Books and arts opener – 24 September 2015
The Spectator
Thursday
Conscription and democracy
From ‘The will of the majority’, The Spectator, 18 September 1915: The minority may declare, as have some of the trade union leaders, that they are the people—though in reality they are only a twentieth part of the community—and have a right to say what shall and what shall not be done in this country. In
Thursday
Toast
‘His passion for toast knew no bounds.’
Labour 5
‘How about 1985? That was a nice year.’
Drinks 2
‘We’ve got some Syrian refugees. It’s OK, they’re middle-class.’
Clash
‘Guy, guys — don’t you think your T-shirts clash?’
Cats 4
‘You know there’s cats in Africa...’
Palm
‘You can cross my palm with any of the major credit cards.’
Mammoth
‘Cro Magnon man up!’
Fancy Dress
‘Don’t panic — we’re on our way to a fancy-dress party.’
Drama 2
‘Curse this Ikea DVD storage unit.’
Advert
Isis 2
‘We can’t communicate with that guy, he’s an extremist nutter.’
Club 3
Memory 2
Seventeen tablets taken at different times throughout the day. It’s great for his memory
Letters | 17 September 2015
What firefighters do Sir: Leo McKinstry’s vicious, misleading article ‘Out of the ashes’ (12 September) shows that he has no understanding of the real issues facing firefighters today. He implies firefighters sit around doing nothing while other emergency services are doing the real work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Firefighters rescue more than
Barometer | 17 September 2015
It’s their party Jeremy Corbyn won the Labour leadership contest with 60% of the vote among four candidates in the first round. Which leader has the largest mandate from their party? — David Cameron was elected in 2005 with 28% of the vote out of four candidates in the first round (held among MPs only).
Portrait of the week | 17 September 2015
Home In the shadow cabinet chosen by the new Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the Exchequer went to John McDonnell, a left-winger who had run his campaign for the leadership. Although Mr Corbyn’s defeated rival Andy Burnham was given the Home Office portfolio, most appointments were from the left. Angela Eagle, the new shadow business secretary,
Books and Arts opener – 17 September 2015
Time to tax
From ‘The coming budget’, The Spectator, 18 September 1915: At present the large majority of householders and electors pay no direct taxation of any kind. They know nothing of the Income Tax collector’s demand-note, and they never receive a call from the rate collector. This system is not only fiscally but politically unsound, and a Cabinet