This leader was originally published in The Spectator on 5 June 1953, following the coronation of Elizabeth II on 2 June. The splendour of the Coronation of Elizabeth II is over. It was a bright symbol, and its light will not fade quickly. Yet if the Queen lives as long as her loyal subjects have hoped, prayed,
‘I’m gay, and according to my right-wing Christian fundamentalist parents I shouldn’t have got here.’
‘There must be a glitch — it gave me some money.’
‘You’ll ruin your eyesight if you keep playing with your selfie.’
‘You’ll not be going to parents’ evening, I presume.’
‘I like the fact they now come in larger sizes.’
‘Thanks for the lesson, Mum, but here’s one I ordered online earlier.’
‘It’s OK, he’s pissed within government guidelines.’
‘Groping or non-groping?’
Suicide and assisted dying Sir: As a mental health practitioner, I am grateful to Douglas Murray (‘Death watch’, 29 August) for his incisive commentary on the impact of legalised euthanasia on people with psychiatric conditions. Supporters of assisted dying argue that a permissive act would be tightly framed, but the scope would inevitably widen, as has
Peers’ peers Forty-five new peers were created. Are we alone in having an upper house of parliament made up of appointed cronies? FRANCE Senate has 348 members elected for six-year terms by 150,000 state officials known as ‘grandes electeurs’. GERMANY Bundesrat is made up of 69 members delegated by governments of individual states. ITALY Senate composed
That the Queen has lived to become our longest-reigning monarch — a milestone which she will mark quietly with a lunch next Wednesday — is in itself a sign of the golden age of prosperity which has been the second Elizabethan age. Over the 63 years of her reign, life expectancy for women has increased
Home The Government decided after all to retain the rules preventing ministers and their departments from publishing campaign material, ‘with some exceptions’, in the month before the referendum on membership of the European Union. The Electoral Commission said the planned wording for the referendum, ‘Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?’
From ‘War bonuses’, The Spectator, 4 September 1915: War means a demand for human muscle… At the moment the brain-worker is at a discount. The demand for lawyers, for writers, for musicians, for painters has declined. The only brain-workers who are much wanted are the comparatively small number of people necessary to direct industrial and war
‘Can you remember what we used to do in bed before Netflix?’
‘It’s those damned low-energy light bulbs.’
