Society

Wednesday

Petroc Trelawny

The arts world wants Labour

A pang of melancholy as I detach the Royal Albert Hall pass from my BBC lanyard. I had a similar feeling late on Saturday night as I watched our team of engineers start to take down the hundreds of microphones that have enabled us to broadcast the Proms live each night on Radio 3. It has been a remarkable two months of music-making. The last season was curtailed by the death of the Queen; Covid infected the mood and scale of the 2020 and 2021 festivals. This time around, from my eyrie in the radio commentary box at the back of the side stalls, or the television studio high up

Douglas Murray

How to buy influence in Britain

Like all hacks, I sometimes wonder whether I should just screw my self-esteem, do a Jonathan Freedland and start writing trashy novels for cash. As I fill the pages with every cliché, I can at least console myself by thinking of the wonderful piles of lucre about to come my way. It is very sensible of China to gather information on those who might be critical of it Were I to make this career change, my first ‘shocker’ would involve a Chinese spy called Fang Fang. She would be a sexy, enormously seductive femme fatale. As she works her way through the American political scene, she would entrap male members

Charlie Taylor

Our prisons are in crisis

Just as the drama of the escape and recapture of Daniel Khalife settled down, HMP Wandsworth returned to more routine problems. On Sunday, another prisoner was hospitalised, having been stabbed by a fellow inmate. Quality of staff is critical. The best officers have an intuitive sense that something is going on This sort of violence is all too common, especially in the overcrowded Victorian local prisons that hold often volatile remand prisoners. In the past year there have been 1,878 serious assaults on prisoners, an increase of 32 per cent on the previous 12 months. The cause is usually a score being settled between gangs or the failure to pay

The Spectator

How hot could Britain get?

Get out of jail There were 8 prison escapes in the year to March. All were recaptured within a month. – Some 63 prisoners absconded, which is when a prisoner escapes without having to overcome a physical barrier: this is only possible in open prisons. – A total of 71 had their escape made for them after they were accidentally released.– Fortunately, the last escape from a Category A prison was in 2013. Source: Ministry of Justice Catching heat A century-old heat record for September was nearly beaten last weekend. Here are other records for the warmest ever day in a particular month that might soon be broken: Date and Temp

The Spectator

Letters: The strange death of fried bread

No compromise Sir: Kate Andrews is quite right to identify ‘short-termism’ as the cause of so many of our national failings (‘Raac and ruin’, 9 September). It is a systemic problem rather than a human one, requiring constitutional reform to put right. Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer and their colleagues are, like the rest of us, far from perfect but they operate within a system which makes long-term thinking and compromise (other than with the extreme wings of their parties) almost impossible. Following the next general election, the victors will celebrate on the steps of No. 10, but it will inevitably end in tears. The British people deserve better. Roger Burgess

Kristina Murkett

The worrying decline of the male teacher

Teacher recruitment levels are in crisis, and have been for some time. Only half the number of secondary teachers needed for this academic year have actually been recruited, according to figures obtained by the National Education Union (NEU) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT). Teacher vacancies have doubled since the start of the pandemic, while one in five teachers who qualified in 2020 have already quit; even the previously reliable juggernaut Teach First has been branded ‘inadequate’ over its ability to recruit by the Department for Education. What’s more, the shortage of male teachers has led to a worrying gender imbalance. Yet despite these worrying figures, politicians – and the public – seem

Susanna Gross

Bridge | 16 September 2023

I’m hugely ignorant when it comes to history – and just about everything else, except for bridge – but I do know a little about the Spanish-American war. Why? Because one of its most dramatic episodes, the sinking of the cargo ship Merrimac, has lent its name to a bridge coup. Early in 1898, the US navy hatched a plan to rig the Merrimac with explosives, sail it into the narrow channel leading into Santiago harbour, then blow it up, thereby blocking the Spanish fleet within the harbour. It was basically a suicide mission, so the skeleton crew of just eight men were volunteers. It didn’t go to plan: the

Melissa Kite

Our favourite beach has been destroyed

‘Ukraine Family – Welcome You,’ said the ungrammatical sign at the entrance to the car park of our favourite West Sussex beach. The rest of the beach was like a bomb had hit. Mounds of shingle had risen up like statues of mythical creatures We had arrived for a sentimental visit that might be our last here if the house sale goes through. But Climping was unrecognisable. Oh, there was the sea, milky blue and churning, beneath a deep blue sky. A few windsurfers bobbing. And there was the vast expanse of sand, dotted with beachcombers, the tide way out. But the rest of it was like a bomb had

Taki

New York has cancelled Mozart

Gstaad This is the best news since the Bush-Blair duo saved us from the nuclear holocaust Saddam was about to unleash upon us. Half a Unwanted electric cars pile up everywhere but the government has gone as deaf as Beethoven million, perhaps even one million dead Iraqis later, we were nevertheless saved with minutes to spare, so we should always believe official sources. Especially when Uncle Sam is involved. This time the good news is not nuclear but musical. The Mostly Mozart Festival has been cancelled by New York’s Lincoln Center after 60-odd years because of rising disdain for ‘elitism and exclusivity’. Instead we have the Criminal Queerness Festival, a

Jawad Iqbal

The trouble with Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, would have people believe she is made in the mould of Barbara Castle, the radical Labour minister, now seen as one of the most significant women politicians of the 20th century. When Rayner was challenged on the BBC’s Today programme that she was more often viewed as a deputy leader like John Prescott, lacking any real power, she dismissed the comparison, replying: ‘I think I’m more of a Barbara Castle.’ This claim comes across as historically and politically illiterate, and a touch cringeworthy. At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, Rayner has a way to go before she can be spoken of in the

Tuesday

Annabel Denham

The problem with the ‘right to strike’

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has vowed to report the government to the UN workers’ rights watchdog over its controversial strikes bill, but how seriously can we take this threat? The TUC’s leader, Paul Nowak, certainly sounds like a man on a mission: earlier this year, Nowak claimed the legislation was ‘almost certainly illegal’, a curious assertion given it was going through parliament at the time. Now that the bill has received royal assent, it appears the TUC is doubling down on its war on the strikes bill. Yet it’s hard not to see the TUC’s complaint as anything other than a stunt designed to further denigrate the Tories who, to the

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Will Rishi axe the pensions triple lock?

Will the pensions triple lock survive the election? That’s the question being asked in Westminster after Rishi Sunak refused to commit to keeping it in the next Conservative manifesto. In a press huddle with hacks on his trip back from India, the Prime Minister said: ‘I’m not going to get into our manifesto now but the triple lock has been a long-standing policy for us.’ Sunak will argue that voters ought not to listen to politicians offering easy solutions This could be read two ways. The first is that the PM simply doesn’t want to get into the game of confirming manifesto commitments as doing so will invite further questions

Matthew Lynn

Why is the EU forcing Apple to change its charger?

When the iPhone 15 is unveiled later today it will no doubt come with an array of flashy tweaks and upgrades. It may be slightly lighter, the camera might be better, and it could even have a slightly better battery life. But the really big change will be something mundane: its charging port. The European Union has forced Apple to adopt the same USB-C charger that is standard on Android and many other devices. New EU rules require all phones sold after autumn 2024 to use this connector for their charging ports. As a result, Apple has reluctantly decided to bin its lightning charger after 11 years and make the

David Shipley

Don’t condemn McDonald’s for giving prisoners a day job

In the aftermath of Daniel Khalife’s escape and recapture, prisons are in the headlines. Even the most commonplace events, like a prison stabbing, are being widely reported. So, too, is the revelation that ‘prisoners are working in McDonald’s’: that was the gist of an article in the Daily Mail which revealed that a female prisoner was flipping burger and serving customers. But rather than condemn this initiative, we should praise McDonald’s for taking on inmates and giving them another chance. The female McDonald’s worker, who returned to Askham Grange in Yorkshire after her shift, is far from alone in being let out for the day: approximately 100,000 Releases on Temporary

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

The Colombian cartels are coming to Europe

In May this year 87,000 asylum applications were lodged with the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). This was a 24 per cent increase on the number of claims made in May 2022.   Syrians, Afghans, Ivorians and Guineans were heavily represented among those making claims, but there was also a remarkable number of South Americans. Over 7,000 Venezuelans asylum seekers arrived in Europe this May, along with 2,500 Peruvians and 6,900 Colombians. In the case of Colombians, this is a 90 per cent increase on 2022. Most filed their asylum claims in Spain, and according to the EUAA, nearly all were first-time applicants.   Colombia has been beset by conflict for

Monday

Philip Patrick Philip Patrick

Was Luis Rubiales’ resignation really necessary?

Luis Rubiales, the embattled Spanish football chief, has bowed to the seemingly inevitable and resigned from both his positions as president of the Spanish football federation and UEFA vice president. He made the announcement during an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV and then confirmed his decision in a subsequent statement for the press. Rubiales had been suspended for 90 days by Fifa following the now infamous kiss with Spanish captain Jenni Hermoso (which he says was consensual and she says wasn’t) at the medal ceremony after his country’s triumph in the Women’s World Cup final last month. ‘I cannot continue my work,’ he told Morgan, adding that ‘insisting on waiting and holding on is not going

Julia Lewis

The Birmingham attack shows why Bully XLs must be banned

Three people including an 11-year-old girl have been mauled by an American Bully XL dog in Birmingham. The video showing the attack, which took place on Saturday is horrific: the child is bitten as she lays helplessly on the ground. The dog then turns on two men who intervene, dragging one to the ground before going for his head and neck. It was a miracle no one was killed. For too long, the government – which has the power to ban these violent and horrible dogs – has sat on its hands. Now, though, it might finally be waking up to the threat. Suella Braverman is seeking ‘urgent advice’ on

Andrew Tettenborn

Don’t fine drivers for doing 31mph in a 30mph zone

Drivers could soon be prosecuted for travelling 1 mph over the speed limit, at least if some MPs get their way. The all-party parliamentary group on walking and cycling (APPGWC) also proposes stiffer penalties for drivers of heavy cars like SUVs involved in accidents, and an invariable requirement for a fresh driving test for anyone disqualified. However well they may go down among a certain class of activist, it’s not difficult to see that these are all fairly terrible ideas.  First, speed limits. Current informal guidance from police chiefs, pretty widely observed in England (though not in Scotland) is ’10 per cent plus 2′: in other words, ignore speeds up

Sunday

Philip Patrick Philip Patrick

Does Japan not care about Kitagawa’s abuse?

The niece of Jonny Kitagawa, founder of the Japanese talent agency Jonny & Associates, stepped down this week from her role as president, acknowledging the decades long sexual abuse of the company’s young clients by its founder (who died in 1999). In a typically Japanese scene of corporate self-abasement, Julie Keiko Fujishima apologised to the victims and pledged to dedicate the rest of her life to addressing the issue. It was a bravura performance but one that has been met with deep cynicism, at least from some in Japan. Jonny Kitagawa was the godfather of J-Pop, an immensely powerful figure exercising dominion over the lives of his stable of young, often very young, male starlets (known in Japan as ‘talents’ or ‘idols’). Kitagawa would

Saturday

Eliot Wilson

Britain’s shrinking army faces an uncertain future

Old soldiers never die, the song goes, they just fade away. Next year, General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff and the professional head of the British Army, will step down after less than two years in post. He is 57, and will have served for 40 years. But he is not fading away; rather he leaves under a muted storm, having clashed with the Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, and after vainly resisting cuts to the size of the Army. Under current plans, our land forces will shrink to 73,500 by 2025. We have not fielded so few soldiers since 1799. It is