It’s the cost of living, stupid
As Boris Johnson faced the possibility of a no-confidence motion earlier this year, a large number of Tory MPs decided…
Barometer
The right to buy The Prime Minister floated the idea of granting housing association tenants a blanket right to buy.…
Letters
Wrong is right Sir: Having spent most of my working life in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), I never pass up an…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced £300 million more in military aid for Ukraine. Speaking by video to the…
Solution to 2551: Madness
The four-letter word was BAND. Unclued lights suggest bandicoot (7A),bandh (11), banda (41), bandana (1D), bandoneon (3), bandook (7D), bandar…
Brexit’s first success
The purpose of Brexit was to strengthen Britain’s ties with both the world beyond Europe and with Europe itself, but…
Barometer
Stone me Boris Johnson threatened to unleash the ‘terrors of the Earth’ on an unidentified Tory MP who claimed that…
Letters
In check Sir: Jade McGlynn (‘Conflict of opinion’, 23 April) has a point that there are many reasons for popular…
Portrait of the week
Home Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said Britain assessed that 15,000 Russians had been killed in the war against Ukraine…
Solution to 2549: Obscurity
PALE FIRE is a novel by Vladimir NABOKOV (18). Synonyms of words in the novel’s title are 7, 15A, and…
Letters
Soft ground Sir: We have heard much over the years from the overseas aid lobby about the value of soft…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, told the House of Commons that it did not occur to him that the…
The long haul
The first few weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine went so badly that it was tempting to see the withdrawal…
Barometer
Park the issue Gladstone Park in Brent may be renamed as a result of the former PM’s connections with slavery.…
Barometer
Off duty How many non-doms are there in the UK? – In the year ending 2020, 75,700 people filled in…
French lessons
In just over a week’s time, Emmanuel Macron will most likely win a second term. He has the opponent he…
A fine mess
Attending an impromptu birthday party in the office is not the most heinous of crimes, and of course Britain’s fixation…
Letters
Backward devolution Sir: Thanks for once again highlighting the many issues with government in Scotland (‘Sturgeon’s secret state’, 9 April).…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, travelled to Kyiv in secret and joined President Volodymyr Zelensky for the cameras in…
Solution to 2548: Poem VII
The poem is ‘Rondeau’ by Leigh Hunt. Its first three words as quoted in ODQ are ‘JENNY KISSED ME’ (diagonally…
Portrait of the week
Home Jonathan Reynolds, Labour’s business spokesman, said that the government should be preparing for energy rationing, but Grant Shapps, the…
Keep the faith
Whatever advantages money may have brought Rishi Sunak as he rose to become Chancellor of the Exchequer, his wealth has…
Barometer
Palm substitutes Palm Sunday was so-called because of the palm fronds thrown before Jesus on his entry into Jerusalem. But…
Letters
The lie’s the thing Sir: Your leading article (‘Partygate’s hangover’, 2 April) maintains that if the Prime Minister receives a…
Solution to 2547: Ascending order
The unclued lights are phrases which include the numbers from 1 to 7, with 1 featured twice. First prize John…
