The Spectator

Wednesday

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: No. 10 North, Burnham meets Zelensky and European wildfires  

From our UK edition

Home Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, summoned cabinet ministers for a day at No. 10 North – Heron House in central Manchester, shared with intelligence agencies – which he reached by private jet to Glasgow, where he had an appointment, and another private jet south to Manchester. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine became the first international visitor to Mr Burnham, who told him: ‘You can count on the UK for as long as it takes.’ He decided to speed up the independent review of adult social care being undertaken by Baroness Casey of Blackstock. He said that he wanted schools to offer technical courses to children aged 14 and over.

The Spectator

Burnham is boldly going nowhere

From our UK edition

‘Space: the final frontier.’ Six decades since Captain James T. Kirk first uttered those words, American enthusiasm for star-trekking is stronger than ever. Artemis II’s voyage presages future Nasa trips to the Moon, Mars and beyond; SpaceX’s successful initial public offering and Starship rocket launches confirm continuing enthusiasm for Elon Musk’s interplanetary initiatives. But, on this side of the Atlantic, our ambitions are far less stellar; rather than reach for the heavens, we fiddle with the price of bus tickets. The potential closure of the Jodrell Bank Observatory – home to the UK’s largest telescope for almost 70 years – for lack of funding is a tragedy. Its annual operational cost is £2.

The Spectator

2760: Metalwork – solution

From our UK edition

‘IN THIS WORLD A MAN MUST EITHER BE ANVIL OR HAMMER’ from HYPERION (extra letters from mixtures, marked [B]) by LONGFELLOW. First prize Maddy Coelho, Winchelsea Runners-up Charlotte Blundell, Richmond, Twickenham; Rob Hardcastle, Harrogate, N.

The Spectator

How many people drown in Britain?

From our UK edition

Common ground The Commonwealth Games began as the British Empire Games in 1930, yet they did not originate in Britain. The event was instigated by a Bobby Robinson, a sports reporter on a local newspaper in Hamilton, Ontario, who also acted as manager for the Canadian track and field team at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. The games were held in his home town, Hamilton, and 11 countries participated: Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland (which meant the Irish Free State as well as Northern Ireland), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, British Guiana, Newfoundland and Bermuda. The only women’s events were in swimming.

The Spectator

How to approach women successfully 

From our UK edition

Rights and wrongs Sir: As one of those centre-left weirdos who reads your magazine to see what the other side is thinking, I was surprised by your assertions regarding Britain’s wrong economic turn (‘Labour’s inheritance’, 25 July). There is a reason why Britain’s economy has grown so slowly since 2008 and it is directly related to the financial crisis you mention in the same paragraph – the bailout for which was laid on the taxpayer, resulting in the austerity agenda, both of which significantly dragged on GDP. There was a cross-party faith that the financial system would regulate itself. The same thinking applied to Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy policy on council houses: buy your house and let the market sort the rest.

Tuesday

The Spectator

Livestream: An evening with Rory Sutherland

From our UK edition

Watch the livestream of An evening with Rory Sutherland: The world according to the Wiki Man here. Rory Sutherland – renowned advertising executive and author – is widely regarded as one of the most original and entertaining thinkers of our time. Since launching his Wiki Man column in The Spectator nearly two decades ago, his blend of behavioural psychology, advertising savvy and sharp social observation has made him a favourite with readers worldwide.

Wednesday

The Spectator

Can Burnham end rough sleeping?

From our UK edition

Lost counties Rutland is to be abolished for the second time, having first been taken off the map in 1974 but then reinstated in the mid-1990s. Some other lost counties of England: Middlesex: Abolished in 1965 and subsumed into Greater London. Huntingdonshire: Merged with Peterborough in 1965 and then subsumed into Cambridgeshire in 1974, though it lives on as the name of a district. Soke of Peterborough: Semi-detached part of Northamptonshire with its own county council until merged with Huntingdonshire. Winchcombeshire: Area of what is now Gloucestershire, abolished shortly before the Norman Conquest. Hallamshire: Area centred on Sheffield which was taken into Yorkshire. Hullshire: Became the borough of Kingston upon Hull before becoming Humberside in 1974.

Philip Hancock

Ex-Boxer

From our UK edition

We didn’t smirk at his comb-over. After work he trained the juniors at Holden Lane gym. Always chewing. At the twitch of his shoulder we’d duck forwards, knowing he’d go for our bollocks, twist them. And not just us, always full of it: contracts manager, market inspector, fire officer, no one safe.

The Spectator

Burnham is already drifting towards defeat

From our UK edition

Nothing so became Keir Starmer’s premiership as his leaving of it. Farewell remarks outside Downing Street, unpunctuated by the odious Steve Bray; a brief goodbye in Buckingham Palace, before the King welcomed his fourth new prime minister in four years; then to the pub to drown his sorrows with Rachel Reeves, leaving Andy Burnham and John Healey to pick up the national tab. There is an irony to Healey’s appointment as Chancellor. Burnham blames Margaret Thatcher for so many of the country’s ills but her time in office was devoted to clearing up the dreadful inheritance left by the last Healey at the Treasury: a top rate of income tax at 98 per cent, untamed inflation, union disarray, socialist sclerosis. Rather than take a wrong turn in the 1980s, Britain flourished.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Burnham becomes PM, America strikes Iran and Spain wins World Cup 

From our UK edition

Home The King accepted Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation as Prime Minister and asked Andy Burnham to form an administration. In Downing Street, he made a short speech without notes, saying that his first instruction would be to end rough sleeping. He invited President Donald Trump to Manchester. He also spoke to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Emmanuel Macron of France. He promised a ‘cost of living government’, and removed VAT from domestic energy bills for six months from October, giving an average saving of 86p a week. Bus fares in England would be capped at £2 from 2027. Mr Burnham appointed a cabinet of 12 women and 11 men, gunning for Starmer loyalists.

The Spectator

Letters: Bring back hat wearing

From our UK edition

That’s the spirit Sir: What a wonderful young man Michael Simmons is (‘Sick of it’, 18 July). His stubborn refusal to be held back by disability and illness sets him apart from a generation encouraged to erect mental barriers and create artificial limits. He shows that determination, stoicism and a little bloodymindedness go a long way toward a better life. Our society has improved: we no longer mock disabilities. However, is the kindness culture that discourages growth and aspiration not far crueller in terms of a life well spent? Ewen Melling London Seal their fate Sir: It would be wonderful if Matt Ridley would add the Atlantic salmon to his list of endangered species whose recovery we should be supporting (‘Wild ambitions’, 18 July).

Monday

The Spectator

Livestream: Tim Shipman meets Nick Clegg

From our UK edition

Watch the live recording of Tim Shipman meets Nick Clegg here. With a journalism career spanning nearly three decades, Tim Shipman has broken some of the biggest stories in modern British politics. In our event series, Tim Shipman Meets the Party Leaders, The Spectator’s political editor learns the triumphs and setbacks of party leaders, past and present, as well as reveals the behind-the-scenes stories that you won’t hear anywhere else. In the second instalment of this series, we’re joined by former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. Shipman and Clegg will discuss the decline of the two-party system, the upending of global alliances, his move to Meta and even the opportunities and threats of AI.

Wednesday

The Spectator

How many people get arrested for terrorism?

From our UK edition

Dying of heat Have this year’s heatwaves really killed 2,700 people? The claim has been made in a paper by Imperial College. – The figure was arrived at by taking the temperature recordings and modelling the theoretical number of deaths based on past heatwave events. However, actual data on deaths tells a different story. The UK Health Security Agency, which measures recorded deaths against a five-year average, declares there was ‘no signal of high mortality above the baseline’ for the week ending 31 May, the first heatwave this year. – As for the second heatwave, provisional data shows there were 768 fewer deaths (or 7.4%) than would have been expected from the five-year average. The later figures might yet be revised upwards.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Burnham’s triumph, the IRGC proscribed and babies called Andrew 

From our UK edition

Home Police launched a murder inquiry into the death of Ann Widdecombe, the former MP, aged 78. Her body was found with head wounds at her house on Dartmoor. They arrested a 28-year-old white British man in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Counter-terrorism police took over the investigation two days later and rearrested the suspect on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Police called it a ‘targeted’ attack. She had been a minister in Sir John Major’s administration, an MEP for the Brexit Party and, since 2023, a member of Reform, serving as its immigration and justice spokesman.

The Spectator

Let Shabana Mahmood finish the job at the Home Office

From our UK edition

We currently know more about what Count Binface would do in power than Andy Burnham. The joke candidate in the Clacton by-election has published a manifesto that goes into considerably greater detail about what the government’s priorities should be than anything we have yet heard from the man who becomes our prime minister on Monday. Those preparing for a new administration, including the Parliamentary Labour Party and the Civil Service, have had to rely on speculation and briefings to the press. There is no better guide to what we might expect than the analysis of our own political editor, Tim Shipman, in his article. He reports that the incoming premier has a high opinion of the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood. That reflects well on him.

The Spectator

2758: Thousa – solution

From our UK edition

Each of the six quartets of initial letters of the Across clues reveal DCLL which equals 750. When correctly arranged, the unclued lights reveal ‘Doc’s seven hundred and fiftieth crossword’. The title ‘Thousa’ is three-quarters of 1,000 which is 750.

The Spectator

Letters: bring on devolution

From our UK edition

The right kind of devolution Sir: Your leading article ‘The Burnham Question’ (11 July) suggests that the putative prime minister’s enthusiasm for devolution might be a good thing, provided that it is the right kind of devolution. Although Andy Burnham would never admit it, devolution of the Manchester and Teesside type succeeds because, in both cases, business is given the chance to thrive. By contrast, devolution to the Scottish parliament and Senedd has stifled economic growth, while providing a platform for nationalist politicians to bash the UK. A true believer in effective devolution would scrap these national institutions and transfer power to business-friendly bodies in cities and regions across the UK.

Wednesday

The Spectator

Beware Andy Burnham’s ‘devolution revolution’

From our UK edition

Andy Burnham is a lucky politician. And Nigel Farage has just given him another piece of surprising good fortune. The Reform leader’s decision to call a by-election so his voters can express their preference for him over a comedian in a dustbin is more than just a narcissistic farce: it is a blessing for Project Burnham. Just as attention should be focused on a man with neither a mandate nor a manifesto for running the nation, Westminster’s gaze is directed once more to the dreary beachfronts of Jaywick and Frinton. Burnham’s unscrutinised, unelected, unready administration moves closer to power while Reform achieves a feat hitherto thought impossible: becoming even more of a vehicle for the ego of its leader.

The Spectator

Portrait of the Week: Resignations, royal farces and World Cup wins

From our UK edition

Home Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform, announced that he would leave parliament (by applying to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead) and then fight a by-election at Clacton. ‘It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire Establishment,’ he said. His announcement came after a report in the Sunday Times saying that he did not declare, on becoming an MP, benefits received in the preceding year from George Cottrell, 32, who spent eight months in jail in America after admitting a charge of wire fraud in 2016. The main parties and Restore said they would not put up candidates against Farage.