The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 25 July 2019

Home Boris Johnson became Prime Minister after being elected the leader of the Conservative party by its members, with 92,153 votes to Jeremy Hunt’s 46,656 and a turnout of 87.4 per cent. Philip Hammond got his resignation as chancellor of the exchequer in before he could be sacked, as did David Gauke as justice secretary

Boris begins

It’s hard to think of a prime minister who has reached No. 10 with lower expectations. Boris Johnson has been dismissed as a philandering clown, a joker calamitously miscast as prime minister in a moment of national crisis. Obloquy has been hurled at him every time he has taken a new job — from mayor

to 2415: The Limit

The word was ‘pale’, suggested by PEELIE-WALLY (1A) and the title, which, with changes to its FIRST VOWEL (7D/33), becomes ‘Pele’ (suggested by VOLCANO GODDESS (22/27)), ‘pile’ (LOADSAMONEY (41)), ‘pole’ (STANG (31)) and ‘pule’ (WHINE (10)). PALE (in the ninth column) was to be shaded. A first prize of £30 for the first correct solution

Full text: PM Boris’s first speech in the Commons

Mr Speaker, I with permission, shall make a statement on the mission of this new Conservative Government. But before I begin, I am sure the whole House will join me in paying tribute to my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Maidenhead – for all that she has given in the service of our nation. From

Winemaker Lunches – 2019 dates

Join us in the boardroom at 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP for the following Spectator Winemaker Lunches where a delicious, cold four-course lunch provided by Forman & Field will be served; arrive at 12.30pm for a 1pm start. To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Friday 6 September: Journey’s End  Since the Shropshire-based Gabb

Winemaker’s Lunch with Château de Pommard – Friday 11 October

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 11 October for the next in our series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Château de Pommard. Château de Pommard – founded in 1726 in the heart of the Côte d’Or and now owned by the Carabello-Baum family – is the largest private Clos in Burgundy.

Winemaker’s Lunch with Glenelly Estate – Friday 25 October

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 25 October for the next in our series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Glenelly Estate. Glenelly Estate in Stellenbosch is an outstanding winery, founded by May-Eliane de Lencquesaing (former owner of Château Pichon-Lalande) in 2003. Export director, Nicolas Bureau (Mme de Lencquesaing’s grandson) will take

Winemaker Lunches with Joseph Phelps Vineyards – Friday 8 November

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 8 November for the next in our series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Joseph Phelps Vineyards. Joseph Phelps is a name to conjure with in California and under the expert tutelage of export director, Robert Baxter, we will enjoy the winery’s Freestone Chardonnay, Napa Valley

Winemaker Lunches with Domaine Léon Beyer – Friday 15 November

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 15 November for the next in our series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Domaine Léon Beyer. The gregarious patron, Marc Beyer, a titan of Alsace winemaking, is coming to London specially to host this lunch, bringing with him a fine selection of the Beyer family’s world

Beermaker’s Lunch with Timothy Taylor’s Brewery – Friday 29 November

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 29 November for the next in our series of Spectator Beermaker Lunches with Timothy Taylor’s Brewery. Timothy Taylor is one of the UK’s most celebrated brewers, founded in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in 1858 and still family owned. Best known for its Landlord Pale Ale (four

Winemaker’s Lunch with Domaine of the Bee – Friday 6 December

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 6 December for the next in our series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Domaine of the Bee. Domaine of the Bee is a boutique wine estate in Languedoc-Roussillon (‘a tiny producer of enormous reds’) founded by Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, former wine buyer for Waitrose, his

Winemaker’s Lunch with Bodegas Artadi – Friday 27 September

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 27 September for the next in our series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Bodegas Artadi. Bodegas Artadi dates from 1981 when Juan Carlos López de Lacalle, his family and 13 other growers founded the estate in Alava in the heart of Spain’s Basque country. Today,

A way with words

From ‘Low talk’ by John Daniel, 19 July 1963: Everybody has heard of Dr Johnson’s dictionary, which is now not much more than a curiosity piece, while few know Grose’s dictionary, which provides a unique anthology of 18th-century underworld slang… He collected words he remembered from his reading and his night-time excursions about Drury Lane

Sherry, Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent! – Friday 13 September

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 13 September for the next in our series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches. Ben Howkins is one of the world’s leading authorities on sherry. To mark the publication of his book, Sherry, Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent! (published by the Steven Spurrier-led Académie du Vin Library), Ben will introduce us

Winemaker’s Lunch with Journey’s End – Friday 6 September

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 6 September for the next in our series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Journey’s End. Since the Shropshire-based Gabb family took over Journey’s End in 1995, the estate has grown greatly in both size and reputation. The warm days/cool nights of the coastal Schapenberg Hills

The Spectator Wine School 2019

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. We are delighted to announce that the Spectator Wine School’s eight week autumn term will start at 6.30pm on Wednesday 25 September in our boardroom at 22 Old Queen Street. Drawing on the unrivalled expertise of our merchant partners (namely Corney & Barrow, FromVineyardsDirect, Mr Wheeler, Private Cellar and Yapp Bros)

Boris Johnson forms his government

Sajid Javid is Chancellor, Priti Patel is Home Secretary, Dominic Raab is both Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State Michael Gove becomes Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, his fifth Cabinet job. Matt Hancock remains Health Secretary and Gavin Williamson is Education Secretary. Amber Rudd remains Work and Pension Secretary and Geoffrey Cox stays