From ‘Thanks be to God’, 16 November 1918: The thought that filled the mind of the nation on Monday, and has possessed it ever since, is the thought, Thanks be to God. Under a thousand names and forms, consciously and unconsciously, realized fully or only half realized, this has given unity to the nation and made
Andrew Motion Short stories seem to fare better in the US than the UK, and among this year’s rich crop, Deborah Eisenberg’s Your Duck is My Duck (Ecco, £20.70) is outstanding. Everything about Eisenberg’s writing is highly controlled — watchful, well-made — and everything it describes teeters on the verge of chaos or collapse. It
Which UK companies are rewriting the rules and redefining their marketplaces? Earlier this year, The Spectator and Julius Baer launched the inaugural Economic Disruptor Awards to celebrate the most creative entrepreneurs in the UK. Over the past six months, over 100 nominations have been reviewed by our panel. Last night, we announced the winners at
Which UK companies are rewriting the rules and redefining their marketplaces? Earlier this year, The Spectator and Julius Baer launched the inaugural Economic Disruptor Awards to celebrate the most creative entrepreneurs in the UK. Over the past six months, over 100 nominations have been reviewed by our panel. Last night, we announced the winners at a
On the wagon A ‘caravan’ of several thousand Central American migrants was reported to be travelling through Mexico towards the southern US border. The concept of a caravan comes from karwan, a Persian word for a group of merchants who would travel together to take advantage of safety in numbers. In its turn it is
Political vitriol Sir: Vitriol and incivility seem to be everywhere in politics just now. In the last issue (27 October) John R. MacArthur linked a ‘rise in national coarseness’ to the election of Donald Trump, while Freddy Gray hints at a longer historical perspective when he writes that American politics ‘has always been unpleasant’. That ‘always’ is
Home Austerity was ‘finally coming to an end’, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in the Budget. He was helped by what he did not call a magic money sapling, in the form of revised estimates of public borrowing in 2018, £11.6 billion lower than forecast. Debt as a share of GDP, from
Since the Budget, economists have pointed out that Britain is turning into a health service with a government attached. The NHS was protected from what Philip Hammond calls ‘austerity’, yet it has emerged as the big winner from his abandonment of the old Tory idea that government should live within its means. The plan is
The unclued Across lights are US state capitals and the unclued Down ones are the states. The title refers to DELAWARE (DE) and its capital DOVER. First prize D.P. Shenkin, London WC1 Runners-up Margaret Lusk, Fulwood, Lancs; Lynne Gilchrist, Willoughby, NSW, Australia
Mr Deputy Speaker, Today, I present to the House a Budget for Britain’s future; A budget that shows the perseverance of the British people finally paying off. A Budget for hard working families, who live their lives far from this place and care little for the twists and turns of Westminster politics. People who get up early in the morning to open
Philip Hammond has delivered his final Budget before Brexit. The Chancellor said that the era of austerity is coming to an end as he pledged extra cash for no deal preparations and slapped a digital services tax on tech giants such as Facebook and Google. He also revealed that the OBR has upped its growth
Irish problem Sir: What James Forsyth calls ‘the EU plan’ to keep Northern Ireland in the customs union after Brexit (‘The Irish problem’, 20 October) would no more ‘ease Northern Ireland away from the UK and push it more towards Dublin’s orbit’ than it has already done itself through numerous legislative differences. With regard to social
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, found herself in another crisis over Brexit. Backbenchers whispered that 48 letters were being collected to present to the chairman of the 1922 Committee to trigger a vote of confidence. What annoyed some of her own MPs was a scheme (intended to make less likely the imposition of a
What is the point of Philip Hammond? Most chancellors have an agenda, but it’s hard to discern any purpose or direction from the current one. Gordon Brown’s project was to oversee the largest expansion of government spending in peacetime history — which he achieved, albeit with ruinous results. George Osborne spoke about trying to wind
The word is ‘pink’. Definitions of the eight headwords are: CARNATION (9), STAB (43), CHAFFINCH (22D), SMALL SAILING SHIP (41/1A/13), YELLOW LAKE PIGMENT (11/45/14), BLINK (40), SMALL (41) and SAMLET (8). PINK (in the eighth column) was to be shaded. First prize Mrs C.J. Stekly, Guernsey Runners-up Philip Dacre, York; Nick Hussey, Overton, Hants
Twists and turns Jeremy Hunt, taking a group of EU foreign ministers around the maze at Chevening House in Kent, likened it to Brexit. It is not surprising if he finds the maze at Chevening difficult, because it was deliberately designed by the 2nd Earl of Stanhope, a mathematician, to be a greater challenge than
Ireland’s day of reckoning Sir: John Waters is more right than he knows when he talks about the Irish attitude to Brexit (‘Paddy powerless’, 13 October). We Irish and our media have developed a consensus gene across many issues — without exception, all comfortably on the left. There is no significant media outlet in Ireland
Whether it was intended so or not, the decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to choose Australia as the place to announce that they are expecting their first child was a public relations triumph. For years the royal family was criticised for having a tin ear when it came to reading and dealing