Society

Thursday

24 Mar 2016

Can the ‘leave’ campaign convince British farmers that they’d be better off out?

As Nigel Farndale wrote in this magazine in February, leaving the EU would have a dramatic effect on British farmers and the agricultural industry. When it comes to British agriculture, the EU very much sets the rules – with regards to both regulations and funding – so a vote for Brexit would mean change, in a big way. But what makes the EU debate even more interesting when it comes to farming is that the farming minister – George Eustice – has placed himself firmly in the ‘out’ camp. Eustice, after all, was once a Ukip candidate in the European Parliament Elections, and was Campaign Director for the No

Theo Hobson

The Church of England needs to create better headlines for itself

It’s Holy Week, so I wonder if our national Church is in the news at all? Let’s see…There’s a story this week about a long dead bishop called Bell, accused of child sex abuse, to the anger of some. Don’t confuse Bell with Ball, an undisputed episcopal abuser. And don’t confuse Bishop Peter Ball with Bishop Michael Ball, the disgraced Ball’s twin brother – there’s also a story about such confusion. There’s also a simmering story about a recent archbishop, George Carey, allegedly failing to pass on a specific allegation of sexual abuse relating to Peter Ball. So: Bell, two Balls and Carey – that’s pretty much the Anglican news this Easter. Paedophilia has taken over

Melanie McDonagh

Want to stand up to terrorism? Then keep calm and carry on

As I’m sure is the case with many of you, I’ve been giving serious thought to how best to Stand Up To Terrorism, Show The Terrorists They Cannot Win and Maintain Our Values. The Belgian Prime Minister said we should all be doing this, followed in short order by every other European politician apart from Marine Le Pen, who has a different take on the whole thing. Again no doubt in common with everyone else, I’ve been brooding over the German Chancellor’s observation that ‘our strength is in our unity and that is how free societies will prove themselves stronger than terrorism’. Well, apart from colouring in my homemade ‘Je Suis Bruxelloise’ sign – which,

Laura Whitcombe

The bank of grandma and grandad is ring-fencing its cash

Do you trust your grown-up children with money? Apparently a lot of us don’t. More than half of the grandparents who plan to leave an inheritance to their grandchildren ring-fence the money so their own children can’t get their hands on it, according to data from insurer Sun Life. But is it any wonder? British adults have become addicted to debt. The Office for Budget Responsibility has warned we’re on course to spend more than we earn for the rest of the decade. In total, our overspend is expected to be £58 billion this year alone and £68 billion in 2019. We’re plugging the gap between what we earn and

Helen Nugent

Money digest: today’s need-to-know financial news | 24 March 2016

It’s not easy to keep track of household bills. Now new research has revealed that more than a third of people do not know how much it costs to run their home. Householders vastly underestimate the true costs, which are on average £1,505 a month for homeowners and £1,819 a month for tenants. Those surveyed by property website Zoopla believed the monthly costs are just £812 and £1,227 respectively. Victims of online fraud should no longer be refunded by banks if they fail to protect themselves, according to Britain’s most senior police officer. The Times reports that Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said that the public were being ‘rewarded for

The Spectator

The Spectator Podcast: Brussels, Tory wars and Brexit feminists

This podcast is sponsored by Berry Bros, The Spectator’s house red. In this week’s episode of the Spectator Podcast, Isabel Hardman is joined by Douglas Murray and Haras Rafiq, managing director for the Quilliam Foundation, to discuss the Brussels attacks. ‘In the wake of a terrorist attack, everything barely worth saying will be said endlessly. And the only things that are worth saying won’t be said,’ said Douglas, writing for The Spectator after the attacks. So what can be said? And what can be done to stop Isis striking again? In his cover story this week, James Forsyth looks at the Conservative crack-up. No one does political violence quite like the Tories, and

Wednesday

23 Mar 2016

Taki

High life | 23 March 2016

On 17 November 1813, Marshal Ney, the bravest of the brave, had been the last to march out of Smolensk amid harrowing scenes. The hospital wards, the corridors and the stairs were full of the dead and dying. Napoleon had gone into Russia the year before with 500,000 men and was now leaving with fewer than 40,000. Ney had only 6,000 under his command but was determined not to fall into Russian hands. The Russian commander Miloradovich had already failed to capture Prince Eugene, Napo’s son-in-law, and the great Davout, so he set his heart on capturing the 43-year-old son of a barrel-maker from Lorraine. Ney did what he knew

Jeremy Clarke

Low life | 23 March 2016

I shared a taxi from Cheltenham station to the house party in an outlying village with a stripper. Finding a taxi in Cheltenham during the Festival is as difficult as picking a winner in the Bumper, and we were amazed and pleased to have got one so easily. One wouldn’t have guessed that the dark, petite young woman, thickly wrapped against the cold night air, was a stripper, but she was proud enough of her occupation to talk about it on the seven-furlong ride between the station and the ‘gentleman’s club’ where we dropped her. She’d come all the way from Cardiff, she said, to dance in a cage from

Melissa Kite

Real life | 23 March 2016

If you are the sort of person who enjoys tinkering with a classic car prone to myriad mechanical problems then you really should consider taking up thoroughbred horses as a hobby. After weeks of leg bandaging and foot poulticing, I am becoming a basket case. But apparently there are people who enjoy this sort of thing. They prefer tinkering to riding. I presume they haven’t much appetite for speed, and therefore prefer to spend time with their horse while it is stationary in a confined space. About twice a year, perhaps, they manage to get it to go right and so they enjoy a lovely Sunday afternoon out in the

Alexander Chancellor

Long life | 23 March 2016

Apart from the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, I’ve never known what my human rights are supposed to be. Presumably they include the right to go about my daily business without being attacked, insulted or otherwise abused. But there are many grey areas. Are sudden loud noises or disgusting smells violations of my human rights? And what about the deafening mirthless laughter that I have to endure in British pubs? Perhaps my human rights are changing with age. Am I, at 76, entitled to expect an offer of a seat on a crowded Tube train? Is it my right that somebody should help me with my

Susanna Gross

Bridge | 23 March 2016

Bridge players are a superstitious bunch. And I don’t just mean the steps they take to prepare for matches — the lucky socks, the special pens, the insistence on sitting North or South. No, even once the game has begun, many rely on strange sayings and beliefs to help them decide how to play. Different countries have different superstitions. In Russia, for instance, it is said that if ever you’re in doubt about what to lead, a diamond is best. In India, the mantra goes that the queen and nine of a suit are always in the same hand. In Norway, if you want to locate a queen, the golden

The Spectator

Letters | 23 March 2016

PC and abortion Sir: It is heartwarming that Simon Barnes’s son should not suffer the stigma experienced by those with Down’s syndrome in earlier generations (‘In praise of PC’, 19 March). But is it not ironic that in this kinder, more generous and respectful age, over 90 per cent of fetuses diagnosed with Down’s are aborted? Rather than hiding the children away, we now ensure that most of them are not even born. If political correctness had really become sane, surely our kindness, generosity and respect would extend to the womb as well? Matthew Hosier Poole, Dorset Naming conditions Sir: Simon Barnes, makes a couple of assumptions which do not

The Spectator

The jihad continues

On Tuesday morning Belgium was the latest European country to suffer a major terrorist attack. It is a disturbing reminder of the war that has not gone away. After the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, chief suspect over atrocities at the Bataclan centre in Paris last November, Belgian officials warned of the prospect of revenge attacks: perhaps spectacular atrocities, aiming at killing hundreds. They came four days later in Brussels airport and Metro — a demonstration of the jihadis’ ability to act quickly. After such an attack we can expect to be offered a blizzard of explanations, many of them erroneous. One commonly heard claim is that Islamist terrorism is a

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 23 March 2016

Home Iain Duncan Smith resigned as Work and Pensions Secretary two days after the Budget, throwing the government into a fine pickle. In his letter of resignation, he said that new changes to benefits to the disabled were ‘not defensible in the way they were placed within a Budget that benefits higher-earning taxpayers’. With a dig at George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he questioned whether ‘enough has been done to ensure “we are all in this together”.’ In his reply, David Cameron, the Prime Minister, wrote: ‘Today [18 March] we agreed not to proceed with the policies in their current form.’ He was, therefore ‘puzzled and disappointed’. Mr Cameron’s

Toby Young

Why I’d like to be a more dangerous dad

According to figures obtained by BBC Breakfast last week, more than 500 people were arrested in England and Wales in 2014–15 for leaving children unattended. In the majority of cases, the children concerned were aged ten or under, but some parents got into trouble for leaving their 15-year-olds home alone. It’s hard not to conclude that the police are being a bit heavy-handed, trying to take on responsibility for something that properly belongs to parents. As regular readers will know, Caroline and I have four children aged 12 and under and we don’t see eye to eye about this. Her level of anxiety about the various disasters that might befall

Raymond Keene

Tal story

With the proliferation of modern opening theory and advances in knowledge of the game, I wonder sometimes if the kind of coruscating brilliance and originality that Mikhail Tal possessed will ever be seen again. Tal, the ‘Wizard of Riga’, was able to summon up lightning attacks from the most unpromising-looking positions. Last week we saw one of Tal’s sparkling efforts from his Candidates tournament victory of 1959 — a sensational result which propelled him directly to a successful championship challenge against the redoubtable Botvinnik. This week, here is another of Tal’s wins from that qualifying event, one of his clean-sweep quartet that demolished Bobby Fischer. Tal-Fischer: Candidates Tournament Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade

Mary Killen

Dear Mary | 23 March 2016

Q. I was interested in the advice given to the niece who owed £30 (12 March). A more direct option, which I have had to use in the past, is: ‘Have you forgotten about the £50 I loaned you?’ The response I received was, ‘I thought it was £30?’ To which I replied: ‘Oh. You hadn’t forgotten then.’ — V.S., Watford, Herts A. Many thanks for this forthright variant on the earlier solution. Q. I have from time to time had various discussions with my wife over the sleeping arrangements of my children with their girlfriends and boyfriends when they come home. Needless to say we disagree. I am rather

Dot Wordsworth

Butterbump

‘Still I’m called Buttercup —poor little Buttercup,’ sang my husband in an inappropriate and displeasing baritone. Not wishing to encourage him, I simply said: ‘Darling, it’s butterbump.’ A furniture company called Loaf has been advertising ‘butterbump sofas’, supposedly named for their bringing out customers in a cross between goosebumps and butterflies. It doesn’t sound a very agreeable sensation. The sofas in question have buttons deeply indenting the upholstery in a quincunx pattern. I suspect the sofa–marketing department hopes to charm shoppers with the word butterbump, just as some people take pleasure in serendipity and hagrid. But butterbump is no neologism. It exists as an old name for a bittern. Tennyson

Raymond Keene

No. 401

White to play. This is from Karjakin-Nakamura, Fidé Candidates, Moscow 2016. Hikaru -Nakamura has just implemented an ingenious combination to win material, but he has not foreseen White’s counterattack. What has he missed? Answers via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk, by Tuesday 29 March. 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 Rff8 Last week’s winner Peter Musiol, Gateshead

Doc

2253: Your starter for ten

One ‘unclued’ light, as the title suggests, can be paired (on one occasion twice) with each of the other unclued lights, (one of two words), all verifiable in Brewer. Alphabetical order takes priority in the unclued solution at 36A. Across 1 Builders’ aid marketed outside greasy spoon in Gabon (11) 7 Chap who’s affected flashy older people, primarily (3) 13 Parts of heart sometimes rum and Asti pepped up (7) 15 Barlow’s holding Deirdre, finally laments (5) 16 Thinks the duck had returned (5) 17 Sale is arranged for French bundle (6) 18 Angry marauder topped (5) 21 Bird circling round a fenced enclosure (5) 22 Old advice