to 2440: Dizzy tiny blonde
The unclued lights (paired at 5/8, 24/3, 30D/30A and 42/35, and the singleton at 37) are titles of series of…
A new ally
The moment of Britain’s departure from the EU was always likely to be an anticlimax, both for those who expect…
Portrait of the Week
Home Using a Parker fountain pen (a brand now made in Nantes), Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, signed the EU…
Barometer
In the beginning How did Britain mark its entry into the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973? There were no…
Letters
Enemies on the left Sir: James Forsyth’s article ‘Labour must change to win’ (25 January) describes how little appetite the…
to 2439: More nuts
The statement, ‘HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS (10/17) twenty-twenty’ was made by the FILM DIRECTOR (48/21) BILLY (4) Wilder (suggested by the…
Stopping traffic
The news this week could easily have led with the deaths of 14 Afghan and Iraqi migrants in the English…
Portrait of the week
Home The Duke of Sussex left England to join his wife, Meghan, in Canada. This followed an agreement that stripped…
Barometer
Parliamentary motions The government floated the idea of moving the House of Lords permanently to York. Until it was found…
Mr Pooter goes to Europe
By Leo McKinstry, The Spectator, 17 August 2002: The modern MEP is a titan of tedium, a figure whose every…
Letters
Royal travails Sir: The travails of the royal family outlined by Penny Junor (‘In check’, 18 January) may be public…
to 2438: Shining Bright
The unclued lights can be linked with GOLDEN, at 30D, which had to be highlighted. The trio is GOLDEN EYE…
Treating oil companies as pariahs will kill off any green revolution
When fossil fuel divestment was merely a gesture by universities, the Church of England and the Prince of Wales it…
Portrait of the week: Harry and Meghan quit, America avoids war and the Labour leadership race begins
Home The Queen agreed to ‘a period of transition’ during which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would spend time…
How can Harry and Meghan cash in?
Royal flush The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have registered the trademark ‘Sussex Royal’ as part of their plan to…
Letters: I was once on Prince Harry’s side. Not any more
On child care Sir: Your recent editorial deplores, among other things, the cost of child care, to which you attribute…
‘A perfect knight’: Remembering Roger Scruton
Daniel Hannan Roger Scruton changed the course of my life. He addressed my school’s philosophy society when I was 16,…
There will never be a better time for Tory radicalism. Is Boris ready?
What is the point of a Conservative majority? The answer might once have been to implement Conservative policies. But now…
Portrait of the week: Crisis in Iran, fires in Australia and Manchester rapist jailed
Home Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, who had not been told in advance of America’s killing in Iraq of Qassem…
Is a double-barrelled surname still posh?
Lock, stock and double barrels In Rebecca Long Bailey, who sometimes hyphenates her name and sometimes doesn’t, the Labour party…
to 2437: Sketchy
The unclued lights are PAINTING terms. First prize Martina Fabian, Bourne End, BucksRunners-up Phillip Wickens, Faygate, West Sussex; A.H. Harker,…
Twelve things we’ve learned from the 2019 election
Britain’s parliamentary democracy is easily mocked: the medievalisms, the men in tights, the ayes to the right. But it has…
Portrait of the year: From May to a December election
January ‘If parliament backs a deal, Britain can turn a corner,’ Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said. The Commons defeated…
What did psychics predict was going to happen in 2019?
Bah humbug Some of the things reported to have been banned this Christmas: — Mulled wine banned from being sold…
A coalowner on coal
From 16 June 1866: Mr Stanley Jevons, Mr Mill, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are all agreed that there is…
