Backing Mrs Thatcher
From ‘Be brave’, 28 April 1979: We can think of a number of reasons why voters might feel reluctant to…
Letters: Is marriage really that great?
Not an island Sir: I and those with whom I live and work are all within coughing distance of Sam…
Solution to 2402: Test Pilots
BOYCOTT (24), GOWER (25), MAY (40), GRACE (2), STRAUSS (23), HAMMOND (27), CLOSE (34), and ROOT (36) have all held…
Hope will rise out of the ashes of Notre Dame
‘Great edifices, like great mountains, are the work of centuries,’ wrote Victor Hugo in Notre-Dame de Paris. ‘The man, the…
Portrait of the week: Brexit party launches, Assange is arrested – and Notre Dame burns
Home Although the latest date for Brexit had been postponed by the European Council until Halloween, 31 October, the government…
Israel and the UN
From ‘Israel’s Candidature’, The Spectator, 22 April 1949: Israel’s application for UN membership received a chillier reception than had been…
Who has hidden in an embassy for longer than Julian Assange?
Embassy endurance Julian Assange was thrown out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, seven years after seeking sanctuary from extradition…
Letters: Britain needs HS2
Moaning minnie MPs Sir: I was recently quoted in the Sun newspaper in a story about how MPs were reacting…
to 2401: sign here please
The unclued lights are ACCENTS or DIACRITICAL SIGNS and any appearing on letters in the grid had to be ignored. First…
It’s vital to keep good relations with our EU allies – and we need a leader who’s up to the challenge
The European Union’s official goal — an ever-closer union of people — remains its single most attractive feature. Our continent…
Portrait of the week: Brexit flextension, the demise of Debenhams and a real shower in the Commons
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, wrote to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, asking for an extension…
Eight things claimed to be worse than smoking
Flextensions Some organisations which may have benefited from Donald Tusk’s offer of a ‘flextension’ to Article 50: — Adidas, which…
Letters: Of course Brexit is David Cameron’s fault
All Cameron’s fault Sir: In this time of febrile political speculation, there can have been few more arresting subject headings…
to 2400: Unclued
The preamble suggests that unclued entries are partial anagrams of UNCLUED. The ‘repeated cryptic clue (= anagram of CLUE)’ ‘fixes…
If the EU refuses an extension, voters want a no-deal Brexit. MPs should listen
One of the many tragedies of Theresa May’s premiership is that, having come up with a coherent policy on how…
Portrait of the week: Brexit complications, avocado woes and London knife crime
Home Brexit exerted ever stranger effects on politics. After an eight-hour cabinet meeting, Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said she…
Supreme but not respected
From ‘The disconsideration of the House of Commons’, 5 April 1919: The House of Commons is legally supreme in the…
How is the country split over Brexit?
German customs The original customs union, or Zollverein, was established by Prussia along with 17 other states which make up…
Letters: The Brexit chaos isn’t David Cameron’s fault
About the Bible Sir: I was confirmed by Richard Holloway as a schoolboy at Fettes College, and then taught by…
to 2399: Lines of Work
The unclued lights form the folk rhyme ‘Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief’. A.A. Milne (MILNE…
The absurdity of censoring anti-vaxxers
It is not hard to make the case that vaccination programmes have been one of the greatest contributions to mankind…
Portrait of the week: Brexit games, Trump’s win, and the EU stops the clock
Home The House of Commons voted to take Brexit business into its own hands, passing by 329 to 302 an…
The maddest road signs from around the world
Silly signs The Department for Transport ordered councils to remove ‘obsolete and unnecessary’ road signs. Some examples of the art…
Letters: Theresa May is definitely not the worst ever PM
Still better than Cameron Sir: I disagree with your editorial (‘Agony prolonged’, 23 March) that Theresa May is the worst…
to 2398: All steamed up
The unclued lights are the names of FAMOUS STEAM TRAINS including the pairs at 14/15 and 17/30. First prize Jenny…
