Barometer
Wrong place, wrong time The name of the village of Nelson, north of Cardiff, was described as ‘problematic’ in an…
To 2525: Prime Times
The [5 Down] MILESTONE puzzle number 2525 is the product of PRIME numbers 101 TIMES 5 TIMES 5, equivalently the…
A binary choice
It’s a strange reflection of our times that with so much else at stake, the leaders of both main parties…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said he did not think Britain was in a crisis; he wanted it to…
Letters
How to stay safe Sir: Mary Wakefield is correct to highlight the opprobrium heaped on anyone who suggests sensible safety…
Barometer
Whole-life sentences How many prisoners are serving whole-life sentences? — There are currently 74 prisoners in prison with whole-life tariffs;…
To 2524: Spelean II
The quotation is ‘I DO WISH THOU WERT A [dog] THAT I MIGHT LOVE THEE SOMETHING’. The honest servant is…
Barometer
Scummy idea Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner called Tories ‘scum’ in a speech to activists at her party’s conference. The…
Solution to 2523: Monstrous regiment
The unclued Across lights can be preceded by MISS and the unclued Down lights. MRS 2/15D is the pair. First…
Portrait of the week
Home The crisis of the week was a shortage of fuel at garages. ‘There is no need for people to…
Letters
Parish problems Sir: Emma Thompson draws attention to a serious problem in the Church of England (‘Power to the parish’,…
Lights, camera, traction
There’s a great revival under way in the British TV and film industry, but it’s not the BBC that’s behind…
The BBC is being left behind in blockbuster Britain
There’s a great revival under way inthe British TV and film industry,but it’s not the BBC that’s behind it.Netflix is…
Step on the gas
Britain is caught in an energy crisis of the government’s own making. It is true that gas prices have spiked…
Barometer
Seeds of change The Chelsea Flower Show opened in autumn for the first time, delayed thanks to the pandemic. The…
Portrait of the week
Home To prevent a shortage of meat, which relies on carbon dioxide in its packaging, the government gave millions of…
Letters
Driving force Sir: As a long-distance UK lorry driver I am very aware of the issues raised by Rodney Pittam…
Solution to 2522: A trifle
Unclued lights were synonyms of NOTHING. ‘A trifle’ is one definition of nothing given in Chambers. First prize James Knox,…
An immigration amnesty
Many feared mass unemployment as a fallout from Covid-19. Instead, we have ended up with the opposite problem: a labour…
Solution to 2521: Leading question
The question was ‘What is THE THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY(-)NINTH PRIME NUMBER’ (7A/10/22/40/16/31/32/28)? The answer is 2521, the number of…
Letters
A kick up the assetocracy Sir: While it was heartening to see Fraser Nelson take a stand against the ‘assetocracy’…
Portrait of the week
Home The government decided to offer booster vaccinations to those over 50. Children aged 12 to 15 would be offered…
Letters
Out of practice Sir: GPs are not ‘hiding behind their telephones’ (Leading article, 4 September). In-person appointments are the core…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced a new tax in the Commons branded a ‘health and social care levy’.…
Emergency exit
For 18 months, the government has held power over us as never before in peacetime. The emergency powers granted by…
