Portrait of the week: Tony Blair intervenes, Peter Murrell pleads guilty and temperatures hit a May high
Home Sir Tony Blair, the former Labour prime minister, said in a 5,700-word essay: ‘The Labour party is playing with…
We need to demand more from our politicians
The first mention of Westminster came in a charter of 785, attributed to King Offa, granting land in ‘that terrible…
Letters: Reform and the Conservatives need each other
Greco-Roman wrestling Sir: Rod Liddle suggests that some, perhaps many, middle-class voters on the right or centre right are deterred…
Labour must be honest with voters about the coming crisis
So far, Labour has staged a contested leadership election in government only once – 50 years ago, in 1976. The…
Portrait of the week: Streeting resigns, HS2 stalls and ebola spreads to Uganda
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, found his position challenged after Wes Streeting resigned as Health Secretary. At the…
2750: Lincoln Memorial – solution
Solvers had to highlight the BINARY (101010111110) and HEXADECIMAL (ABE) forms of the PUZZLE NUMBER (2750), thereby both filling in…
My late husband’s insatiable appetite for ‘sticky willies’
Labour’s just deserts Sir: Last week’s leader hit the nail on the head (‘Desperate retreat’, 16 May). You have to…
Which countries see more UFOs?
Red Wales Labour lost power in the Welsh Assembly for the first time since it was set up in 1999.…
Portrait of the week: Labour’s civil war begins, government borrowing rises and Trump arrives in China
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, made a speech without a jacket or tie in an attempt to save…
The EU can’t save Labour
Amid the rubble of this government lies a tattered standard – the regimental colours of the current Labour party. The…
Letters: it’s hard to undo dumbing down
Tales from the City Sir: Simon Jenkins’s article on Liverpool Street Station (‘Horror storeys’, 9 May) is inaccurate, and an…
Portrait of the week: Golders Green attacked, borrowing costs soar and rat virus hits cruise ship
Home Two Jewish men aged 76 and 34 were stabbed in Golders Green, north London. Essa Suleiman, 45, a British…
Anti-Semitism is a virus – and it’s spreading
To eradicate a virus, one needs precision. The origin of the threat needs to be identified, as do the circumstances…
Letters: Yvette Cooper for PM!
Bet on Yvette Sir: Were Angela Rayner, Ed Miliband, Andy Burnham or Wes Streeting to succeed Sir Keir (‘After Starmer’,…
Which animals are older than David Attenborough?
Travel sickness Three people were reported to have died in an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship returning to…
Which world leaders survived the greatest number of assassination attempts?
Marathon sprints The Kenyan marathon runner Sabastian Sawe broke the world record by running the first official sub-two-hour marathon. –…
Portrait of the week: Starmer avoids ethics inquiry, Birmingham’s bin strikes end and Trump is targeted by a gunman
Home The House of Commons voted 335 to 223 against a Conservative-led motion to refer Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime…
In the local elections, think local
In March, just before Artemis II rounded the far side of the Moon, the Transport Secretary had her own lunar…
Letters: the little-known role of liquorice in parliamentary history
Pennies pinching Sir: I agree with much of this week’s editorial, except for two points (‘Nunc dimittis’, 25 April). As…
How many people undergo security vetting?
Balls to that Why are elections called ‘ballots’? — The word ballot comes from the Italian, pallotta, meaning a small…
Portrait of the week: Olly Robbins is sacked, inflation rises and the Strait of Hormuz is (briefly) opened
Home Sir Keir Starmer tried to explain himself to parliament after Sir Olly Robbins was sacked as permanent under-secretary of…
