Bridget
‘Smug widowed!’
The Spectator
Thursday
Letters: Nurses reply to Mary Dejevsky, and Iggy Pop’s sherry habit
Nursing standards Sir: I share Mary Dejevsky’s concern regarding the impact of tired, overworked nurses on the quality of patient care (‘Short shrift for long shifts’, 6 October). However, it is unwarranted to blame nurses for detrimental work cultures when the contributing factors are complex. Nurses generally do not have a choice about the length
George Osborne is blowing bubbles
In opposition, George Osborne said that you cannot borrow your way out of a debt crisis. In government, he has proved it. Since entering No. 11 Downing Street, his strategy has been to talk sternly about austerity while borrowing more than anyone else in Europe. With every budget he has presented, the deadline for balancing
The week: Royal Mail shares; American shutdown; Afghan cricket
Home An issue of shares in Royal Mail was oversubscribed, pushing valuation well above initial forecasts of £3.3 billion. The IMF forecast British growth for 2013 to be 1.4 per cent; its estimate in July had been 0.9 per cent. The Commons Treasury select committee warned the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the government ‘Help
Barometer: How many ghost towns are there in Britain?
Lost property The second-to-last surviving resident of St Kilda — a small archipelago 40 miles off the Outer Hebrides which was abandoned in 1930 — has died. There are more than 4,000 abandoned settlements in Britain: Althorp Medieval village on the Althorp estate, Northamptonshire, removed by the Catesby family in the early 16th century to
Wednesday
Nick Clegg says we’re losing the war on drugs. But is there even a war?
This country is losing the war on drugs, according to Nick Clegg. The Deputy Prime Minister told the BBC’s Free Speech programme that he was frustrated that his Coalition partners were not prepared to be more imaginative on the issue, given clamour from other quarters for a new direction: ‘I don’t think we’re winning the
Tuesday
Melanie McDonagh: This is why our abortion laws are a joke
There’s been much chatter today about Keir Starmer’s declaration that it was right not to prosecute doctors who authorised abortions that were requested because of the gender of the foetus. You won’t read a better piece on the subject than the article by our new regular blogger Melanie McDonagh. She describes the full implications of Mr
Monday
Reshuffle: the full list of jobs | 7 October 2013
In Rob Wilson – PPS to George Osborne Gavin Williamson – PPS to the Prime Minister Judith Jolly – whip in the House of Lords (LD) Anna Soubry – Parliamentary Under Secretary at Ministry of Defence (Con) Tina Stowell- Parliamentary Under Secretary at DCLG (Con) Kris Hopkins – Parliamentary Under Secretary at DCLG (Con) Wayne David – PPS to Miliband
As it happened: Government and shadow cabinet reshuffle
The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats undertook reshuffles today. As it happened, here is how Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and Sebastian Payne reported the day’s events. You can see a list of who’s in and out here. 1839: So in the end three reshuffles that could have toiled on all week are pretty much
Thursday
Pub
‘When you said, “Do you want to come back to my place,” I thought you meant home.’
Jobs
‘Do you come here often?’
Mother
‘It’s your mother’
Bank 4
‘I’m changing my bank.’
Drink 3
‘Can Johnny come out to drink?’
‘It’s amazing having the front window made out of Google Glass.’
Butler
‘Modern technology is making it much too easy for children to access porn these days.’
Bath 2
‘This would have been even more romantic if we didn’t need the home-help to lift us in and out of the bath.’
Corner
‘Success is just around the corner.’