Letters: China has peaked
China has peaked Sir: Niall Ferguson makes some good points about the nature of Xi Jinping’s imperial aspirations but misses…
Portrait of the week: Scotland votes, Queen speaks and Israel-Palestine crisis escalates
Home A new complexion of British politics was revealed by the capture of Hartlepool by Jill Mortimer for the Conservatives…
What Europe could learn from Britain’s new migration system
While the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has no formal role in devising the bloc’s immigration policy, his…
How does the ‘red wall’ story end?
At Redwall Abbey Does fiction provide any guide as to the ultimate fate of Labour’s Red Wall? — Redwall Abbey…
2503: Applery - solution
The traditional county towns were Chester (misprinted as CHEATER: 27), Durham (DERHAM: 21), Derby (DERRY: 32), Lewes (LENES: 36), Reading…
Which prime minister spent the most on their Downing Street flat?
Flat spin Which prime minister spent the most on their Downing Street flat, according to figures reported over the years?…
Letters: The C of E’s obsession with critical race theory
Christian approach Sir: Dr Michael Nazir-Ali’s criticism of our report ‘From Lament to Action’ (‘Bad faith’, 1 May) was wide…
Portrait of the week: Covid retreats, raves resume and a £165,000 squid
Home ‘I think we have got a good chance of being able to dispense with the one-metre-plus from 21 June,’…
Data, not dates: there is no reason to delay a return to normal life
A slogan can come back to haunt you. For Boris Johnson, the words ‘data not dates’ sounded powerful at a…
2502: Nay-sayers? - solution
The unclued lights are HORSES. First prize Bob Toland, Ramsey, Cambs Runners-up Gareth Davies, Langstone, Gwent; Catherine Knox, London SW4…
Portrait of the week: A political squall, sub-postmasters exonerated and India’s Covid crisis
Home By the beginning of the week, 12,071,810 people had received both doses of coronavirus vaccine, and the proportion of…
Letters: The veiled elitism of social mobility
Levelling up Sir: In making the case for social mobility, Lee Cain unwittingly endorses the classism he hopes to fight…
A vote for the SNP would mean another wasted decade in Scotland
Sometimes, Westminster unwittingly makes quite a good case for Scottish independence. Britain’s Covid emergency has ended, but the damage of…
2501: Delightful - solution
The ‘Transport of Delight’, in the song by Flanders and Swann, was that ‘big six-wheeler, scarlet-painted, diesel-engined, London Transport, ninety-seven…
The public has kept its side of the lockdown bargain. Now it’s the government’s turn
Over the past week, the country has started to spring back to life. Trains and buses are no longer running…
Letters: The true cost of the green dream
Zero possibility Sir: Katy Balls is right to conclude that the government is ‘not being upfront’ on the bill for…
Portrait of the week: Covid pills, Chauvin’s conviction and a red card for the Super League
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced the hunt was on for two effective pills to treat Covid, to be…
Who gave Abba ‘nul points’ in 1974?
Falling from grace Six Premier League football clubs had announced their intention to join a European Super League, from which…
2500: 50 x 50 - solution
The solution grid includes the letter L fifty times (L x 50 = 2500). Coincidentally, Doc and his wife, Jean,…
Should we fear for the future of the monarchy?
Fourteen prime ministers; 18 general elections; seven changes of government. Even in a stable country like Britain it is remarkable…
Portrait of the week: Duke of Edinburgh dies, Covid retreats and questions for Cameron
Home The Duke of Edinburgh, who was married to the Queen for 73 years, died at Windsor Castle, aged 99.…
How often does it snow in April?
D of E awards A few of the late Duke of Edinburgh’s lesser-known titles and honours: — Royal Chief of the Order…
Letters: There’s nothing libertarian about vaccine passports
Taking liberties Sir: I feel that Matthew Parris is absolutely wrong about liberty (‘The libertarian case for vaccine passports’, 10…
2499: Entitled trio - solution
The theme was C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 38A (of Scotland), 43A and 22D were all…
Letters: The inconsistencies of Mormonism
A leap of faith Sir: I live not far from the ‘London Temple’ of the Church of Jesus Christ of…
