Portrait of the week | 2 October 2014

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The Commons, having been specially recalled, passed, by 524 votes to 43, a motion supporting ‘the use of UK air strikes to support Iraqi, including Kurdish, security forces’ efforts against Isil in Iraq’. Only after four days did RAF Tornados from Akrotiri in Cyprus find some targets in Iraq to bomb. In support of her contention that Isil’s ‘hateful ideology has nothing to do with Islam’, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, in a well-received speech at the Conservative party conference, quoted the Qu’ran: ‘Let there be no compulsion in religion’ (Sura 2:256). A poster intended for staff was put up by mistake in the window of a Sainsbury’s in east London, reading: ‘Let’s encourage every customer to spend an additional 50p during each shopping trip.’

David Cameron, the Prime Minister, told the Conservative party conference that spending on the NHS would be ring-fenced and increased. The sickness and death of his son had made him ‘understand very personally’ the importance of the health service. He also said: ‘We will ensure everyone can see a GP seven days a week by 2020.’ In an interview with the BBC, he said: ‘I feel about a thousand times more strongly about our United Kingdom than I do about the European Union.’ The government would freeze benefits paid to people of working age for two years from 2016, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, told the conference. Boris Johnson waved a brick during a speech advocating the building of more houses. Mark Reckless, a Conservative backbencher, joined Ukip and was, at his request, granted the post of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham, disqualifying him from sitting as an MP. Brooks Newmark, 56, resigned as minister for civil society after being tricked by the Sunday Mirror into sending a picture of himself sticking out of paisley pyjamas to someone he thought from Twitter was a Tory woman activist.