The Week
A moment of truth
Sometimes, Westminster unwittingly makes quite a good case for Scottish independence. Britain’s Covid emergency has ended, but the damage of…
Under the spell
Some universities have announced that spelling and grammar (i.e. morphology and syntax) are not all that important, but quality of…
Out in the open
Over the past week, the country has started to spring back to life. Trains and buses are no longer running…
Letters
Zero possibility Sir: Katy Balls is right to conclude that the government is ‘not being upfront’ on the bill for…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced the hunt was on for two effective pills to treat Covid, to be…
Diary
I have just had my second jab and it poses a dilemma. As an assiduous Covid rule-taker, I have been…
In the gift
Ex-prime minister David Cameron, ignoring official protocol, though not acting illegally, went directly to the chancellor Rishi Sunak to ask…
Barometer
Falling from grace Six Premier League football clubs had announced their intention to join a European Super League, from which…
Royal standard
Fourteen prime ministers; 18 general elections; seven changes of government. Even in a stable country like Britain it is remarkable…
Portrait of the week
Home The Duke of Edinburgh, who was married to the Queen for 73 years, died at Windsor Castle, aged 99.…
Diary
The files arrived marked ‘STRICT EMBARGO’ and ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ and ‘FORTH BRIDGE REVISED’ and stamped with various crests and insignia. My…
Barometer
D of E awards A few of the late Duke of Edinburgh’s lesser-known titles and honours: — Royal Chief of the Order…
Letters
Taking liberties Sir: I feel that Matthew Parris is absolutely wrong about liberty (‘The libertarian case for vaccine passports’, 10…
The dutiful Duke
The reason why Greeks and Romans would have found it difficult to eulogise the Duke of Edinburgh was that he…
Diary
The last patient I treated was 105 years old. She has lived through two world wars, a depression and at…
Letters
A leap of faith Sir: I live not far from the ‘London Temple’ of the Church of Jesus Christ of…
Models of obedience
Protests are being staged against the proposed bill to change the laws on protest. But there is a bigger issue…
On the cards
‘The government would love to put issues such as these beyond the bounds of debate by creating an air of…
Portrait of the week
Home The government sketched a scheme for a coronavirus passport, or ‘Covid status certification’, to be tried out at the…
Barometer
Positive thinking The government wants us to test ourselves for Covid-19 twice a week, using lateral flow kits which will…
Minority report
Almost 20 years ago, Michael Howard spoke about the ‘British dream’: that immigrant families like his could come to this…
Barometer
Mounting losses The England football team beat San Marino 5-0, taking to 56 the number of competitive games that the…
Letters
Ticket to freedom Sir: While I sympathise immensely with the spirit of last week’s lead article (‘Friends in need’, 27…
Portrait of the Week
Home More than 30 million had received their first dose vaccination. The government remained confident of supplying second doses and…
Diary
When I finally head back to church this weekend, after a year of Covid-avoidance, it is going to feel a…
