The Week

Leading article

A Biden victory would be no great boon for Britain

It is remarkably uncommon for a US president to fail to be re-elected. It has happened just twice in the long lifetime of Joe Biden: with Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992. On Tuesday, however, it looks likely that it will happen again. It is not just that Donald Trump is

Portrait of the week

Diary

I’ve been investigated by the Keystone Cops

Even in this bizarre year of Covid (for everybody) and ‘cancellation’ (for me), the last week or two has stood out as strange. Things began on a Friday morning with a brief and cryptic email from Toby Young. ‘Can you call me, David?’ it read. ‘I have a criminal solicitor for you if you don’t

Ancient and modern

Can the UK avoid a Carthaginian Brexit deal?

The term ‘Carthaginian’ is often used of the EU’s attitude to post-Brexit trade negotiations with the UK, i.e. as if the UK were Carthage, and Brussels were Rome. One of the few safe harbours on the dangerous North African coast, Carthage with its superb fleet had been a trading power for centuries when, shortly after

Barometer

Where is there water in the solar system?

The Moon under water Nasa scientists using spectrometers claim to have found good evidence of water on the surface of the Moon. Where else in the solar system could you potentially go for a dip? — Signs of hidden oceans have been detected on Jupiter’s moons Ganymede, Europa and Callisto and on Saturn’s moons Titan

Letters

Letters: How Nicola Sturgeon outdoes Boris

Ask the English Sir: Toby Young rightly criticises the juvenile posturing of the devolved governments of the Union over Covid-19 (No sacred cows, 24 October). Each of these governments has implemented extreme lockdown measures without consideration of their cost to the taxpayer. As 90 per cent of British taxpayers are English, this represents an egregious