to 2336: IRRELEVANT
The action that results in 6, 10, 29D and 30 is HAIR-RAISING (7, defined by 5). RAISING A HARE (39)…
A £50 billion Brexit ‘divorce bill’ is a price worth paying
There will be howls of outrage in some quarters if it is confirmed that the government has offered the EU…
Prince Harry announces his engagement to US actress Meghan Markle
Home The engagement was announced of Prince Henry of Wales, aged 33, and the Los Angeles-born Meghan Markle, an actress…
As Prince Harry gets engaged, how many other single men marry divorcees?
Pit stopped After complaints from the Durham Miners’ Association, a rugby club at Durham University cancelled a pub crawl in…
When heroes come home to be husbands again
From ‘Comrades of the great war’, The Spectator, 1 December 1917: Eventually all will be over, even the shouting; and…
Lawyers do make the best MPs (despite Thatcher and Blair)
Proven lawyers Sir: Andrew Watts says that for ‘lawyers in politics, the elimination of risk becomes the highest aim of…
to 2335: CHIPPY
The unclued lights are COMPUTING terms. First prize D.A. Henderson, Almonte, Ontario, CanadaRunners-up Robin Muir, Compton, West Sussex; Ian Shiels,…
This budget was useful but boring: the Tories need bigger ideas
Philip Hammond began his first Budget, in March, by playing down its importance — for his big ideas on fiscal…
Britain agrees to offer the EU a £40 billion divorce payment for Brexit
Home The cabinet, including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, agreed that the European Union would have to be offered something…
The Queen wed 70 years ago… but she has 20 more to go to break a record
Enduring love The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. They are not the first public figures to…
Revenues past
From 12 July 1828: The Chancellor made his financial statement on Friday, in a style of candour and clearness which…
to 2334: sweet variations
Four types of CAKE (37) were given UPSIDE-DOWN (5): 10D, 20D, 31D and 33D. Four other types of cake were…
Britain and its allies are opening the way for yet another Iraq war
After the most intensive street-by-street combat since 1945, Isis’s so-called caliphate is no more. Last weekend, the Iraqi government won…
The Brexit Bill faces 470 amendments on its way through Parliament
Home As the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill faced 470 amendments in its examination by a committee of the whole House,…
If EU nationals are leaving the NHS, why are their numbers going up?
No. 2 iron English Heritage launched a crowdfunding campaign for repairs to Abraham Darby’s 1779 bridge at Ironbridge, Shropshire. This…
To fix this failing government make Gove the CEO and keep May as chairman
Chairman May Sir: Theresa May is the only politician with a mandate to lead, yet doesn’t seem capable of leading…
More books of the year
Daniel Swift I spent too much of this (and last) year reading anaemic updatings of Shakespeare plays: pale novels which…
to 2333: Unchangeable
Answers to clues in italics are SET IN STONE (38). Resulting entries at 1, 2, 14, 25 and 43 (in…
Does Theresa May’s zombie government even want to survive?
Dealing with a hung parliament was never going to be easy, but no one quite foresaw the decay which now…
Sexual misconduct claims leave government in crisis
Home An air of crisis hung over the government. Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary, was told to fly back…
Where was the very first tax haven?
Pennies from haven Last week’s huge leak of the ‘Paradise Papers’ has put the Channel Islands and the Isle of…
Letters: Looking for love? Just follow these three simple rules
Rules for romance Sir: Lara Prendergast describes a floundering generation desperate for reliable love but with no real idea how…
Books of the year
A.N. Wilson Elmet by Fiona Mozley (John Murray, £10.99). It is difficult to convey the full horror of this spellbinding…
to 2332: glad all over
The unclued lights are preceded by HAPPY to yield phrases listed in Brewer. First prize Tony Hankey, London W4Runners-up C.…
Gordon Brown’s memoirs show he is good at blowing his own trumpet – but nothing else
Gordon Brown has pitched his memoirs as the honest confessions of a decent man. He failed to win the one…
