What are the rules around ex-presidents’ paperwork?
Tracing paper FBI agents raided Donald Trump’s estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, in search of papers he is accused of removing…
Letters: How Rishi Sunak could beat the odds
Injured party Sir: Prue Leith’s short interlude as a Conservative party member and subsequent resignation underlines a feature of the…
Can Liz Truss be trusted?
Liz Truss has taken the lead in the Tory leadership race with an agenda that seems radical and ambitious, whereas…
2564: Sea monster – solution
The unclued lights 11 SOLITARY, 8 POOR, 38 NASTY, 36 BRUTISH and 35 SHORT are descriptions of 1 THE LIFE…
When did ‘best before’ dates begin?
An idea past its sell-by date Waitrose has announced the removal of ‘best before’ dates from many food products. –…
Portrait of the week: Hosepipe bans, England’s women win the Euros and a strike over dragons
Home BP reported quarterly profits of £6.9 billion, its biggest for 14 years, after oil and gas prices rose steeply.…
Germany’s energy crisis is a warning to Britain
During the eurozone crisis, southern European states had to go cap in hand to Germany to stave off national bankruptcy.…
Portrait of the week: Sunak vs Truss, London dodges a blackout and 94st walrus capsizes boats
Home In a television debate between the two contenders for the leadership of the Conservative party (and hence the prime…
Letters: Let’s get fracking
Get fracking Sir: All credit to The Spectator for grabbing the cancelled Tory leadership debate slot (‘The final three’, 23…
Which country has hosted Eurovision the most?
The longest heatwave How did the recent heatwave compare with that of 1976? That year, the temperature peaked at 35.9˚C…
2563: Areas for development - solution
As suggested by 11 across, the other unclued lights were anagrams of capital cities: 23A Nairobi, 25A Nassau, 29A Lima,…
Portrait of the week: Record-breaking heat, a summer of strikes and a warning for snake-owners
Home In the contest for the leadership of the Conservative party, Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi were the first of…
Just how hot has it got in the UK?
Hot topic Last week’s Barometer detailed past UK temperature records. Those were broken by this week’s heatwave. On Monday a…
Letters: What William Blake meant
Procurement profligacy Sir: In response to Susan Hill’s query ‘Who allows the profligacy in NHS hospital procurement to continue?’ (‘Best…
2562: Clear view... - solution
The title resolves into CL RVW which suggests the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The unclued…
The heatwave shows the lockdown instinct is still alive
Trains were running even more slowly than usual. Schools were closed again. Offices were empty. No one would deny that…
What’s the hottest it’s ever been in the UK?
Hot hot hot The Met Office said temperatures may hit 40˚C on Sunday, which would be the highest ever recorded…
Letters: In defence of Boris Johnson
Boris’s legacy Sir: It is grossly unfair to assert that Boris Johnson’s legacy was the lockdown (Leading article, 9 July).…
The Uber scandal highlights big tech’s big failure
A few years ago the Conservatives were excited about the march of the tech giants. Uber was offering an alternative…
Portrait of the week: Mo Farah’s secret, hot weather warnings and hot competition for the Tory leadership
Home The Conservatives began the process of finding a new leader, which involves balloting MPs and then sending two names…
2561: Ports - solution
The unclued entry RECYCLING thematically links six unclued cyclic non-word permutations that appear in the systematic order GCYCLIN, NGCYCLI, INGCYCL,…
A Tory implosion
What is the purpose of a Conservative government? It’s a reasonable question for voters to ask. In 2019 Boris Johnson…
Portrait of the week: Boris on the brink, petrol price protests and a £3,000 swear word
Home Rishi Sunak resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Sajid Javid as Health Secretary. (Nadhim Zahawi accepted the post…
Letters: What Sturgeon has got wrong
Sturgeon’s single issue Sir: Nicola Sturgeon needs to be careful what she wishes for. Declaring that the next general election…
2560: Obit VI - solution
The perimetric names are NIJINSKY, NEVER SAY DIE, CREPELLO, THE MINSTREL, ROBERTO and TEENOSO, six of the nine Derby winners…
