Letters: How to slim down the nation
Peer review Sir: A neat solution to the levels of inactivity of some members of the House of Lords (‘Peer…
How busy have restaurants been this summer?
The other Argos The Argos catalogue, known as the ‘Book of Dreams’, is no longer to appear in printed form.…
2466: Gender bender solution
The author was GEORGE SAND (19/26), whose original name was AMANTINE LUCILE AURORE DUPIN (25/40/5/16). The perimetric works are INDIANA,…
How Boris should pick his peers
It is no credit to British democracy that we have the second largest legislative chamber in the world. The only…
Letters: What cycle helmets can tell us about face masks
Masking the truth Sir: Matthew Parris is right to laud the importance of embracing the scientific method (‘Why should opinion…
If curiosity doesn’t kill the cat, what does?
The first nanny state The Prime Minister’s strategy on obesity has been labelled a work of the ‘nanny state’ —…
Portrait of the week: Second wave fears, cash for cyclists and a cat catches Covid
Home At a few hours’ notice, the government removed Spain from the list of countries from which it was possible…
2465: Definitely amusing solution
Unclued lights are Brewer’s ‘Chambersisms’ — words from that dictionary with quirky definitions. First prize Maureen Quarmby, Oldham Runners-up M.…
Letters: Why is the problem of working-class white boys not considered worth solving?
Left-behind boys Sir: Christopher Snowdon’s perceptive and informative article (‘The lost boys’, 18 July) reflects perfectly my own experiences in…
New fault lines are appearing in the EU
Anyone who imagined that the departure of Britain would make for more harmonious EU summits in future will have been…
2464: Topsy-turvy solution
14 Down, TAPSALTEERIE, yields TAP 10, 15 and 35, three anagrams of SALTE (16, 32 and 36) and ERIE and…
Portrait of the week: Vaccine hopes, the Russia report and a knighthood for Captain Tom
Home A coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, tested on 1,077 people, was found to induce antibodies and…
How many people would refuse a Covid vaccine?
Worth a shot? How worried should we be about people refusing to have a Covid-19 vaccine if one is developed?…
Letters: We must sing again
Growing pains Sir: James Forsyth (‘Rewiring the state’, 4 July) shocked this loyal Spectator reader with the following: ‘Even before…
The confusion in government goes beyond face masks
When Michael Gove delivered the Ditchley Annual Lecture last month he spoke about why citizens feel that the political system…
Portrait of the week: Face masks in, Huawei out and Amazon’s TikTok trouble
Home New regulations would compel people to wear a face covering in shops in England from 24 July on pain…
The bill for a Banksy: how much does graffiti cost railways?
Take cover The government has said it will make wearing masks compulsory in shops. Mandatory masks rather run against the…
2463: Tongue Twisters solution
The unclued lights were all languages which are written from right to left, entered in that manner in the grid.…
2462: Over and Out? solution
The seventeen entries clued by definition only required removal of the abbreviation BR ( = Britain), in keeping with the…
Letters: Why Hugh Dowding deserves a statue
Police relations Sir: As a former Met Police officer, with a similar background to Kevin Hurley, I was surprised how…
Portrait of the week: Sunak’s statement, shop closures and a hoo-ha over Boohoo
Home Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced measures intended to stimulate the economy. Under a £111 million scheme,…
At last, we have a foreign secretary who’s not shy to make a stand
It is hardly a profound observation to say that the government has not functioned as well as it might have…
What are online shoppers most likely to snap up?
Price of protest Greenpeace was fined £80,000 for defying a court order and occupying an oil rig in the North…
The chilling truth about the Facebook advertising boycott
The printed press is not a natural ally of Facebook. Silicon Valley publishers have hoovered up so much advertising that…
Letters: Police must focus on deterring crime, not responding to it
Deterring crime Sir: Rod Liddle is right to highlight the politicisation of the police as a source of their inadequacies,…
