The Spectator

Monday

The Spectator

Nicola Sturgeon announces a second Scottish referendum: full speech

From our UK edition

Before the end of this month - and very possibly as early as tomorrow - the Prime Minister will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, setting the UK on course to leave the EU in March 2019. It is important, therefore, for me to report now on the Scottish Government's attempts to find compromise with the UK government and set out our plan to protect Scotland's interests. Right now, Scotland stands at a hugely important crossroads. We didn't choose to be in this position. In common with most people across the country, I wish that we weren't in this position. But we are and the stakes are high - so we must have a plan for the way forward. For better or worse - depending on your point of view - the future of the UK looks very different today than it did two years ago.

Saturday

The Spectator

Philip Hammond’s budget disaster

From our UK edition

Some Budgets are historic, most are boring and a small number can be remembered as a disaster. After just a few months, Philip Hammond has managed a budget - his first - that can be placed in this last category. Economically, it made very little difference. Politically, it is shaping up to be a disaster. His Budget was supposed to have been conducted under the pledge, issued no fewer than four times in the 2015 Conservative manifesto, that his party not raise taxes. ‘Instead, we will ease the burden of taxation,’ the Tories promised. It seems plausible enough, and the Conservatives were returned with an absolute majority.

Thursday

The Spectator

Barometer | 9 March 2017

From our UK edition

Naming the weather Former BBC weatherman Bill Giles has said he’s fed up with storms being named. — The practice of naming storms in the UK began with storm Abigail in October 2015, although some earlier storms, like Bertha in 2014, were the remnants of hurricanes already named in the US. The St Jude’s Day storm of 2013 took its name from the saint’s day on which it fell. — The US National Hurricane Centre first named storms in 1950, when it started calling them by a phonetic alphabet: Able, Baker, Charlie etc. Three years later it switched to women’s names, starting with Alice, a damp squib with winds not exceeding 60mph. Its first male storm was Bob in 1979, a 65mph weakling.

The Spectator

Letters | 9 March 2017

From our UK edition

On Scottish independence Sir: Alex Massie writes of the order permitting a second Scottish independence referendum: ‘Having granted such an order in 2014, it will be difficult to refuse Mrs Sturgeon’s demand for another’ (‘Back into battle’, 4 March). Surely that is precisely why Mrs May should refuse another? It was the SNP who described the 2014 vote as a chance in a lifetime. The only thing way in which Brexit could have changed matters is if it had been a fundamental and unforeseeable upset. Alex Massie, from this and his previous writings, clearly believes it was. But the Conservatives, at the time of the Scottish vote, had promised to hold a Brexit referendum if they won the 2015 general election, so Brexit was certainly on the cards.

The Spectator

Ambition deficit

From our UK edition

Some Budgets are historic, most are boring and a small number can be remembered as a disaster. After just a few months, Philip Hammond has managed a budget - his first - that can be placed in this last category. Economically, it made very little difference. Politically, it is shaping up to be a disaster. His Budget was supposed to have been conducted under the pledge, issued no fewer than four times in the 2015 Conservative manifesto, that his party not raise taxes. ‘Instead, we will ease the burden of taxation,’ the Tories promised. It seems plausible enough, and the Conservatives were returned with an absolute majority.

The Spectator

Portrait of the Week – 9 March 2017

From our UK edition

Home The Lords passed two amendments to the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, voting by 358 to 256 to guarantee the residence rights after Brexit of EU nationals living in Britain, then by 366 to 268 to give Parliament ‘a meaningful vote’ on the final Brexit deal. Lord Heseltine was sacked as an adviser to the government for voting for the latter amendment. Jeremy Corbyn published details of his tax return, which showed a total income of £114,342 but proved puzzling because, according to the Labour party, the £27,192 received for his first seven months as leader of the opposition was included under pension and benefits income.

The Spectator

America confronts Germany

From our UK edition

From ‘The revelation of Germany to the United States’, 10 March 1917: Even if Mr Wilson stops short at his present stage, he has undeniably pulled the tiger’s tail. It cannot be expected that the tiger will forget this… if we were Americans we should be very much alarmed. We think we should want to make sure of killing the man-eater while the chances are good.

Wednesday

The Spectator

Philip Hammond’s Budget announcement, full transcript

From our UK edition

Mr Deputy Speaker, I report today on an economy that has continued to confound the commentators with robust growth. A labour market delivering record employment. And a deficit down by over two-thirds. As we start our negotiations to exit the European Union, this Budget takes forward our plan to prepare Britain for a brighter future. It provides a strong and stable platform for those negotiations. It extends opportunity to all our young people. It delivers further investment in our public services. And it continues the task of getting Britain back to living within its means. We are building the foundations of a stronger, fairer, more global Britain. Mr Deputy Speaker, As the House knows, this will be the last Spring Budget.

Saturday

The Spectator

Carry on Major: real democrats don’t shout down Europhiles

From our UK edition

As Prime Minister, John Major was intolerant of opposition from within the Conservative party over the EU — memorably calling Maastricht rebels ‘bastards’. It was unwise, and the bad blood it created within his party has been swirling around ever since. Now that the tables have turned and Sir John now finds himself the rebellious outsider on Europe, it is tempting for those on the Conservative party’s Eurosceptic wing, who for so long were denounced as freaks, fruitcakes and swivel--eyed loons, to take the same approach. Their instinct is to denounce Sir John, Michael Heseltine, Ken Clarke and others as dinosaurs seeking to deny the will of the British people.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters | 2 March 2017

From our UK edition

Camilla for Queen Sir: On reading Melanie McDonagh’s argument against there ever being a Queen Camilla (‘Against Queen Camilla’, 25 February), I was reminded of a line from Brideshead Revisited, ‘Beryl is a woman of strict Catholic principle fortified by the prejudices of the middle class.’ Her opposition to Camilla seems to ignore the long tradition of infidelity among our royalty and nobility, where marriage has always been about more than just love. Eleanor of Aquitaine had been married to Louis VII of France, had borne him two daughters and had been unfaithful in that marriage, yet she went on to marry Henry II of England and become his queen consort.

The Spectator

Barometer | 2 March 2017

From our UK edition

And the losers are… La La Land was mistakenly announced as winner of the Oscar for best picture before the error was corrected in favour of the film Moonlight. Some other announcements which went terribly wrong: — In 2015 Miss Universe host Steve Harvey announced Miss Colombia as the winner. Two minutes after she had been crowned Harvey came back on stage to apologise that he had misread the card and in fact Miss Philippines had won. — In January 2016 Heart FM newsreader Fiona Winchester mistakenly announced that David Cameron, then prime minister, had died, before correcting herself and saying that David Bowie had died. — In December 2015 the FT announced that the European Central Bank had held interest rates. They had in fact been cut to 0.3 per cent.

The Spectator

Carry on, Major

From our UK edition

As Prime Minister, John Major was intolerant of opposition from within the Conservative party over the EU — memorably calling Maastricht rebels ‘bastards’. It was unwise, and the bad blood it created within his party has been swirling around ever since. Now that the tables have turned and Sir John now finds himself the rebellious outsider on Europe, it is tempting for those on the Conservative party’s Eurosceptic wing, who for so long were denounced as freaks, fruitcakes and swivel--eyed loons, to take the same approach. Their instinct is to denounce Sir John, Michael Heseltine, Ken Clarke and others as dinosaurs seeking to deny the will of the British people.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 2 March 2017

From our UK edition

Home Sir John Major, the former prime minister, made a speech at Chatham House in which he called the referendum vote for Brexit ‘an historic mistake’. The Lords got its teeth into the European Union (notification of withdrawal) bill. A merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse foundered after the LSE refused a demand by the European Commission for it to sell its Italian bond-trading platform, MTS. Royal Bank of Scotland, in which taxpayers hold a 73 per cent stake, announced losses of £7 billion. Theresa May gave up crisps for Lent. Asked if he would still be Labour leader in 2020, Jeremy Corbyn said: ‘I’ve given you a very, very clear answer — yes.

The Spectator

A model village

From our UK edition

From ‘Sir Thomas Acland’s example’, The Spectator, 3 March 1917: In 1912 we discussed the idea — a favourite dream of ours — that some characteristic English village, perfect of its kind but likely to lose its quality in the hugger-mugger expansions of modern enterprise, might be acquired by the National Trust to be kept forever as a specimen, in a changing world, of what used to be… Men freely give pictures and collections of china and plate and furniture to the nation. Why not the grouped architectural works of man? Why, too, should not open pieces of country be given as often as pictures and bronzes and statues?

Wednesday

The Spectator

Donald Trump’s Congress address, full transcript

From our UK edition

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and Citizens of America: Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded of our Nation's path toward civil rights and the work that still remains. Recent threats targeting Jewish Community Centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week's shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a Nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms. Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice - in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. That torch is now in our hands. And we will use it to light up the world.

Saturday

The Spectator

The real gender gap is not about women’s pay but boys’ lack of attainment

From our UK edition

For a body supposedly committed to eliminating inequality between the sexes, the Women and Equalities Select Committee don’t exactly lead from the front. Only three of the 11 members are men. To some, this will be a welcome corrective to the still male-dominated House of Commons. To others (such as Philip Davies, one of the three male members), it is a sign of how, in Westminster, the cause of equality is narrowly focused on the interests of white professional women. There is not a single ethnic minority representative on the committee. This week, committee chair Maria Miller announced her ‘deep disappointment’ that the government has not adopted their proposals on closing the gender pay gap.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters | 23 February 2017

From our UK edition

Seeing off the Speaker Sir: If senior Tories in Buckingham had had their way, John Bercow’s career as Speaker could have been over long before he had a chance to make any ‘spectacularly ill-judged’ remarks (Politics, 18 February). At the 2010 election, an impressive local Tory was keen to prevent the new Labour-supported Speaker retaining the seat where the party had had an 18,000 majority in 2005. Conservative headquarters insisted that Buckingham must abide by the long-standing convention that the Speaker is returned unopposed. The local Tories should have gone ahead; there is no such convention. All ten Speakers since the war have faced opposition. Six, including Bercow, have faced independents or minor parties.

The Spectator

Portrait of the Week – 23 February 2017

From our UK edition

Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, sat on the steps of the throne, as a privy counsellor, watching the Lords debate the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The Supreme Court upheld the rule that Britons must earn more than £18,600 before their husband or wife from outside the European Economic Area can settle in Britain. Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan failed (on the grounds that they are of different sexes) in their Court of Appeal application to be allowed to enter into a civil partnership. The BBC said that in 28 out of 44 areas in England subject to NHS ‘sustainability and transformation plans’, hospital services would be reduced. The BBC is to spend £30 million a year on a new channel in Scotland.