The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters: Remainers lost – and Richard Dawkins needs to accept that

From our UK edition

Deny Remainers oxygen Sir: Your correspondent Richard Dawkins seems to have a very tenuous grasp of logic for an academic (Diary, 5 October). He excoriates a referendum on the grounds that in the run-up the voters may have been misled. There is one choice between two alternatives, and the supporters of each outcome will do their best to persuade. Both may be less than truthful. Yet he adores a general election with five or six candidates hawking their conflicting and unfulfillable manifestos — all of them those pillars of veracity, politicians. Let us be frank. Since the shock result of 2016 we have listened to the whines of the EU fanatics for more than three years until they have become extremely boring. Please do not lend your valuable pages to giving them yet more oxygen.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Brexit approaches, Extinction Rebellion protests and Donald Trump tweets

From our UK edition

Home After a telephone conversation between Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, a Downing Street spokesman said she had made clear that a withdrawal agreement with the EU was ‘overwhelmingly unlikely’; Mrs Merkel had insisted on Northern Ireland staying in the Customs Union, which the Democratic Unionist party called ‘beyond crazy’. Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, tweeted that Mr Johnson was playing a ‘stupid blame game’.There was great excitement over a message sent to James Forsyth of The Spectator, generally thought to have come from Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s chief adviser.

The Spectator

A slice of history: how did Britain’s pizza industry begin?

From our UK edition

A slice of history Pizza Express is to undergo financial restructuring, leading to fears that it could go under. How did the pizza industry in Britain begin? — The first record of an Italian restaurant was the Italian Eating House off Leicester Square, opened in 1803, though it is not known whether or not it served pizza. — The Olivelli restaurant in Store Street, Bloomsbury, opened in 1934. Early documents found on the premises included a recipe for margherita pizza. — Pizza Express was the first chain of pizza restaurants in Britain, its first branch opening in Wardour Street in 1965. — Pizzaland opened its first branch in 1970. It was bought out and its branches converted to Pizza Hut in 1996.

The Spectator

The last Brexit heave

From our UK edition

The past few months have been characterised by high drama which, for all the excitement, has resolved nothing. We are back in a familiar cycle: posturing, bluster and a last-minute burst of Brexit talks. It's possible that Boris Johnson will emerge with a deal and declare triumph by 31 October: he has always regarded this as possible, even likely, no matter how high the odds are stacked against it. But it's just as likely that this will all end in failure. If Britain does end up leaving the EU without a deal, the moment when such an outcome became inevitable will be traced back to Tuesday’s telephone call between Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel. In that call, according to No.

The Spectator

to 2426: Her love

From our UK edition

The unclued lights relate to SUPERMAN (6D), his alter ego CLARK KENT (26A), nickname (the) MAN OF STEEL (8), planet KRYPTON (27), city METROPOLIS (18), employer (the) DAILY PLANET (35/16) and arch-enemy LEX LUTHOR (22). The title, as well as giving wordplay for HERO, suggests LOIS LANE, who appears hidden in row 4.   First prize Ian Skillen, Cambuslang, Glasgow Runners-up  Frank Anstis, Truro, Cornwall; Mrs R.J.C.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters: We need judges with practical experience

From our UK edition

Judges of experience Sir: In the midst of the furore about the Supreme Court judgment, many people are now questioning how the senior judiciary are appointed (‘Imbalance of power’, 28 September). Lady Hale is undoubtedly extremely clever. But perhaps that is at the heart of the problem. It is well established that the ranks of academia are now predominantly left-wing in their political views and this has unfortunately permeated down to the teaching profession in schools. I am a retired barrister who specialised in employment law, working in companies which were highly unionised. During my career I gained immeasurable practical experience, but as time went on I realised I was drifting further and further apart from lawyers in pure academic fields.

The Spectator

Are childhood vaccination rates dropping?

From our UK edition

Who speaks what The Chancellor, Sajid Javid, included a little Punjabi in his speech to the Tory conference. How many people in Britain would have understood him? In the 2011 census the ONS counted 273,000 Punjabi speakers in Britain. The other most common languages, besides English and Welsh, were: Polish 546,000 Urdu 269,000 Bengali 221,000 Gujarati 213,000 Arabic 159,000 French 147,000 Portuguese 133,000 Spanish 120,000   Death by gender The British Heart Foundation claimed women were needlessly dying of heart disease because they were receiving less good treatment than men. How do the causes of death differ between the sexes?

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Tory conference, John Lewis cuts jobs and Duchess of Sussex sues

From our UK edition

Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, presented the EU with a proposed withdrawal agreement. It entailed Northern Ireland remaining for a large part in the EU single market, along with Ireland, until January 2025, with the European Court retaining jurisdiction during that time. After that, the Northern Ireland Assembly would be able to choose whether to remain in the single market. In the meantime, there would be a border with Great Britain in the Irish Sea and, with none of the United Kingdom in the customs union, another, invisible border with Ireland, with checks made away from the border on goods in transit. Dominic Cummings said: ‘If they reject our offer, that’s it.’ Eighteen Scottish pine martens were released in the Forest of Dean.

The Spectator

The Conservatives have become the true workers’ party

From our UK edition

The party conference season has showcased two very different visions of Britain. Jeremy Corbyn speaks of the country as one giant Victorian-style workhouse. We are living in zero-hours Britain, apparently — a land where workers subsist on starvation wages and cannot even rely on those. So this is why Labour proposes a great upheaval, mass nationalisation, the confiscation of private property and — as of last month — the abolition of private schools. Corbyn would plunge Britain into a socialist experiment more radical than any seen since the 1970s — but the abject failure of the free enterprise system, he says, demands no less.

The Spectator

to 2425: Herein

From our UK edition

The unclued lights are regular contributors to the pages of The Spectator week by week. 5/35, 8/10, 12/28, 13, 21A/33 and 21D, 39/26. DOC (in 25) had to be highlighted.   First prize Charles Barr, Norwich Runners-up Roderick Rhodes, Goldsborough, N.

Wednesday

The Spectator

Full text: Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan

From our UK edition

A FAIR AND REASONABLE COMPROMISE: UK PROPOSALS FOR A NEW PROTOCOL ON IRELAND/NORTHERN IRELAND There is now very little time in which to negotiate a new Agreement between the UK and the EU under Article 50. We need to get this done before the October European Council. This Government wants to get a deal, as I am sure we all do. If we cannot reach one, it would represent a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible. Our predecessors have tackled harder problems: we can surely solve this one. Both sides now need to consider whether there is sufficient willingness to compromise and move beyond existing positions to get us to an agreement in time.

Tuesday

The Spectator

What’s on today at Conservative conference: The Spectator guide | 1 October 2019

From our UK edition

Priti Patel is the big draw on the main stage at Tory conference today. But there is plenty happening on the fringes too. Here are the highlights on day three: Main agenda: 10.00 - 12.15: Forging Stronger Communities 14.00: Social Justice in Action 14.45: Shaun Bailey, Tory London Mayoral candidate 2020 15.00: Toughening Up Our Criminal Justice System Robert Buckland Brandon Lewis Lucy Frazer  15.45: Priti Patel, Home Secretary   Fringe events: 09.00: With one month to go until Brexit, how prepared are Britain’s key transport links? Chris Heaton-Harris; Doug Bannister (chief executive, Port of Dover); Manchester Central: Central 5 09.15: Moggcast Live Jacob Rees-Mogg; Paul Goodman; Manchester Central: Conservative Home Marquee 10.

Monday

The Spectator

What’s on today at Conservative conference: The Spectator guide | 30 September 2019

From our UK edition

It's Sajid Javid's time to shine on the second day of Conservative party conference. Today will be Javid's first major speech as Chancellor, after his first outing was pulled by Number 10 in August. Here are the highlights on the main stage and on the fringes: Main agenda: 10.00: Boosting our Public Services Rishi Sunak MP, Matt Hancock MP, Thérèse Coffey MP 10.45: Creating a World Class Education System Gavin Williamson MP 11.20: Spreading Opportunity Across the Country Esther McVey MP, Nadhim Zahawi MP, Jake Berry MP 14.00: Growing our Economy and Protecting our Environment Andrea Leadsom MP, Zac Goldsmith MP, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Theresa Villiers MP 14.45: Chancellor of the Exchequer speech Sajid Javid MP 15.

Sunday

The Spectator

Full text: Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Tory party conference speech

From our UK edition

It is a great honour to be speaking at this conference. I, like many of you have belonged to this party since I was a mere youth - and I was once a youth. I have sat in these seats since the days conferences were held at the seaside and I am glad that the members are once again rightly the focus of these sessions. It was here in Manchester that Disraeli captured the essence of Conservative principles in his 1872 speech at the Free Trade Hall, when he set out our priorities for the constitution and the condition of the people, especially their health. He also noted that the audience he was addressing was of the highest intelligence, but not one that could compete with the brilliance, the luminescence of this gathering here today. As he knew, the Conservative Party is a grassroots party.

The Spectator

What’s on today at Conservative conference: The Spectator guide

From our UK edition

Conservative party conference kicks off today in Manchester with a speech from Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. Michael Gove, Liz Truss and Jacob Rees-Mogg will also be taking part in panels on the main stage. Here are the highlights today: Main agenda: 14.00: Welcome to Conference James Cleverly and Pamela Hall 14.20: Building a Safe and Prosperous Britain Ben Wallace MP, Alok Sharma MP, Liz Truss MP 15.05: Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs speech Dominic Raab MP 15.15: Delivering Brexit Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, Michael Gove MP, Stephen Barclay MP 16.30: Meet the Chairman   Fringe events: 12.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters: We must grasp the dangers of cannabis before it’s too late

From our UK edition

On judging the judges Sir: The spectacle of judges questioning essentially political decisions is not an edifying one. But we should be slow to dismiss the importance of the role of judicial review. Dr Ekins is justifiably troubled by the escalation of appeals to the Supreme Court in politically sensitive terrain. (‘Judgment day: the danger of courts taking over politics’, 21 September), but there are a number of positive features of this always contentious activity. First, it is the proper responsibility of the judiciary to determine the moral principles which underpin our law and to apply them as they do the law itself. Secondly, judicial review is a powerful check on the tyranny of the majority.

The Spectator

How many people have swum the Channel?

From our UK edition

Journey’s end Holidaymakers are being flown home after travel company Thomas Cook failed. The idea might have horrified the company’s eponymous founder, whose first excursion was a temperance outing from Leicester to Loughborough on 5 July 1841, on a charter train from the Midland Railway Company. All 500 tickets were swiftly sold. A holiday from Leicester to Liverpool and North Wales followed in 1845, including several nights in temperance hotels and a night-time ascent of Snowdon. Thomas Cook went on to organise trips to the 1851 Great Exhibition for 150,000 from the Midlands. Financial health A Labour activist and parent of a patient accused the Prime Minister on a visit to a London hospital of ‘destroying’ the NHS.