Seven worlds
‘If you have been affected by any issues raised in this programme…’
The Spectator
Thursday
Letters: Just how should you pronounce vermouth?
Down to zero Sir: Paul Collier’s siren call to take advantage of near-zero interest rates to go on a massive government infrastructure splurge is one Jeremy Corbyn might welcome but Conservatives should resist (‘Back to Plan A+’, 16 November). Japan tried what he is proposing when its bubble burst in 1990. The result: $6.3 trillion debt and
How much are political parties allowed to spend in the general election?
Election counts Michael Bloomberg — the ninth richest person in America — entered the US presidential race by buying $34 million (£26 million) worth of advertising just to launch his campaign. How does that compare with what British political parties are allowed to spend in the general election? — In Britain, each party is allowed
Portrait of the week: Chief Rabbi speaks out, Uber loses its licence and police draw tasers at the cinema
Home The Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, intervened in the election campaign by declaring that anti-Semitism was a ‘poison — sanctioned from the very top’ of the Labour party, whose claim to have dealt with cases was a ‘mendacious fiction’.The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, said: ‘That the Chief Rabbi should be compelled
Does safety-first Boris Johnson have any ambitions on the world stage?
There is a large vacuum at the heart of this general election campaign. Aside from the topic of our relations with the EU, and Nicola Sturgeon’s statement that she would decline to press a nuclear button which is never going to be hers to press in any case, no leader has had anything of interest
to 2433: House and garden
The painters were Millais (suggested by BOXING MATCH/SLOTHS: 1A/9D), Constable (GYP/FIRM: 7A/35), Gainsborough (EARNS/BROOKLYN: 29/24) and Landseer (NATION/SOOTHSAYER: 30/19). The title suggested Hogarth. First prize R.J. Green, Llangynidr, Crickhowell Runners-up Judith Cookson, Prestbury, Gloucestershire; Hugh Dales, Dysart, Fife
Koo detat
From 16 October 1982: Prince Andrew’s Caribbean holiday with Miss Koo Stark (following, perhaps prompted by, months of all-male company in the Falklands) has reassured the nation that its royal family is ‘normal’.The Prince’s conduct is hallowed by tradition. Indeed, the difficulty is in finding a single heterosexual prince… who confined himself to the woman
Tuesday
Full transcript: Jeremy Corbyn grilled by Andrew Neil
Jeremy Corbyn took part in The Andrew Neil Interviews on BBC One this evening. Neil grilled the Labour leader on everything from anti-Semitism to Vladimir Putin. You can read the full transcript from the interview here: AN: Jeremy Corbyn, the Chief Rabbi says a new poison of anti-Semitism, anti-Jewism, has taken root in the Labour
Friday
Question Time leaders' special: Live blog
Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, Jo Swinson and Nicola Sturgeon have all faced a grilling from a studio audience in tonight’s live Question Time leaders’ special. Here are all the highlights as they unfolded:
Thursday
Letters: The Politically Homeless Party are now a force to be reckoned with
Nowhere to turn Sir: Like Tanya Gold and Matthew Parris (9 November), I too am feeling politically homeless. Over the decades my vote has wandered along the mainstream party spectrum but today that seems wider than ever and its constituents increasingly unappealing. A vote for the Conservatives would be to endorse utter incompetence in government
What happened to the other Dukes of York?
Old Dukes of York Prince Andrew is the 14th royal to have held the title Duke of York (three were styled the Duke of York and Albany). What happened to the other Dukes of York? — Two were killed in battle: Edward of Norwich at Agincourt in 1415 and Richard of York at the Battle
The Tories must be careful not to pave the way for Corbynism
To say one thing for John McDonnell, he shows a refreshing preparedness to use a general election to lay out big ideas. While so many candidates for high office will retreat into platitudes rather than risk upsetting some target group of voters, the man who could be Chancellor of the Exchequer in three weeks’ time
Portrait of the week: The leaders’ debate, the Duke’s interview and the gilet jaunes’ birthday
Home In a television debate Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, was jeered by the studio audience when he was asked about the importance of truth and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition, was jeered when he refused nine times to say whether he thought Britain should leave the EU. Neither dealt a knock-out blow
The fourteen charges against Alex Salmond
The former SNP leader Alex Salmond appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh this morning charged with various sexual offences against ten women. He entered not guilty pleas to each of the fourteen counts. Details of the allegations are outlined below: June and July 2008: Indecent assault on various occasions on woman A in Glasgow
to 2432: Getting dry
The DODO (30) organised the CAUCUS RACE (12) to get dry. Participants included ALICE (2), EAGLET (7), DUCK (17), MOUSE (31) and LORY (42). EVERYBODY (33) won, and the prizes were COMFITS (10) and a THIMBLE (39). First prize John Fahy, Thaxted, Essex Runners-up A.M. Dymond, Herne Hill, London SE24; John Light, Addlestone, Surrey
Jeremy Corbyn's manifesto launch speech: Full transcript
Thank you for coming to help launch our manifesto and a special thanks to Birmingham City University for hosting us in this wonderful building. Labour’s manifesto is a manifesto of hope. A manifesto that will bring real change. A manifesto full of popular policies that the political establishment has blocked for a generation. But you
Tuesday
Boris vs Corbyn: ITV election debate live blog
Boris Johnson has clashed with Jeremy Corbyn in the first leaders’ debate of the snap December election. Here are all the highlights as they unfolded:
Thursday
How many countries have been ruled by a Boris?
Leaders called Boris How many countries have been ruled by a Boris? — Russia has had two Borises in charge. Boris Godunov was tsar between 1598 and 1605, during the Time of Troubles, and was credited with improving education in the country, importing foreign teachers and sending Russian children abroad for schooling. Boris Yeltsin was president
Letters: Why I’ll vote for Boris
A bad idea Sir: Your editorial in favour of an amnesty for illegal immigrants (‘The case for amnesty’, 9 November) flies in the face of extensive evidence. Italy, Spain and France have, between them, granted any number of amnesties; almost without exception, each one prompted further waves of illegal immigration. In 2005 the French Interior
Our flood defences aren’t fit for the climate we have now
This week’s political fuss over whether the floods in Yorkshire constitute a ‘national emergency’ misses the point. It is too easy to declare an emergency for political purposes, to give the impression that the government is taking an issue seriously. It’s quite obvious that the scenes we have seen this week represent an emergency —