Gnomes
‘How was it then?’
The Spectator
Thursday
Brown
Foxes
‘These urban foxes are getting out of hand.’
Barometer | 23 May 2013
Gnome territory This year only, garden gnomes are allowed at the Chelsea Flower Show. Some other places to see them: Germany. The home of the gnome, where the first batch were manufactured in 1841, has an estimated 25 million. European Gnome Sanctuary, Barga, Italy. A town whose parks and gardens have become a dumping ground
Letters | 23 May 2013
Stay Conservative Sir: Dr John Hyder-Wilson wrote (Letters, 11 May) of my calls to ‘shift Tory party policy rightward’ to meet a threat from Ukip, which he felt was inconsistent as he could not remember me advocating a leftward shift in response to a threat from the SDP/Alliance in the early 1980s. Of course he
Good on you, Google – in praise of tax avoiders
Anyone who googled ‘tax avoidance’ this week will have been confronted (between adverts for accountancy firms) with endless stories about Google’s own tax avoidance schemes. If the company’s reputational management team was striving to stem the flood of bad publicity, it was not succeeding. Salvation for -Google arrived only when Apple’s tax avoidance became the
Portrait of the week | 23 May 2013
Home A senior figure in the Conservative party with strong social connections to David Cameron, the Prime Minister, was reported by the Telegraph and Times to have said that Conservative constituency associations ‘are all mad swivel-eyed loons’. Lord Feldman, the party’s co-chairman, said it was not he. Mr Cameron sent an email to party activists
Books and Arts – 23 May 2013
David Cameron’s statement on the Woolwich attack
What happened yesterday in Woolwich has sickened us all. On our televisions last night, and in our newspapers this morning, we have all seen images that are deeply shocking. The people who did this were trying to divide us. They should know something like this will only bring us together and make us stronger. Today
Wednesday
‘Soldier beheaded’ in Woolwich, south London – live reaction
Summary: A British solider has been reported to have been beheaded on the streets of Woolwich, south east London by two men at 2:20pm afternoon. The BBC is reporting the murder may have been filmed over cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ . ITV has released footage of a man carrying a bloodied knife saying ‘remove your governments – they don’t
Tuesday
Same Sex Marriage Bill: how MPs voted
This is the full Hansard of list of how MPs voted on tonight’s third reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill. It was a free vote, and the Bill passed 366 to 161. AYES Abbott, Ms Diane Abrahams, Debbie Alexander, rh Danny Alexander, rh Mr Douglas Alexander, Heidi Ali, Rushanara Allen, Mr Graham Andrew, Stuart
Friday
EU shopping list tips from Ben Goldsmith, Bill Cash, Nancy Dell’Olio and Matthew Elliott
Ben Goldsmith, Partner at WHEB Partners and signatory to Business for Britain In the private sector, every business must provide regular and accurate accounts. Yet when you try to look into the European Union’s income and expenditure there is just obscurity, masking a black hole of inefficiency and waste. The EU’s finances are a mess –
Thursday
News
‘I hate 24-hour news.’
Tunnel 3
Shopping
‘Mum moved into the village and there are already problems: she’s too busy to babysit.’
Eurovision
‘I demand a yes/no referendum.’
Ukip 3
‘I know it’s unhealthy, but I just can’t give up voting Ukip.’
Lions
‘We’re not “in the jungle, the mighty jungle” and we’re not “sleeping tonight”, so please stop singing that song.’
Flies
‘Flies?’
Vampire
‘You can tell your friends at Ukip that this has nothing to do with him coming from Eastern Europe.’