Power of assembly Nigel Farage claimed he would put together the biggest political rally in British history to launch Reform UK’s local election manifesto in March. How many people will have to assemble to fulfil his promise? – The Chartists claimed to put together a crowd of 500,000 when presenting a petition demanding electoral reform
Chocks away Rachel Reeves backed a third runway for Heathrow, reigniting a debate which has been going on for years. Yet Heathrow, when originally laid out in 1946, had six runways varying in length between 5,300 and 9,200ft: three pairs of parallel runways running east to west, north-west to south-east and north-east to south-west. As aircraft
Gig economy Donald Trump had the Village People perform at a concert prior to his inauguration. Who topped the bill at previous presidential inaugurations, either on the day or at accompanying concerts? – Joe Biden (2021): Lady Gaga – Donald Trump (2017): Kid Rock – Barack Obama (2013): Beyoncé – Barack Obama (2009): Aretha Franklin
Swing states Where would Canada and Greenland rank if they became US states? – Canada would be, by far, the largest state. In fact, at 3,855,100 square miles it is marginally larger than the current US (3,796,742 square miles). – It would also be the largest state by population, with 41.5m inhabitants, putting it ahead
Social networking Wes Streeting suggested that Elon Musk requires a ‘social media detox’ after the Prime Minister entered into a spat on X with the owner of the platform. What about Keir Starmer’s own social media use? – Starmer’s X profile claims he is following 410 users, yet only 69 of them are visible. They
Finishing touches A reminder of the campaigns trying to persuade us to give stuff up for January: – Veganuary: crowdfunded campaign set up in 2014 by a UK-based charity to persuade us to give up meat for a month. Claimed 500,000 supporters in 2021, although there is no data on how many people kept up
Root cause As in every year since 1947, a spruce tree given by the people of Oslo adorns Trafalgar Square. Yet the tradition actually began in 1942 in the middle of the second world war when a Norwegian commando and resistance fighter, Mons Urangsvag, conducted a raid on the island of Hisoy, off Bergen. He
Volt-face Luton’s Vauxhall plant is to close, partly because of the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate which obliges manufacturers to sell increasing proportions of electric vehicles. Remarkably, the history of the electric car can be traced back half a century earlier than the combustion engine. There are several possible claims as to who built the
Sign of the times A petition for an immediate general election gathered 2.7 million signatures in five days. What are the other most popular petitions on the UK parliament website this week? — Introduce 16 as the minimum age to have social media (112,500 signed). — Don’t change inheritance tax relief for working farms (85,600).
The last straw Farmers are threatening to strike over the government’s changes to inheritance tax in what is being described as a first in Britain. Besides France, where farmers regularly protest, India witnessed a farmers’ strike in 2020, which was eventually settled after the government dropped proposed new laws. But one of the earliest farmers’
Arch rivals Justin Welby served longer as Archbishop of Canterbury than any of his four immediate predecessors, but others have served far longer. The longest since the Reformation was Randall Davidson, who held the position between 1903 and 1928, when he retired aged 80 – becoming the first not to die in post. Before the
Working people Government ministers may have had trouble defining what was meant by ‘working people’ in the Labour manifesto, but where did the idea of classifying people who earn their living as a distinct group come from? – According to the OED,the term ‘working class’ has been traced back to the 1757 edition of the
Back to the White House If Donald Trump wins on 6 November, he will be the first US President to serve two separated terms since Grover Cleveland, who was president between 1885-89 and 1893-97. Cleveland actually won a higher share of the popular vote in the 1888 election, but lost to Benjamin Harrison in the
Still afloat Transport Secretary Louise Haigh nearly lost Britain an investment in an expansion of London Gateway docks by calling P&O a ‘rogue operator’ and imploring us all to boycott its ferries. The company, owned by DP World since 2006, was once considered by the UK government to be the most trustworthy shipping line around.
Farewell, Chagos The government announced that it would hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. There are 13 other British Overseas Territories, only ten of which have a permanent population. The most populated are: Cayman Islands 78,554 Bermuda 62,506 Turks and Caicos 38,191 Gibraltar 33,701 British Virgin Islands 31,758 – Pitcairn Island is the
What the heckler No party conference would be complete without a heckler or two, but where did the term come from? A heckle was originally a tool for combing flax or hemp, and a heckler someone who worked with such a device. The term was first applied to politics in the 1820s when the notoriously
The first nimby Who coined the term ‘nimby’? — The expression, from ‘Not In My Backyard’, entered the political sphere in Britain in 1989 when it was used by the then environment secretary Nicholas Ridley to describe people who were in favour of house-building in general, just not near where they lived. He was later
Media interest This week The Spectator was acquired by Old Queen Street Media for £100 million, around five times its annual turnover. How does that compare with other media valuations (also as a multiple of revenue)? Date / Title / Valuation Aug 2010 / Newsweek / 0.000000006 Feb 2011 / Huffington Post / 10.0 Aug
The art of politics Keir Starmer moved a portrait of Lady Thatcher from one room at 10 Downing Street to another because he found it ‘unsettling’. Some more possibly unsettling artworks that have hung at No. 10: — ‘More Passion’, by Tracey Emin, featuring the words ‘More Passion’ in neon, was installed by David Cameron
Gold standard The Paralympics were instigated in 1948 and first held alongside the Olympics in Rome in 1960. But disabled athletes were competing in the Olympics long before that – notably George Eyser, a German who settled in St Louis, USA. That he had lost a leg after being run over by a train and
