Miscellaneous

‘The people of England were long habituated to queues; some had joined the procession ignorant of its end – hoping perhaps for cigarettes or shoes – but most were in a mood of devotion.’ In Unconditional Surrender, his novel of the Second World War, Evelyn Waugh describes the queue to see ‘the Sword of Stalingrad’, wrought of silver, gold and Sheffield steel, which was displayed in Westminster Abbey in 1943 before it was presented by Churchill to Stalin in honour of the Russian people’s resistance to Hitler.  Here, wrote Waugh, in ‘the sacring place of the Kings of England’, the sword stood for the timeless and transcendent against the grossly

My dog was bitten by an adder last week. Jessie had been snuffling around in bracken a few yards from where I was walking when I suddenly heard this anguished yelp, followed by still more disquieting, even harrowing yelps. I knew immediately exactly what had happened. I have been boring my family for months with warnings about where not to take Jessie for a walk, because of the adders. They think adders are a manifestation of my warped imagination and do not really exist, possibly something dreamed up by the QAnon people. They never believe me when I tell them anything about animals and yet – ironically, you might think

How would you describe The Spectator? And how would you sell it to someone who had never read us before? Some of the most important words we write never appear in the magazine: they’re from our ten-strong marketing department. They’re now looking for a senior digital marketing exec: it’s a mid-level job to learn from and get stuck into the world’s greatest publication and join the team here in 22 Old Queen Street. You will be … Looking at the emails we send to readers who don’t (yet) subscribe. How to best persuade them to sign up? Which emails work the best? Which ones to send out and when? Technology gives

The results of the third round of MPs voting to be the next Tory leader are in.  8.55 p.m. Has the Penny dropped? James Forsyth writes… Penny Mordaunt had a mixed night this evening. Her lead over Liz Truss is still in double figures, but she actually polled one fewer vote than she had on Thursday. In her statement tonight she heaps praise on Tom Tugendhat, saying they ‘are both committed to a clean start for the party’ and lauding him as ‘one of the strongest assets on the Conservative green benches.’ It also contains an implicit dig at the Truss campaign, with a declaration that she is ‘running a

Over the last decade, The Spectator — the world’s oldest weekly — has almost doubled its sales in a market that has fallen by two thirds. In an era where publications are judged by the quality of the digital product as much as they are the magazine, the role of product owner is crucial to our continued success. We are looking for someone to manage and oversee our digital products — including primarily our website and app, but also our podcast and video platforms. You will act as a bridge between the digital, editorial and marketing departments. So you’ll be not just technically proficient, but also a meticulous organiser, communicator

And then there were five. Suella Braverman has been knocked out of the Tory leadership contest after only receiving 27 votes in the second round ballot. She has now backed Truss. Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat remain in the contest. Sunak came top in the second round ballot with 101 votes, an increase of 13 since the first round. Penny Mordaunt is closing in on 83, followed by Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch. Tom Tugendhat only managed to achieve 32 votes in this round. The next vote takes place on Monday evening, when another candidate will be removed from the contest. 8.32pm Braverman backs Truss James Forsyth writes… Suella

Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi are out of the leadership contest after failing to get 30 votes from Tory MPs on Wednesday. Six candidates are now left in the race: Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman. Another round of voting takes place tomorrow, with the candidate with the fewest votes knocked out of the contest. Follow the latest updates from the race here: 9.50pm – Hunt backs Sunak James Forsyth writes… Jeremy Hunt, who was eliminated from the Tory leadership race earlier today, has announced that he is backing Rishi Sunak. Several candidates might have hoped for the former Foreign Secretary’s backing. Mordaunt supported him in 2019, introducing

Michael Gove has been sacked from the cabinet, as Boris Johnson attempts to reassert control after today’s 41 ministerial resignations. The Levelling-Up secretary had urged the Prime Minister to quit, a message later reinforced by a delegation of cabinet ministers who gathered in Downing Street earlier this evening. Nadhim Zahawi, the newly-appointed Chancellor, Michelle Donelan, the newly-appointed Education Secretary, Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, and Simon Hart, the Welsh Secretary, who has since resigned, are among those who told the PM to go. But Johnson has refused to do so and is now willing to risk a confidence vote which may come on Tuesday.  Follow the latest developments on Thursday’s

Brand Boris is in trouble. It wasn’t long ago that Boris Johnson could do no wrong, having won his party a thumping majority at the last election. Even when some mishap played out in public – like being stranded on a zip wire or falling in a stream – the public still seemed to love this irrepressible japester. Now Brits are more likely to boo than cheer him. Despite winning a Tory vote of confidence this week, he looks like a bruised and battered boxer who’s just struggled to a narrow points victory. Is there any way for him to rebuild his brand? The advertising industry has involved itself successfully

Something strange is happening in Russia. Protest is banned, referring to ‘a war’ is punishable by up to 15 years in jail – but there are increasing signs of pushback. At least 12 military conscription offices appear to have been vandalised – some set on fire – since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. That’s according to the Ukrainian army, so we might take that with a pinch of salt. But there has been enough corroboration of this on Telegram (one of the few social media firms not blocked by the Kremlin) to take this seriously. A look around Telegram shows buildings with varying degrees of damage, some having clearly

The Libyan Civil War of 2011, culminating in the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, was the bloodiest of the uprisings across North Africa forming part of the so-called Arab Spring. Western leaders, including David Cameron, backed the rebel forces for a myriad of reasons, not least in response to the brutality shown by Gaddafi in bombing his own people. But there was also an expectation that a Libya free of Gaddafi would be a more prosperous and peaceful country. The reality has been very different. For a decade now, Libya has been beset by chaos. A chaos that has seen the country riven by regional rivalries, divided by political figures from

White to play. Duda-Anton Guijarro, Charity Cup, March 2022. Black’s last move, 21…Qe7-b4 was an unforced error. Which move did White play to exploit it? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 11 April. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last week’s solution 1 Rd2! e.g. 1…Bxd2 2 Qa7#, 1…Kc5 2 Qd4#, 1…Kc7 2 Qxa5#, 1…Ka6 2 Rd6# Last week’s winner Paul Heaton, Theydon Bois, Essex

The UK magazine industry releases figures today and we’re delighted to announce that The Spectator sold a weekly average of 106,905 copies last year, up 16 per cent on 2020 and — yet again — our best year ever. The Spectator has now almost doubled our sales over a decade where sales of consumer magazines fell by two-thirds. We can also announce: Our ABC certificate, released today, shows a total figure of 112,040 — so that includes those who first sign up on a free trial. But we judge ourselves on full-price sales: up 16 per cent year-on-year as we built on the base readers we recruited in the pandemic.

The ugly spectacle of Boris Johnson’s self-destruction will reach a new climax at the end of this week. Many think that only a miracle can save the great escapologist from the official Partygate inquiry. The Gambler himself is convinced that his determination will crush his enemies and once again he will survive to fight and win his next challenge – the local elections in May. Even Johnson’s closest admirers are baffled how an experienced politician could have orchestrated such an extraordinary succession of self-inflicted wounds. Just what went wrong in Johnson’s life since he won a stunning 80 seat majority just over two years ago? All the qualities which won