mistakes…
Letters
Paying the price Sir: Lionel Shriver’s piece about university standards rang true to me (‘University is supposed to be hard’,…
Barometer
Out to grass If Liz Truss is forced out of office (and doesn’t also resign her parliamentary seat as Tony…
Beyond Truss
Seldom has support for a government fallen so far, so fast. Polls show that 24 per cent of the public…
Barometer
Dying of heat The former government chief scientific adviser Sir David King predicted that the heatwave in mid-July could cause…
Solution to 2574: A Chinese
Each unclued Across light (including the pair at 16/7) is a SWEET and the unclued Down lights can be preceded…
Letters
Free Kaliningrad Sir: Mark Galeotti was right to identify the exclave of Kaliningrad as a target for a strong western…
Portrait of the week
Home The Bank of England warned of a ‘material risk’ to financial stability as it stepped in to buy a…
The great leap backward
This month should have marked the end of Xi Jinping’s time as leader of the Chinese Communist party. The twice-a-decade…
Solution to 2573
The preamble referred to ten symmetrically placed unclued entries which spell out CURRENT PUZZLE NUMBER HAS PRIME FACTORS: THIRTY-ONE, EIGHTY-THREE.…
Barometer
Out of office Could Liz Truss end up being Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister? She would have to remain in office…
Portrait of the week
Home Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, came up with a message for the Conservative party conference: ‘Whenever there is change,…
Letters
Troubles ahead? Sir: Jenny McCartney’s article ‘Border lines’ (1 October) was a profoundly depressing one. Perhaps there will be a…
The right reforms
Conservative governments have a habit of self-destructing: they die not in battle with political enemies but as a result of…
Full text: Liz Truss’s Tory conference speech
My friends, it’s great to be here with you in Birmingham. It’s fantastic to see the cranes across the skyline building…
Letters
Putin’s options Sir: I agree with Paul Wood that Vladimir Putin is on the back foot (‘Cornered’, 24 September). His…
Politics and prejudice
The Labour party’s contribution to the national debate this week has included the idea that someone can be ‘superficially’ black.…
Portrait of the week
Home Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, presented a far-reaching ‘fiscal event’ (ineligible to be called a Budget), said…
Solution to 2572: Blown up
As suggested by the quotation by John Donne around the perimeter, the other unclued lights were all kinds of trumpets.…
Barometer
Fit for a king King Charles III, it has been reported, is reluctant to move into Buckingham Palace. Who was…
In search of Trussonomics
When Liz Truss entered the leadership race there was no such thing as ‘Trussonomics’. She began her campaign with no…
Portrait of the week
Home Queen Elizabeth was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, beside her husband and father, after a funeral at…
Solution to 2571: 10”
The TEN unclued lights are Scottish islands – or ‘INCHES’. First prize Mrs F.A. Bull, Canterbury Runners-up Susan Hay, Wolverhampton;…
Letters
The Queen’s kindness Sir: Last week’s Spectator (17 September) was thoughtful, insightful and at times hilarious; just the tonic I…
