Society

At a dinner on Tuesday 26th September at the Spectator’s offices, sponsored by Philips, entrepreneurs, doctors and healthcare experts discussed how new technology could ease pressure on the NHS – and whether the health service was equipped to take advantage of it. Guests included: Naushard Jabir, founder and CEO of Vida, Paul Bate, Director of NHS Services at Babylon, Professor Simon Wessely, President of the Royal Society of Medicine, Helen Whately MP, Dr Claire Novorol, chief medical officer at Ada, Neil Mesher, CEO of Philips UK and Ireland, Sola Adeleke of Aurora Medical Innovation, Nicholas Timmins, senior fellow at the King’s Fund and Dr Jakobsen, chief scientific officer of Immunocore

Oh, the glorious hypocrisy of it all – the dozens of actresses, UN goodwill ambassadors among them, who have come forward to make accusations against Harvey Weinstein – and yet whom said not a word between them when they were on the make and he was in a position to help them with their careers. I should say that if you are important and mature enough to serve as a UN ambassador you ought to be brave enough to report wrongdoing that is going on beneath your nose – and not wait until there is a bandwagon on which to leap. Worse, it turns out that in 2009 some of

The Spectator is hiring. We’re looking for our first full-time social media editor, but one with a difference. We are looking for someone who understands The Spectator’s voice and can present our articles on Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. The social media editor’s responsibilities will include: Developing The Spectator’s social media strategy. Projecting The Spectator’s voice on all forms of social media. Promoting subscriptions via social media, while liaising with the marketing team. Producing web analytics. The successful candidate will work full time in our London office and report to the online editor. They will be expected to edit and maintain The Spectator’s social media channels to the standard readers expect from the magazine. There

It’s the first rule of journalism to always protect one’s sources. Alas this rule does not appear to apply to politicians. This morning on Peston on Sunday, Nicky Morgan ended up revealing much more than she intended when she tried to come to the defence of the beleaguered Chancellor. Addressing recent calls from within the party for Philip Hammond to be shown the door, the former education secretary said she had been contacted by a ‘very senior Cabinet minister’ who was ‘appalled’ at those behind such manoeuvres. So, who could this ‘very senior Cabinet minister’ be? Morgan appeared to give a rather big clue when she referred to her source

During a riveting session at the Cheltenham Literary Festival with sporting brainboxes Mike Brearley and Matthew Syed, discussion touched on the Ringelmann effect. This is the tendency for members of a group to perform less well together than individually. Old Ringelmann observed it in tug-of-war in the early 20th century. On their own the athletes pulled a big weight. In a team they grunted, grimaced but didn’t pull so much. They were skiving; sheltering behind teammates. You can bet Ringelmann would be rubbing his hands over the state of the England football team. After a seemingly interminable World Cup qualifying campaign full of the dreariest football imaginable, England flopped across

The latest competition called for limericks describing a feat worthy of inclusion in Guinness World Records. This assignment was a nod to my nine-year-old son, who is a big fan of astonishing facts. Every year, when he gets his mitts on the latest Guinness World Records, he follows me around the house bombarding me with them. To the records I’ve recently expressed amazement at — most people in a camper van; most basketball slam dunks in a minute by a rabbit; tallest ever domestic cat — you added the feats below, winningly celebrated in limerick form. Each one printed earns its author £9. Honourable mentions go to Clare Sandy, Jeffrey

Yesterday, Ross Clark argued over on Coffee House that the government’s Clean Growth Strategy – that is, a promise to insulate a million of the leakiest homes with the aid of £3.6 billion raised through the Energy Company Obligation (aka, a levy on all energy customers’ bills) – was a dubious government target. The strategy, while well-meaning in theory, is never going to work, he argues. Many would argue that another government strategy – that is, the push to install smart meters in our homes – is similarly dubious. Having said that, it’s all very well offering the new technology to people (though there have been reports of energy companies ‘bullying’

Donald Trump’s approval ratings have dropped in every single state. He has failed to repeal Obamacare, build a wall or move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Trump has also lost his chief strategist, chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, four communications aides, three security advisers, an FBI director, a US attorney, a cabinet secretary, and his ethics director. After the torch-lit rally in Charlottesville, he managed to stick up for white nationalists, distance himself from them, and stick up for them again in the space of 48 hours. So what all-conquering, gravity-defying, poll-shifting political machine could possibly get this president re-elected? Step forward, the Democrats. The New York

Almost two and a half years ago, feminists called on Transport for London to remove adverts of a scantily-clad Australian from the tube. Protests against the infamous ‘beach body ready’ adverts claimed that showcasing a woman in a bikini to peddle weight-loss pills was offensive to women. Apparently the sight of a skinny woman was upsetting to all of us non-skinny women. And, after pressure from London Mayor Sadiq Khan in 2016, TfL promised to ban all adverts which didn’t adhere to the notion of ‘body positivity’. Not all women were happy about the ban. Back then, I, and other commentators, warned that giving TfL the power to decide which

White to play. This position is from the above game, Praggnanandhaa-Howell, chess.com Masters. What is the accurate move White needed to play here? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 17 October or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. 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 Rxa3 Last week’s winner Gerry Devenney, Edinburgh