Special Offa A regulation passed by the Welsh government to prevent people travelling from Covid hotspots in England has brought comparisons to Offa’s Dyke. — There is no firm evidence that the dyke, which takes its name from the king of Mercia between ad 727 and 796, even stretched along the entire English-Welsh border. Moreover,
State of the Union Sir: Writing in a week that an opinion poll shows 58 per cent support for independence in Scotland, it seems bizarre for Professor Tombs to claim that commentators are ignoring ‘the death throes of separatism’ (‘Out together’, 17 October). He argues that nationalist supporters rely on the Brexit and Covid-19 crises
At the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis it was easy to see why the Prime Minister was so keen to be seen to ‘follow the science’. He had a pandemic plan, designed by past governments, to be guided by the medical facts and expert judgment. There was to be no role for politics. He held
The unclued lights take an extra letter to make BRAMBLING (1A), BUDGIE (12A), STARLING (14A), REDSTART (23A), BRANCHER (27A), TURACO (34A), STILT (35A) and CHOUGH (38A), which could then meet at a BIRDBATH. First prize Alasdair MacKenzie, Hambledon, HantsRunners-up Judith Cookson, Prestbury, Cheltenham, Glos; Bill Stewart, Leicester
Home ‘The weeks and months ahead will continue to be difficult and will test the mettle of this country,’ Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said in the Commons. In a complicated new system meant to be a simplification, English regions were put into one of three tiers of alert level: 1, medium; 2, high; or
Red light, green light The three tiers of Covid restrictions have been described as a ‘traffic light’ system. — The world’s first traffic light is recorded as having been installed at the Palace of Westminster in 1868 to help MPs and peers enter and leave parliament. Those lights only had red and green phases.— Traffic
Wind worries Sir: You are right to side with the 2013 version of Boris Johnson, when he claimed that wind power could not pull the skin off a rice pudding (‘Boris’s second wind’, 10 October). However, it was wrong to claim that offshore wind at £40 per megawatt hour makes Hinkley Point C, at over
When the Black Lives Matter protests struck London in the same week that Public Health England published a report into the higher death rate from Covid among the black and ethnic minority population, the Prime Minister did not quite know how to react. He did what modern Prime Ministers so often do when presented with
The unclued lights form pairs of famous soloists and the instruments they play; 1A/19, 5/34, 23/8, 31/39, 43/16A. First prize Andrew Herbert, Brooke, NorfolkRunners-up Alexia Dobbs, Tilston, Cheshire; Philip Berridge, Gosberton, Lincs
Boris Johnson has just set out a new three-tier Covid alert system. Much of England will be on ‘medium’ alert, which means measures like the rule of six will be enforced. But those areas including Liverpool will be placed on a ‘very high’ alert, meaning that pubs, bars and betting shops will shut. Here is the full list of
The centrepiece of Boris Johnson’s speech to Tory party conference this year was his Damascene conversion to the merits of wind farms. Some people used to sneer and say wind power wouldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding, he said — referring, of course, to himself, writing in 2013. Now, his post-Covid plan for
Home Coronavirus was on the increase. At the beginning of the week, Sunday 4 October, total deaths (within 28 days of testing positive for the coronavirus) stood at 42,317, of whom 346 had died in the past week, compared with 212 the week before. Between 25 September and 2 October, 15,841 cases of coronavirus were
Vice squad Donald Trump catching Covid-19 has concentrated minds on what happens if a US president dies in office. Normally, the vice-president will take over — which is why it matters who is on the ballot. In 1972, however, Americans had no idea who would end up president by the end of what should have
The poem was The Brook by Alfred Tennyson. The words were HERN (8A), LINGER (20), BRIMMING (32A), FLOW (40), TROUT (44), SLIP (2), SPARKLE (6), SWALLOWS (21), BICKER (32D) and STARS (37). ALFRED TENNYSON (diagonally from 1) was to be shaded. First prize R.A. Percy, Southport, North CarolinaRunners-up Hugh Alpin, London SW19 Rosie Bailey, Swindon
Misplaced Trust Sir: Charles Moore is as ever bang on target (The Spectator’s Notes, 26 September). National Trust members have had a raw deal this year, but so have many loyal staff and volunteers. It should not surprise any visitor to a National Trust property that a very rich person built it and lived there.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s set-piece speech is big billing of the day. With this autumn’s budget overboard and the UK heading into some seriously choppy economic waters, expect the Treasury captain to chart a tight course between Boris Johnson’s levelling up agenda and more massive state spending to bail us out. Those who can’t withhold their
Nothing irks Tory party members like a big new development on their patch, so the interview with Robert Jenrick should be an interesting watch. Let’s hope someone asks him about the growing cladding scandal, covered by The Spectator here. Other sessions to look out for include Priti Patel’s keynote speech — expect more hardline rhetoric on
This year’s party conference won’t be quite the same. Gone is the warm white wine at ugly hotel bars, instead replaced by ministers desperately trying to unmute themselves on Zoom. That being said, Michael Gove’s ‘fireside chat’ will certainly be one to watch, as will Matt Hancock’s talk on the future of the NHS. Here are the
Home More than a quarter of the population of the United Kingdom (three-fifths of the Welsh, a third of the Scots and two-thirds of those in northern England) were put under harsher coronavirus restrictions. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, amid a flurry of local lockdowns, found himself unable to state the coronavirus restrictions suddenly imposed
Word for word US presidential debates are often traced back to the first televised debate, between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960. But they were inspired by a series of seven debates held between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas while contesting an Illinois senatorial seat in 1858. The debates would have stretched a